FORCING LILACS. 47 



danger of injury. Mr. Rand thought the present winter, with tlie 

 ground bare of snow thus far, would be hard on herbaceous 

 plants. Many of that class which are tender here are hardy in 

 Canada, where the ground is covered with snow. Alpine plants, 

 which bloom on the edge of a snow bank, as soon as the snow has 

 melted away from them, are destroyed in more southern climates, 

 where they have not the protection of the snow. 



Mr. Buswell asked whether the color of other flowers is affected 

 like that of the lilac by forcing. 



Mr. Hovey said the daj's were six hours shorter when these 

 lilacs were forced than at the season when they bloom naturally, 

 and in ten days the}^ would then have sixty hours more sunshine 

 than at this period of the year. They have not time to get their 

 color in these short, dark days, but if grown slowly and if plenty 

 of air were given, they would soon have more or less color. The 

 same effect is produced by forcing on other plants ; the Bon Celine 

 rose, for instance, which, when forced at Christmas under a high 

 temperature is almost colorless, or at least ver}^ pale compared 

 with its brilliant tint in summer. 



Mr. Wilder said that the whiteness of forced plants is owing to 

 the absence of light, as in the shoots of a potato grown in a dark 

 cellar. 



Mr. Buswell remarked that the foliage of the lilacs on exhibi- 

 tion was of nearly as good color as if grown in the open air, and 

 wished to know why that should not be affected as well as the flowers. 



The Chairman said that these were not healthy and normal 

 growths ; the flowers did not draw their strength from the soil. 

 The flowers resembled the Persian species. 



Mr. Calder said that the lilac made no roots whatever in 

 forcing, and moi'e than two-thirds of the plants died after forcing. 



Mr. Rand thought the plants died after forcing because no care 

 was taken of them. 



Mr. Calder replied that last year, after forcing, he transplanted 

 nearly all his lilacs into the carnation house, and afterwards into 

 the open ground, but the great majority died. 



The Chairman thought the lilacs were like hyacinths and other 

 bulbs that had been forced in water, sufficient vitality having been 

 stored up in the plant to develop the flowers under a favoring 

 atmosphere. 



Mr. Hovey had never found any exhaustion of hyacinths by 

 ordinary forcing. They would grow well enough but not flower. 



