Obviously, no frost must be allowed to reach the seedbed when once sowing has taken place. To prevent this, and for another purpose to be described presently, Perry Hull advises the construction of a straw mat, as shown in Fig. 4, which is very light to handle, easily made, and sufficiently strong to last one season. It is made “by laying a scantling (6 feet long, 1½ inches wide, ¾ inch thick) upon the barn floor; place a layer of good straight rye-straw upon it, so that the scantling will come about in the middle of the straw, then another layer with the tips the other way, that it may be of uniform thickness in all its parts (about 1½ inches thick). Place a similar scantling exactly over it, and with sixpenny nails, nail them tight; with an axe trim both edges straight, and to a width of 3 feet, and the mat is made. With these the beds should be covered every night, cold or warm; in the daytime they should be set up at the north side of the bed, at an angle of about 65 degrees, by driving crotches just inside of the bed, for the end of the scantling to rest in, the lower edge of the mat resting on the ground, outside the bed.
“The plants, as soon as they are out of the ground, which will be in a few days, require strict attention. The beds should be made high enough, so that in fair weather a little water can be applied every night. After the fourth leaf appears, manure-water should be used. Place an old barrel near the beds, and throw into it ½ bushel of hen-manure, and fill with water; after it is well soaked, use ½ pailful of it, and fill up with clear water with the chill taken off. As the plants get larger, the strength of the infusion can be increased, being careful that it is not so strong as to turn the plants yellow. As soon as the plants are large enough to be readily taken hold of by the thumb and point of a knife, they should be thinned to about 144 per square foot, and kept free from weeds. This plan is decidedly preferable to raising under glass. It is less expensive, the plants are more hardy to set out in the field, are got fully as early, and a little carelessness on a hot day will not ruin the whole. It has been my method for the past 8 years, and during that time I have never failed to have good strong plants ready for the field between the 5th and 10th of June.”