This sheltered the bed from the North West winds, and prevented it from freezing on that quarter. Some sheaves might, besides, if necessary, be laid against the bed itself. But, observe, you must be able to get at the Lights constantly to give air, and to see how things go on; and, therefore, it is better to have your shelter at some feet distance from the bed.



We now return to the bed and the plants. I suppose the seed to have been sown on the 10th of March (Long Island, mind,) and that you have been verv attentive to give air and water. By the 10th of April, the plants will have eight leaves, and they will form one solid patch of green. They will be a little drawn up, though you have given them plenty of air. And now thev must be removed into a new bed.

Dig out the ground a foot deep, four feet wide, and to as great a length as is required by your number of plants. Fill this hollow up with the best dung you have, cover it over with four inches of good earth; and plant your plants upon it in rows four inches apart, and two inches apart in the row. When you have put out the plants, water them lightly; and shade them for two or three days from the sun.

They must also be sheltered every night, in this manner. Take some rods, put one end of each rod into the ground on one side of the bed, and the other end on the other side; put these rods at about two feet asunder all along the bed; then tie some rods long ways to these arched rods; so that, when you have done, your bed has an arch over it formed by these rods. Every evening about sunset, cover this arch with mats, with old carpets, or with a slight covering of any sort, which take off again at sunrise in the morning.

To put out all your plants in this way will require a very long bed, or many short ones. If, therefore, your number of plants be very large, the best way will be to put out a part of them in this way, leave the remainder in the hot bed a week longer, (taking off the lights in the day time,) and then to plant all the remainder out in beds of fine rich earth, in the natural ground, and without any covering.

Now here we drop, for the present, the subject of Cabbage Plants; because I am to speak of their culture, under the word, Cabbage, in that part of the work, which will treat of the cultivation of Vegetables. I am, in this part of my work, to confine myself to the making and managing of Hot-beds; and, I have selected the Cabbage Plant, as a subject for explaining my meaning, because I think that the raising of that plant is one of the most useful purposes, to which a hot-bed can be applied in America.

But, a Hot-bed may be applied to many other purposes. Lettuces may be raised in it. Peppergrass, Radishes, young Onions, may be raised. Parsley roots may be put in, and fine parsley obtained in March. Asparagus may be raised in this way. It is not worth while to attempt to bring Cucumbers and Melons to fruit in a hot-bed: but the plants may be raised there, and afterwards put out in the ground with great advantage in point of time.

Several sorts of annual flowers and of Greenhouse plants may be got forward by a hot-bed, which, without it, can hardly be got at all to any great degree of perfection.

Of the management of these sorts of plants in a hot-bed I shall speak under their several names; but, on the management of hot-beds, there yet remain to be made some observations, which have a general application.

As to heat and air it will demand but little attention to manage well. But, a little Termometre, hung up, or laid down, in the bed, will be of use. The heat should not exceed seventy five degrees in the daytime, and sixty at night. If it come down to fifty at night it is better.

If you cannot keep it down to sixty without giving a little air at night, give it, by putting something under a light, or two lights, to let in a little of the cold. For, always bear in mind, that, when plants, of whatever kind, be drawn up, they are nearly spoiled.

When the Sun comes upon the glass, it soon augments the heat; and the air must be given immediately if possible, so as to keep down the heat. Changes are very sudden in March, April, and May; and, therefore, somebody should always be at hand to attend to the hot-bed. But, if the master be from home, there is, surely, some man; or, at any rate, a wife, a son, or a daughter.

The labor is nothing, the trouble very little indeed, and all that is wanted is a small portion of care.

It may happen that the bed will get too cool. It may lose its heat sooner than you could wish, especially if you use it for Cucumber and Melon plants after you have used it for things that you want earlier; and, I shall show that this may

be very useful in certain cases. Now, if the heat be too much diminished, you may easily restore it, thus: make a little narrow hot-bed, a foot and a halfwide, all round the bed.

Put the dung together as before; place it close to the bed; beat it well; and build it up, all round, as high as the top of the Frame. This is called lining; and it will give the bed nearly as much heat as it had at first. If you do not want so much heat, line only the back of the bed; or the back and the two ends. In short, take as much heat as you may want.

Before I dismiss the subject of hot-beds, I must notice, that there are other contrivances than frames resorted to in this kind of garden work. A frame is, as we here see, a wooden construction, for lights of glass to be placed on. For smaller concerns there are very convenient things, caller hand lights, or hand glasses.