generally given to a mixture, in equal
proportions, of manure and forest leaves. Place on the ground, (under a
shed if possible,) a layer of leaves one foot thick, and on this a foot
of manure, then leaves and manure alternately until the required
quantity is obtained. Let this heap remain four or five days, or until
it begins to heat, then turn over and thoroughly mix the leaves and
manure together, and throw them up into a compact, conical heap. In four
or five days more your materials will be ready for your bed. Mark off
your intended site, running as nearly east and west as practicable. Your
frame should be about six feet wide and of any required length. The
manure bed should extend a foot outside the frame on the sides and ends.
See Figure 1, in which _a_ is the manure heap.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.]

Build up the manure square and level, shaking, mixing, and beating it
with the back of the fork, to the height of about four feet, making the
centre somewhat higher than the sides, to allow for settling. The frame
should be of 1-1/4 inch pine, twenty inches high at the back, and
seventeen inches in front, and may be put together with hooks and
staples, so as to be removed and stored, when not in use. The sashes
should be six by three and a half feet, and the frame should have
cross-bars at every sash for support. It is well to have the frame
divided by partitions into two or three compartments, that one section
may receive more or less ventilation as the plants grown in them may
require. In three or four days the heat will be up in the bed, and then
it should be covered with six inches of fine garden mould, which should
be raked off level. When the soil is heated through, the seeds may be
sown. Ventilation should be given to let off the steam and vitiated air,
but with caution to avoid the loss of heat. Straw mats will be required
to cover the sashes at night, and should be regularly put on. If the
weather is very cold, shutters or boards in addition are necessary. If
care is exercised in the management, the heat will be maintained as long
as is desirable.

Figure 2 represents the hot-bed partly beneath the surface.

The frame in this case will be fifteen inches in height at the back, and
twelve inches in front, constructed in the same manner as that before
described. The materials and the general preparation of the bed is also
the same. A space of about eight inches should be left between the
surface of the mould