FORCING BULBS 51 



their roots are healthy and that they have started to grow, 

 so that there only remains the question of a sufficient heat 

 to have them in bloom for Christmas. 



When pot plants are required it is not usual to grow them so, 

 but to make up the pots from the boxed stuff what time the 

 flowers are about to open. One can then be certain of having 

 them all in bloom together, which enhances the decorative 

 value of the pot. 



In order to induce long stalks the boxes should be stood under 

 the stages or anywhere to exclude the light, but they must not 

 remain there too long or the colours are affected. Some of 

 the Van Thol section would have scarcely any stalk at all if 

 grown in full light and so would be useless for cutting. 



The tulip season is fairly long, and the season, which opens with 

 Van Thol, winds up with the Darwin section, the finest of all. 

 These, if forced, must be treated gently and not subjected to 

 high temperature. Where convenient, they ought to be planted 

 in situ in a cool house, but as this is not always practicable 

 they can be successfully grown in boxes, which it is advisable to 

 have not less than 3 inches in depth. 



We cannot speak too highly of this beautiful flower, but we 

 close on a warning note : it must be well grown if a certain and 

 remunerative sale is to be assured, for we have seen too many 

 on the market of mediocre quality which it has been difficult to> 

 sell at any price. 



DAFFODILS AND NARCISSI 



We have warm words for the tulip, but we have now to deal 

 with what is even more popular perhaps the most popular 

 of all spring flowers, the daffodil and the narcissi. Not that 

 it is correct to differentiate between them, for they are all 

 narcissi, but merely for the sake of convenience. They are 

 with us in one form or another for a full half of the year, and we 

 can scarcely picture what our gardens would be like without 

 them. So, too, would it be difficult to know what the flower 

 markets would be like in the winter if they happened not to 

 lend themselves so well to forcing, enabling us to keep up a, 

 continuous supply from November till March under glass. 



