THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



149 



that when the shading is put on it would 

 be four or five inches above the tops of 

 the fully developed flowers. It is bot 

 tom heat that is the great requisite, as 

 we all know 7 , and the earliest forced bulbs 

 want about 85 degrees, gradually lessen 

 ing the heat, till in April, near their 

 natural time of growing, 65 to 70 is 

 enough. 



I would like to be very explicit about 



or planted in permanent frames. Then 

 when winter was over you could put on 

 the sash and with water and shade pro 

 duce some very fine flowers and foliage 

 several days ahead of the common, un 

 protected stuff. 



Some six years ago we planted several 

 thousand roots of imported valley which 

 cost only $3 per thousand. They did 

 not flower till last year, but increased in 



Lily of the Valley Forced on Hot Water Pipes. 



would be much cheaper than the most 

 ready way of forcing the imported pips. 



Lily of the valley can never recede 

 in public favor. It has all the attributes 

 that appeal to the most refined and deli 

 cate senses. Its grace and simple beauty 

 are unsurpassed and its delicate odor is 

 loved by all. Even supposing you don t 

 get more than seventy-live per cent of 

 good flowers, then it is a more profitable 

 flower to the grower and retailer than 

 almost anything you handle, and there is 

 no greenhouse where provision could not 

 be marie for its successful culture. 



Pans and pots of it sell at Christmas 

 and Easter. They can be treated just 

 as described above, but a better way is 

 to select roots with some perfect flowers 

 and foliage and put them into the pans 

 when in full bloom. There is no fraud 

 about this, as if kept moist they last just 

 as long as those grown in the pans from 

 the start and will have a better appear 

 ance. I have never had any satisfaction 

 from the imported clumps and would not 

 advise any one to bother with them. 



LINUM TRIGYNUM. 



Some of the species of this genus are 

 used in flower gardening. L. grandi- 

 florum is a pretty, deep rose-colored, 

 summer annual. L. trigynum is the spe 

 cies that is sold for a winter blooming 

 plant. It is not likely to become very 

 popular as a house plant on account of 

 its dropping its petals so quickly, al 

 though for the conservatory it is a most 

 showy plant and is always in the best of 



the making of a forcing bed, for there 

 are some points of importance. The top 

 board on the front or path side of the 

 bed should be one foot ana it should be 

 hinged just at the surface of the sand. 

 Why this is important is that when the 

 little plants are in flower or just open 

 ing their bells you can let down this top 

 board and water the bed without w T etting 

 the flowers or buds, and this is very im 

 portant. 



For the first ten days, or till the pips 

 have grown three or four inches, they 

 are covered with wooden shutters which 

 almost entirely exclude the light, then 

 these are replaced by cloth shutters; 

 cheese-cloth oiled and fastened on frames 

 will do nicely and the last few days these 

 are removed and they are given full 

 light, but no direct sunlight. I have 

 often noticed in handling valley that was 

 in boxes that even if fully developed it 

 quickly wilts if exposed to any draught. 



This same place will do for the summer 

 and fall growing, but little bottom heat 

 is needed, though shade and watering are 

 the same. In summer in addition to the 

 portable shading over the plants the 

 house should be shaded and made as cool 

 as possible. 



We always handle a good many of the 

 flowers during the short week they are 

 in bloom out of doors, and very poor 

 stuff they often are. A heavy shower 

 will quickly ruin them. Every florist 

 who has the ground should have some 

 beds outside, planted with good pips. 

 The beds will last for years. They 

 should be made the size of your frames 



Lily of the Valley from Pips out of Cold Storage. 



strength each year. This spring one bed 

 was covered with sash and shaded, with 

 the result that we cut a crop of grand 

 flowers which you would not believe were 

 from the same roots as those unpro 

 tected. The trouble with the outside beds 

 is that they are left too long without 

 transplanting and become a mass of 

 roots with no soil left to feed on. 



It would be also possible with the aid 

 of some ice and shade to retard your 

 crop a week or ten days after the out 

 side flowers were gone, all of which 



order about Christmas time with its 

 bright yellow blossoms. When supplied 

 with pot room and plenty of water it 

 makes a shapely, rounded plant, covered 

 with its bright yellow flowers. It is 

 often attacked by red spider and needs 

 daily syringing when in the greenhouse. 

 A night temperature of 50 degrees does 

 it well. 



It roots freely from the young growths 

 in March and should be planted out of 

 doors in a light soil at the end of May. 

 It will need constant pinching to keep it 



