112 MISCELLANEOUS EXHIBITION PLANTS. 



LILY OF THE VALLEY. 



This chaste flower is a general favourite on account of its 

 modest beauty and sweet perfume. To obtain strong crowns 

 for forcing, as near as possible equal to those grown in Ger- 

 many, the plants should be cultivated on rich firm ground, in a 

 sheltered position not too much exposed, planting the crowns 

 singly two inches apart and in rows one foot asunder. It is 

 of the greatest importance that the leaves have plenty of room 

 to develop and the crowns to get well ripened. In selecting the 

 crowns for an exhibition specimen, the rows should be loosened 

 with a fork, and the strongest drawn out with roots attached. 

 They should then be thickly set in a shallow pan 14 inches 

 wide, using a compost of rich loam, leaf-mould, and sharp 

 sand. They should be watered and placed in a close frame 

 for two or three weeks previous to forcing. They like a strong 

 moist heat, and plenty of light to develop the leaves along 

 with the flowers. The points of merit are : (1.) Size and 

 health of the specimen ; (2.) number and length of the flower- 

 spikes ; and (3.) size, purity, and freshness of the flowers. 



MIGNONETTE. 



This plant is grown chiefly for the fragrance of its flowers, 

 and is esteemed by many as of more value than a gorgeous 

 display of brilliant inflorescence. To obtain large exhibition 

 specimens, seed from a vigorous and choice strain should be 

 sown about the beginning of March in three-inch pots, among 

 sandy soil and leaf-mould, and placed in a gentle heat. When 

 the seedlings are an inch high, all but one should be pulled out, 

 leaving the best, which should be staked and shifted into 

 a larger pot as it increases in size, using as compost three 

 parts sandy loam and one part rotted manure, with a dash of 

 lime and soot, which sweetens the soil and improves the 

 colour of the leaves. The plants may be trained as pyramids 

 by pinching and staking, or in the umbrella form, which is the 

 most artistic, and is performed as follows : — The plants should 

 be placed in the greenhouse and grown with a single stem to 

 the height of two feet, preserving the leaves, but removing 



