The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-02-22
EIOtbedS.

years experience with hot-beds. the
writer cannot recall a failure; that
is case where a bed froze out, burn
ed out, or refused to heat UP after
being made up. Such a record is not
a case Of luck, it is the result of well
tried methods. faithfully carried out.
In hotbed we want mild heat. of
long duration, and as nearly uniform
from one end To the other as pos
sible. To get these qualities. it will
pay any operator to go to consider
able trouble as, without them. the
whole work may be in vain. We be-
lieve in, and practice, pre-heating:
That is, the material is first piled up
to heat, and allowed to heat thorough
ly. 1t is thereby reduced in bulk.
more pilable, will pack better and
settle less.
When building beds, we shake the
manure out thoroughly to get it even.
fine, and we'll mixed; the more evenly
it is shaken up, the more air will be
imbedded, which means more heat.
After a bed is made up, it is imme-
diately covered with sash, and shut
ters II needed, to retain the heat. 1t
is then allowed to re-heat, say 4S
hours, when, if thoroughly hot, We
open, tramp down carefully. and if
level them. Then the soil is put in;
we never use more than four inches
In depth, which is ample for all DUR
poses. For best results, the soil
should be rather dry. 1t will alb
sorb plenty of moisture in a few davs
and be just right, where a wet soil
would become unfit for work.
We allow a bed to decline in heat
for week or 10 days, before planting;
generally we wait until a good crop
of weeds appear. Where there is the
least danger of surface water, we
build on top of ground, as water will
destroy the heat as readily as it will
put out fire. A hotebd site should
be well drained. We have used all
styles Of hotbeds-sunk entirely into
the ground, partly, and entirely above
ground. In cold localities and where
manure is scarce, it is a good plan
to go below the surface.
At present we have plenty of fresh
manure, and after it has been used
it is just in the right condition to top
dress in the summer by running it
out with a manure spreader-hence
we build entirely above ground one
bed close to the other-allowing only
2O-inch walks, which makes one solid
block all uniformly warm. The frames
are all 1-inch pine boards. the front
only s inches, the back IL inches;
each frame for five sash. Thus we
get along with the minimum amount
of lumber, and the frames are mov-
able anywhere. When a crop Of
plants is to be hardened off, we not
only remove the sash, but carry the
frame away entirely. And when all
is over in June, the manure spreader
cleans up the material and the land
is planted to head lettuce, caulifow-
er, or celery, to recover any leached
out fertility.
AS regards cross bars for the sash
TO slide on. We have never used any.
the main objection to these being the
shade they cast, thus very much re-
ducing the efficiency of a frame. There
is too much wood in sash already.
With regard to ventilating, our first
moves are sideways, that is, we allow
the center sash to remain, and slide
both sash on each side, sideways, an
inch or two to admit light and air
between the sash. When more air
is needed the ends are propped up.
We are thus able to produce absolute
ly uniform results from end to end.
Where manure must be stored to have
a supply at the proper time, the best
method is to have livestock tramp
it solid as fast as NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
in American Florist.