600 



FORCING 



ally oliere<l for sale. For phuitiii? in the border, 

 choose fan-trained trees, 2 or H years old, providing 

 they have been properly transphuited. [See Prunhig.) 



849. Azalea, received from Europe, 

 now pruned for forcing. 



Indoor peaches and nectarines, ^vith proper care, are 

 profitable for 10 years after plantinj?. The following 

 temperatures for the peach house are suitable for early 

 Forcing : for the first two weeks, 40° by night and ;)0° 

 by day ; then a rise to 45° by night and 5o°or 60° by day, 

 with the sun, which should carry tliem until their bloom- 

 ing period ; then r>0° by night and 60° to 70° by day, 

 with sun heat ; after the fruit is set, a rise of 5° or 10° 

 on mild nights would be all right, with the day tempera- 

 ture correspondingl}' increased. Peaches delight in 

 fresh air; therefore air should be given at every oppor- 

 tunity. Syringe the trees twice a day in bright weather; 

 hold off while the trees are In blossom ; after the fruit 

 is set, syringe again twice every bright day, and once a 

 week with whale-oi! soap, using enough soap to just color 



850, Khododendron. received from Europe, 

 ready for forcing;. 



the water. This is a good remedy for greenfly, spider, 

 etc., and produces a fine, glossy foliage. It is better to 

 disbud by degrees rather than to remove a large quan- 

 tity of foliage at once, whirdi would naturally cause a 

 check to the tree. Disbudding requires good judgment. 



KOKCINO 



The shoot, if not needed, should be pinched, leaving 

 three or four leaves to develop the fruit. Trees that are 

 properly cared for during tlie summer mouths need 

 little pruning in the winter. Prol>al»ly the hardest task 

 of all to the grower is thinning the fruit, but this must 

 be done. There cannot be any set number for a tree tt 

 carry. Judgment must be used in that respect. Necta- 

 rines can be cropped more heavily than peaches. Aftei 

 the crop is gathered, all the useless wood should be cut 

 away to allow plenty of light and sunshine around the 

 wood that is intended for the following season. When 

 the wood is thoroughly ripened it is in condition tc 

 stand zero weather. The temperature of peach house:^ 

 can go down below zero without a bud being killed. In 

 fact, it is not necessary to use any artificial heat until 

 starling tliehowse. Close thehouse down frosty nights; 

 open up in the morning before the temperature riset 

 much, and avoid exciting the buds. Sometimes one has 

 warm days during the winter months. On such days ii 

 is well to keep doors as well as ventilators open. 



All the peaches and nectarines recommended for the 

 peach house are admirably adapted for pot work. 



Other fruits may be added to these, as apples, pears, 

 plums, cherries, figs, apri- 

 cots, etc. (see articles un- 

 der these headings). The 

 following are some of the 

 best varieties the writer 

 has grown: Ph/ms — Gol- 

 den Esperin, Jefferson, 

 Denniston SuperV), Green 

 Gage, Grand Duke, The 

 Czar, Early Transparent ; 

 Pt^ar.s — Magnet, Princess, 

 Souv. du Congres, Louise 

 Bonne de Jersey, Pitmas- 

 ton Duchess, Beurre Diel; 

 ^/);?/t^.s' —Williams Favor- 

 ite, Benoni, King of the 

 Pippins, Washington, King 

 of Tompkins County, Belle 

 de Pontoise, Bisni; 

 Peasgood Nonesuch, 

 Lady Henniker, Thomas 

 Rivers, Alexander, Cox 

 Pomona. Wm. Turner. 



Forcing Hardy Plants. 

 — An economical method 

 of obtaining large quanti- 

 ties of flowers in win- 

 ter : extensively used 

 by commercial florists 

 fur cut - flowers and 

 flowering plants. 

 Plants usually forced 

 are hyacinths, tulips, 

 n arci s s vi s an d other 

 Dutch bulbs, lily-of-the-valley, astilbe, dicentra, hybrit 

 perpetual roses, Deutzia gracilis, hybrid rhododen 

 drons {R. Sinensis, i.e.. Azalea molt is), and Ghent a za 

 leas, and lilacs. For other plants, see A.G. 14:402 (1893) 



This mode of procuring flowers at small cost ha; 

 always been more or less in vogue among plantsmen 

 and of late years lias received fi*esh impetus, owing t' 

 the heavy deiuands for decorative plants at Easter. I 

 is not only an inexpensive method of getting flowers 

 but with most plants, after a little experience, the limi 

 of blooming can be easily calculated. The process ha 

 limitations, at any rate with our present knowledge o 

 the matter, inasmuch as, with the exception of "retardei 

 plants "and a few l)ulbs, it is not practicalde in hit 

 autumn and early winter. It is jiossililo. however, tha 

 by using "retarded plants," i.e., jilants held over thei 

 natural time of flowering by keeping them in coh 

 storage at a temperature sufiicii-'ntly low to preven 

 growth, this diflicnity may eventually be overcome. Es 

 cept, luiwever, with lily-of-thp-valley, which is admii 

 ably adapted to this practice, we know little of the pos 

 sibilitifs of this form of Forcing: it is hoped that othe 

 plants, equally useful, may be fronted in this way. 1 

 is evident that, on account of the cost of storage, bulk 

 plants could not be handled. 



The requirements for successful Forcing are: (1) 



Lilac pruned for forcing. 



