498 



JOURKAL OF HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAilDENEK. 



[ December 38, 1M9. 



wortLj- of adoption if it in the least deteriorate this important 

 qoalitj.— Thojiab Recokd. 



FORCING PLANTS.— No. 0. 



CoxT.u,i;Ar.iA MAj.vi.is (Lii.Y OF THE Vali.ev). — This old 

 favocrite ia in most places greatly in demand both for decora- 

 tiye purposes and cut flowers. It may be forced in pots, pane, 

 boxe;, and in a vaiitty of ways, but for decorative purposes 

 pots or pans are most snitable; whilst for lifting nben in 

 bloom for filling vases, along with other plants, it is best forced 

 in narrow shallow boxes. 



The plants mofit suitable are those which have been grown 

 in beds in the open ground for three years, in the first place 

 planied about 6 inches apart in rows 1 foot apart, each cluster 

 having from three to half a dozen crowns. These beds are 

 best made in November, a rich, sandy, fibrous loam being most 

 stiitaUe. The situation ebould be shaded, hut not by trees, 

 Uie shade of a wall being ample. A north, north-west, or 

 north-east border is the be.^t. The ground should be deeply 

 dag, mixing with it some leaf soil, but no manure. In spring 

 stir the surface lightly, jns-t when the leaves are pushing, and 

 top-dress with an inch thick of light rich compost ; rotten 

 leaves, old cow dung, and sandy fibrous loam in equal parts 

 make a very good top-dressing. This may be applied every 

 Bpriug, nothing further being required than keeping them clear 

 of weeds and watering abundantly in dry weather. By the 

 third year they will be fice clumps, each as large as they need 

 be for a pot, and many sufficient to till a tolerably large pan, 

 whilst the smallest will be suitable for boxes, to be transferred 

 to vases, &c., when in flower. 



For blooming in December the roots ought to he potted early 

 in November, or if required to flower early in December they 

 Tvonld be better, and indeed ought to be, potted at the end of 

 October. In potting, good drainage is required for the pots or 

 pang, as the plants need very liberal supplies of water, also a 

 light sandy soil, and pots sufficiently large to hold the roots 

 but no more. Afler potting give a gentle watering, and set 

 tte pots on a hard floor in a honse with a temperature from 

 fire beat of about 45^ If the floor be moist, all the better, and 

 a position under the stage, if not much liable to drip, will do 

 as well as any other. Cover witi cocoa-nut refuse over the 

 pots to the extent of 4 or C inches, if it is desired to have 

 flowers with long stalks, and they will not require any farther 

 attention until the leaves are appearing through the refuse ; 

 then remove them, and you will find the flower stems little 

 short of the length of the leaves, and the flower buds only need 

 bringing cat. To do this I'lace the pots in a light airy situa- 

 tion about 1 foot from the glass, shading from 10 a.m. to S p.m. 

 for about a week if the weather be bright, but if it is dull the 

 shading will not be necessary. In a few days the foliage, acted 

 upon by the light, will become green, and the flowers will ex- 

 pand on c good stalk, and be anything but like tliose forced 

 from the first in light, with the flowers on dumpy stems and 

 smothered by the foliage. A temperature of from -15° to 50°, 

 and not exceeding oJ° from fire heat, is sufficient. Five to six 

 weeks are needed to have the plants in bloom, so that fresh 

 lota of plants should be introduced at fortnightly intervals to 

 keep np a good succession of bloom. For covering the pots 

 sawdust, spent hops, or tan will answer, but cocoa-nnt fibre is 

 best. Inverted pots, however, answer nearly as well as cover- 

 ing the pots with cocoa-tut fibre if kept on until the spikes are 

 5 or 6 inches high, and than removed. Up to that time a 

 shady position will do, but after the removal of the inverted 

 pot the pots should be placed near the glass, shading for a few 

 Lours in the middle of the day if the weather be bright, but 

 only for a few days. As the pots are not plunged, they will 

 lose moisture by evaporation, therefore water must be supplied 

 to the plants as required ; after growth commences they must 

 not on any account be allowed to become dry. The water used 

 should be of the same temperature as that of the house — a few 

 degrees higher rather than less. 



If the plants are to be removed in flower to vases, baskets, 

 &c., and in small patches or individual plants, I eelect those of 

 the required size singly, or in twos, threes, or any number up 

 to half a dozen. Every crown should be thick, plump, and 

 round, it being of little use wasting time and room with those 

 which are long, thin, and sharp-pointed, as they will not flower, 

 or very weakly. These pieces should have as much root and 

 soil as possible preserved along with them, and the root por- 

 tion should be neatly %vrapped in moss, adding soil if there be 

 but little adhering to the roots. To keep the plants distinct, 



and to permit of tbeir beini; transferred when in bloom with 

 as little iujury as practicable, secure the moss with matting, 

 but not very tightly. Place them in boxes or pans closely 

 together, and fill in the interstices with fine soil ; or cocoa-sat 

 fibre refuse will answer quite as well. They should be placed 

 so deeply as to admit of an inch-covering of moss, which will 

 tend to preserve a more uniform degree of moisture, and should 

 be covered with an inverted box or pan, stopping up the holes, 

 if any, to keep all dark. A good watering unght to be given 

 before covering with the moss. The boxes or pans should be 

 placed on a gentle hotbed in a house with a temperature not 

 exceeding oil'~ from fire heat, but 45° will be better for a period 

 of two or three weeks at the commencement. The soil must 

 be kept moist, and tepid water only nftd. ^^"htn the flower 

 stems are from 4 to U inches high remove the inverted boxes or 

 pans, and place the pots near the hght ; the plants will come 

 into fine bloom in a few days, and as each root is enveloped in 

 moss they may be transferred to vases or wherever wanted. 



By either of the above plans these desirable flowers may be 

 obtnined at Christmas, or earlier, as well as throughout the 

 winter. Those flowered early will be of little value afterwards ; 

 but those not flowering before February or ilarch, may, after 

 flowering, be hardened-ofl in a frame, and be planted-out when 

 danger from frost is past ; but a better plan is to keep them 

 turned out in a shady border, after hardening-ofi as above 

 during the summer, and in November take them np, shake 

 away most of the old soil, and plant in bunches in a bed in 

 rows as mentioned at the commencement of this article, top- 

 drcBSing in spring, and watering in dry weather in summer. In 

 three years they will be fine bunches fit for any purpose. 



SriBiEA jAPOKicA is a hardy deciduous herbaceous plant, 

 very fine for forcing. The foliage is elegant, and bright dark 

 green. In general outline it very much resembles the pretty 

 Fern Anemidictyon ph)llitidi8, bat is more dwarf and branched, 

 and the flower stem is erect, and bears a profusion of small white 

 flowers, very pretty ; it is one of the most desirable of plants 

 for the diuner-taile and decorative purposes of all kinds, and 

 for cut flowers is indispensable. Everybody should grow it. 



It is increased by division, November being the best time 

 to divide the plants into as many parts as there are crowns, 

 preserving to each a good portion of root. Plant them in a 

 bed of rich friable loam, enriched with leaf soil, and deeply 

 dug. The divibions may bo put in in lines 1 foot apart, and 

 G inches from each other in the lines, not covering the crowns 

 more deeply than an inch with soil. In spring mulch the bed 

 with an inch thick of rich compost, such as eiual parts of turfy 

 loam made fitie, leaf mould, and old cow dung or very rotten 

 manure. Keep the plants clear of weeds, and water them 

 copiously during dry weather in summer. The following and 

 succeeding spring stir the surface of the beds, and mnlch with 

 rich campost as in the previous year. In three years they will 

 be fine plants. A slightly shaded situation is most suitable. 



If the plants are required to bloom at Christinas, they should 

 be potted in the beginning of November, employing pots jost 

 snfiiciently large to hold the roots. Good drainage should be 

 given, and the soil may consist of sandy loam two parts, and 

 one part leaf mould. After potting water gently, and set the 

 pots on ashes in a frame if the plants are not wanted for im- 

 mediate forcing, plunging the pots in, and covering them with, 

 about an inch of spent tan, sawdust, or cocoa-nut refuse, 

 which last is best. From the frame they may be taken into 

 the forcing house at fortnightly or more distant ;'ntervals from 

 November to March. If rtquirfd to bloom at Cluistmas, the 

 plants, on being potted early in November, should be placed in 

 the forcing house at once, (etting the pots cu the floor, and 

 covering them about an inch thick with any kind of loose ma- 

 terial. The temperature from fire heat should not exceed 45° 

 for the first fortnight, and when the leaves are appearing 

 through the plunging material remove the pots, and place 

 them in a position near the glass, so as to keep the plants 

 dwarf, for if set at a considerable distance from it they will be 

 drav.n up tall and weakly. An abundance of water and a 

 moderate amount of air are required, the temperature being 

 raised to 50°, and not exceeding 55° from fire heat. The plants 

 bloom in about six wteks after being introduocd into heat. 

 After flowering they should bo kept under glass until they are 

 well hardened-cff, and danger from frost is past ; then tnm 

 them out of the pots in a shady border. In November they 

 may be divided, and with the treatment before given they will 

 be quite fit to be forced again in two or three years. 



DiELVTRA srccTAijiLis 18, perhaps, the most brilliant of 

 spring-flowering deciduous herbaceous plants. It is too well 



