Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1882-02-08

haps after all"
The little hand he had taken lay con-
fidingly in his. Her happy eyes looked
up to the frosty, glIttering stars.
Yes" she said, softly, latter all"
eIter from Frost.
The importance of providing shelter
for such half hardy plants as winter
spinach, onions, Strawberries. etc, has
been mentioned before, and should have
been applied before this time. In sea-
sons when we have plenty of snow dur
ing the entire winter, covering for such
plants is hardly needed at all. but such
seasons are not common in the south
eastern portion of New England; in this
region il is much more common to have
the land mort or less exposed, especial
ly late in the winter. when the sun runs
high aud the nights are cold. 1t is against
such frequent freezing aud thawing tLat
the shelter is wanted, and if it is only
sufficient to shade the ground from the
sun and prevent frequent thawing, it is
better than heavy covering, which is
apt to smother the plants during thaw.
There is another sort of covering to be
used in spring on the hot beds-I mean
of course, the mats and shutters used to
shelter the glass in frosty weather. These
mats and shutters are usually made on
the farm during the cold and stormy
days of winter. The mats are made of
rye straw, tue coarser and larger the
better, and the grain should be well
threshed out, SO as not to attract rats
or mice to make their nests in the mats
when slowed away in summer. There
are two sorts of frames used III making
mats, one is rectangular frame of Xxi
inch spruce, feet four inches square In
the clear, placed on legs SO as to be
about q feet from the floor, and across
this are tightly dawn as many strings
of marline as are to be used in tying the
mat; usually eight or nine strings are
used. One side of this frame is made
movable, and is secured in its place by
stout hard wood pins at each end; this
movable side is where work begins In
tying the mat; the straw Is laid on In
small, clean handful, and tied down
tightly by given the loose end of the mar
lin or spun yarn a half hitch aronnd the
tight string which is made fast to the
frame; when the mat has been tied for
about two feet from the edge, the NOV
able side of the frame is moved forward
and secured in its new position by pins
while the portion of mat already made
is allowed to drop over its edge, allowing
the workman to reach over and tie about
two feet more of the mat. The edges OF
the mat where the butts of the straw are
irregular. are easily trimmed straight by
placing the mat upon the floor with
straight edged piece of board over the
edge to be trimmed, and then chop off
the irregular ends with a hatchet.
The other sort Of frame used for tying
the mats, is shaped somewhat like
common carpenters saw-horse II Is
built higher however, so as to bring the
top about Il feet from the floor. The
top is made of two pieces of inch board
placed an inch and quarter apart, and
between them the mat is pushed down.
ward as each handful of straw Is tied on
top. In this frame a mat may be made
of any length desired, usually eight feet
is about the limit. Any one unaccus-
toned to the use of these mats would
be surprised to see how efficient they
are in protecting hot beds from frost;
when placed over the glass and covered
with shutters, it requires very hard
frost with high wind to freeze through
them. The shutters are made OF ! men
pine matched boards, 6 feet 4 inches
long by q to feet wide, and secured
by three cleats, one at each end, and
one across the middle, securly nailed
with clinch nails. If kept well painted
they will last for many years. Ihe
shutters are often used without glass as
spring advances, to shelter plants on
frosty nights, throwing them off by day
SO as to expose the plants to the open
air: this enables the gardener to use his
glass and mats on other beds containing
more tender plants. 1t is customary to
put the glass upon cold frames contain
ing dandelion and rhubarb, about the
middle or latter part of January, cover
ing at nights with mats and shutters. If
the beds are well banked with eel grass.
or horse manure, they will not freeze
enough to injure these hardy plants, and
the growth once started will progress
rapidly as the sun gets higher. When
the rhubarb leaves touch the glass, the
frame is built up with an additional
plank or two placed on the lower one
and held on its edge in place by means
of pickets nailed on upon the outside.
The rhubarb will grow three feet long
if the glass is raised SO as to give it room.
1t is a very acceptable sauce IN early
spring, before it can be pulled out OF
doors. and The forned article Is much
more tender that what grows out OF
doors.