CHAPTER VI. 



FORCING BULBS 



THE growing of cut flowers for market has of late years become 

 a very important branch of our industry. We are not called 

 upon here to put forward and discuss the reasons why its develop- 

 ment has been so rapid, obvious though they might be. It 

 is enough for us to accept the accomplished fact and do our share 

 in production. 



There are no flowers more welcome or more popular than those 

 of spring-flowering bulbs, generally classed under the heading 

 " Dutch bulbs," even though an important section of them are 

 imported from France ; and the reasons why they are grown in 

 such prodigious quantities are : first, because of their popularity 

 and comparative cheapness ; and, second, because they are the 

 easiest of all things to grow and to force. Tulips and hyacinths, 

 daffodils, narcissi and freesias are in unlimited demand from 

 Christmas to Easter, and though many broad acres in the Scilly 

 and Channel Islands pour their harvests into our markets, 

 there is yet room for all our forcing houses can produce. 



The forcing of bulbs can be done most economically. All 

 their earlier stages are reached under natural conditions and they 

 only occupy valuable hothouse space for a very brief time, 

 so that successive batches fo'low closely after one another. 

 The one point of importance to remember is that it is worse 

 than useless to introduce them to heat until they have thoroughly 

 established their roots and have made a good start. Any attempt 

 to force top growth when the roots are not sufficiently developed 

 is doomed to failure, utter and irretrievable, for the growths 

 are blind the flower remains in the heart of the bulb. 



HYACINTHS 



The Roman Hyacinth is the first to force, and is but a fairy-like 

 miniature of its Dutch brother. It is imported in great quantities 

 from the South of France, and the fields around Marseilles are 

 devoted to their culture. The white variety is the only one 

 worth doing in quantitj^ and is a useful and popular subject 



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