HOW TO FORCE PLANTS IN WINTER. 221 



should give a flower. Previous to potting, it will be 

 necessary to decide how they are afterwards to be disposed 

 of when in flower ; they may be placed in fancy wire or 

 wicker baskets, or in ornamental vases. 



If it is intended to remove the tubers when in flower, 

 wrap a little bit of moss round each, and then pack them 

 away, as closely as possible, in pots, or what is still better, 

 long boxes, previously filled with any light, porous soil, 

 the tubers inserted just deep enough in the soil to 

 slightly cover the crowns. Over all, place a good thick 

 layer of moss ; it assists in keeping the soil and tubers 

 moist ; and lastly, pots or boxes, of the same dimensions 

 as those the tubers are planted in, are inverted and placed 

 over them, so as to keep all dark, as darkness is essential 

 to success. The boxes are then removed to a warm place, 

 where they can be supplied with a little bottom heat (a pit 

 or the cooler end of the green-house flue will do), which 

 must be gentle at first, but may be gradually increased as 

 the plants show symptoms of active growth. Thus, in 

 three or four weeks, more or less, according to the treat- 

 ment they have received, they will be abundantly furnished 

 with their exquisitely scented flowers. They may then 

 be removed with the greatest facility, on account of the 

 19* 



