512 THE GARDENER. [Nov. 



expect many or fine Strawberries in winter .and spring from plants lifted to force 

 from tlie quarters a week or two before putting them into heat; and though Lily 

 of the Valley is better adapted for forcing than the Strawberry, our expectation of 

 the best results from it by ordinary eflfbrts is only, therefoi'e, a little les8 unreason- 

 able. Forced as it usually is about private places, in clumps lifted from an old- 

 established bed, the pots have as many crowns in them producing leaves only as 

 there are crowns with flowers and leaves ; and the abortive ones, besides leading 

 to overcrowding, compete from first to last with those that flower for the food 

 the pot contains, the contest being always more or less to the detriment of the 

 latter. There is no reason to doubt but that, if we adopted something like the 

 Dutch plan of preparing our plants for forcing, the results would be quite as good 

 in every way with our own as with their plants. We would require to break up 

 our beds in the first instance, and carefully divide and select the crowns to such 

 an extent as our demands suggested, and to plant them, the strongest and weakest 

 by themselves apart, in rich well-trenched ground, an inch and a-half asunder. 

 The best time to do this is early in October, as it is also the best time for lifting 

 and potting for forcing, but it will not yet be too late to do it when this comes to 

 the hands of our readers, if the weather is open and mild. After planting — and 

 in doing so the crowns ought to be almost buried — a mulching of old manure to 

 the depth of 2 inches should be laid on the beds, and be beaten moderately firm with 

 the spade, and blinded afterwards with a slight coating of soil. Any one having 

 old-established beds, and unwilling to bi'eak them up for this purpose, need not 

 do so necessarily, The crowns in such a bed may be thinned out by means of a 

 knife carefully inserted below the one to be removed, so as to sever it from the 

 underground stem without injuring those that are to remain. Only the strongest 

 in this case should be taken, and those that are left will benefit by their removal. 

 On this plan of treating Lily of the Valley, improved plants for forcing would not 

 be our only gain ; our stock would also greatly increase, and this, to the nursery- 

 man and florist at least, is a very important point. It may be grown at home at 

 half the cost of the imported roots, and every one who indulges in the luxury of 

 a pot in his room would ultimately share in the good of this economy. When 

 lifting for forcing, or any other purpose, it is usual to discard all underground 

 stems as useless. This is a mistake, for they may be made the means of largely 

 increasing the stock in hand : every joint is prone to send up a crown when cir- 

 cumstances are favourable — that is, when there is room enough and pasturage suf- 

 ficient for their development ; and for the first two years it need not take up 

 much room — a bushel of it may be put in a bed 4 feet by 6 feet. lb is necessary 

 in laying it in, to draw the soil oS" the bed wholly to the depth of a couple of 

 inches, laying it on either side for handiness in putting it on again. The stems 

 are laid on the bed thus prepared equally and evenly, and covered up with the 

 soil, finishing off with a mulching in the same way as with the nursing-bed for 

 crowns, as described above. 



Every one that has to supply cut flowers or plants in flower for conservatory 

 and room embellishment in winter, knows how to force Lily of the Valley ; and 

 our remarks on its treatment, to aid beginners, may be very brief. As early as 

 the leaves are ripe the ci'owns should be lifted and potted, using rich sandy loam 

 to pot them in. Put no manvire in the soil ; any enriching it may want is better 

 applied in the liquid state after the plants are well started. Pot very firm ; 

 it is scarcely possible to make the soil too firm* by pressure of the fingers merely, 

 supposing it is in the proper state of dryness for potting. When finished, the 

 tips of the crowns only should appear above the soil. They may then be watered, 

 and put away in a cold frame till they are required for introducing into heat. It 



