Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Climbers 53 



bloom when grown in pots and placed in a warm greenhouse from Christ- 

 mas onwards. The masses of white Lilac, however, that find their way 

 to the florists' shops before and after Christmas are not produced in this 

 way. Plants are grown specially for this purpose, and the variety used 

 is a purple-flowered one known as the "Marly". Thousands of this are 

 grown in nurseries outside Paris, but few growers try the forcing business 

 in England. Some of those who have done so have relinquished it, 

 chiefly owing to the great drop in prices of late years, quite 50 per cent. 



Plants that are to be forced are grown outside for at least three but 

 usually four years, and are from 4-5 ft. high, each having roughly about 

 three dozen shoots. From the top of each shoot two trusses of bloom 

 (rarely more) are developed. The plants are lifted and placed in darkened 

 houses in which a temperature of about 80 F. is maintained when 

 growth has started, and also a very humid atmosphere. The exclusion 

 of light during the day is one of the chief secrets of the process of forcing 

 a purple Lilac to produce pure -white flowers, but great judgment is 

 necessary as to when deep or partial shade is to be maintained. Some 

 French growers have found that a very high temperature and total 

 darkness are not absolutely essential, and have produced white flowers 

 in other ways. Other experiments have been carried out by keeping the 

 plants to be forced in a refrigerator or cold dark and moist shed for about 

 a fortnight before transferring them to the forcing house, and it was found 

 that flowers were fit to cut a week earlier than from plants that had not 

 been treated in the same way. Lilac plants have also been etherized in 

 hermetically sealed chambers for about forty -eight hours to test the 

 bleaching effect on the blossoms. By whatever process the flowers are 

 obtained, there is nearly always a good demand for them, and it only 

 remains to produce them at a cost that will leave a reasonable margin 

 of profit. 



Tamarix. A small genus of ornamental feathery-looking shrubs with 

 twiggy stems and small scale-like leaves. The Common British Tamarisk 

 (T. gaUica) grows up to 12 ft. high, and is largely used for seaside 

 planting. It produces its white or pink flowers from July to Sep- 

 tember. There are varieties known as gaUica, gei^manica, and odessana. 

 T. chinensis (japonica plumosa) is similar, but more graceful and feathery 

 in appearance, and is not quite so hardy. Other less-well-known kinds 

 are hispida (khasgarica), parviflora (africana), and tetrandra. They 

 grow in ordinary garden soil and may be increased by cuttings of the 

 ripened wood and by seeds. 



Tecoma (Bignonia) radicans. A climbing North American shrub with 

 orange-scarlet foxglove-like flowers in summer. Sandy loam and warm 

 positions. Increased by cuttings of the ripened shoots and by layers. 



Tilia (LiME). The Common Lime (T. vulgaris also known as T. 

 ruropcea) is a fine ornamental tree largely used for streets and for making 

 avenues in large gardens and parks. There is a variegated form having 

 creamy -white blotches on the leaves. Thousands of the common form 



