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  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  December, 
  1907 
  

  

  Gathering 
  the 
  Forced 
  Lilac 
  in 
  the 
  Hothouse 
  

  

  most 
  beautiful 
  sprays 
  of 
  white 
  lilac 
  are 
  grown. 
  This 
  part 
  

   of 
  the 
  Seine 
  Valley, 
  by 
  the 
  way, 
  is 
  singularly 
  little 
  known 
  to 
  

   Paris 
  visitors. 
  Artists 
  know 
  and 
  love 
  it 
  though, 
  for 
  in 
  its 
  

   heart 
  is 
  the 
  quaint 
  resort 
  known 
  as 
  "Robinson," 
  where 
  there 
  

   is 
  an 
  entire 
  village 
  of 
  restaurants 
  and 
  aerial 
  bowers 
  perched 
  

   high 
  among 
  the 
  giant 
  limbs 
  of 
  vast 
  elms 
  and 
  chestnuts. 
  

  

  Visitors 
  to 
  Vitry 
  will 
  notice 
  that 
  a 
  huge 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  Seine 
  

   Valley 
  hereabouts 
  is 
  given 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  open-air 
  cultivation 
  of 
  

   lilac. 
  Not 
  many 
  people 
  are 
  aware, 
  by 
  the 
  way, 
  that 
  this 
  

   beautiful 
  shrub 
  was 
  originally 
  brought 
  to 
  us 
  from 
  Persia, 
  a 
  

   land 
  famous 
  for 
  its 
  flowers 
  for 
  many 
  ages. 
  The 
  lilac 
  has 
  

   become 
  quite 
  acclimatized 
  both 
  in 
  America 
  and 
  in 
  Europe; 
  

   but 
  it 
  will 
  surprise 
  many 
  to 
  learn 
  that 
  the 
  white 
  winter 
  

   variety 
  is 
  not 
  grown 
  out 
  of 
  doors 
  at 
  all, 
  but 
  that 
  the 
  lovely 
  

   fragile 
  blossoms 
  are 
  produced 
  in 
  winter 
  by 
  forcing 
  meth- 
  

   ods, 
  and 
  that 
  from 
  a 
  lilac 
  whose 
  natural 
  hue 
  is 
  mauve 
  and 
  

   purple. 
  The 
  blossom 
  becomes 
  white 
  by 
  reason 
  of 
  the 
  

   treatment 
  the 
  plant 
  receives. 
  

  

  All 
  through 
  the 
  hot 
  summer 
  months 
  the 
  gardeners 
  at 
  

   Vitry, 
  Fontenay-les-Roses 
  and 
  round 
  about 
  Sceaux 
  are 
  

   busy 
  examining 
  the 
  lilac 
  trees 
  and 
  pulling 
  up 
  from 
  the 
  

   family 
  group 
  such 
  rods 
  as 
  have 
  attained 
  an 
  age 
  of 
  from 
  

   five 
  to 
  nine 
  years, 
  and 
  are 
  therefore 
  considered 
  the 
  most 
  

   promising 
  for 
  forcing. 
  And 
  on 
  one 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  vast 
  lilac 
  

   groves 
  are 
  big 
  sheds 
  which 
  soon 
  come 
  to 
  be 
  packed 
  from 
  

   floor 
  to 
  ceiling 
  with 
  what 
  look 
  like 
  bundles 
  of 
  dried 
  twigs, 
  

   only 
  fit 
  for 
  the 
  furnace. 
  

  

  But 
  close 
  investigation 
  will 
  show 
  that 
  the 
  root 
  of 
  each 
  

   little 
  rod 
  is 
  deftly 
  wrapped 
  in 
  a 
  scrap 
  of 
  Mother 
  Earth's 
  

   brown 
  apron, 
  and 
  so 
  the 
  insignificant 
  sticks 
  are 
  put 
  to 
  

   sleep 
  until 
  the 
  winter 
  follows 
  the 
  gusty 
  autumn. 
  Then 
  

   the 
  magical 
  touch 
  wakens 
  them 
  into 
  a 
  miracle 
  of 
  life. 
  

  

  The 
  long 
  slender 
  rods 
  are 
  now 
  carried 
  into 
  the 
  forcing 
  

   houses, 
  where 
  the 
  wonder 
  is 
  to 
  take 
  place. 
  Far-stretching 
  

   vistas 
  of 
  glass 
  are 
  these, 
  divided 
  on 
  each 
  side 
  into 
  twenty 
  

   or 
  thirty 
  cubicles. 
  Here 
  the 
  dry 
  sticks 
  are 
  planted 
  close 
  

   together 
  in 
  rows 
  in 
  rich 
  soil 
  not 
  more 
  than 
  eighteen 
  inches 
  

   deep. 
  Is 
  it 
  possible, 
  one 
  asks, 
  that 
  within 
  three 
  weeks 
  the 
  

   "miracle 
  of 
  Aaron's 
  rod" 
  will 
  have 
  been 
  wrought 
  on 
  

   these 
  barren 
  twigs? 
  Doors 
  and 
  windows 
  are 
  forthwith 
  

  

  hermetically 
  closed 
  and 
  the 
  heating 
  process 
  then 
  begins. 
  

   Each 
  cubicle 
  is 
  maintained 
  at 
  an 
  even 
  temperature 
  of 
  

   ninety-five 
  degrees 
  Fahrenheit; 
  and 
  so 
  persuasive 
  is 
  this 
  

   treatment, 
  in 
  addition 
  to 
  constant 
  and 
  most 
  careful 
  water- 
  

   ing, 
  that 
  in 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  the 
  smooth 
  rod 
  is 
  literally 
  

   bursting 
  into 
  bud. 
  Extreme 
  precociousness 
  is 
  not 
  encour- 
  

   aged, 
  however, 
  and 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  privileged 
  buds 
  at 
  the 
  

   ends 
  of 
  the 
  twigs 
  are 
  allowed 
  to 
  complete 
  their 
  destiny. 
  

  

  All 
  the 
  hopes 
  and 
  dreams 
  of 
  the 
  luxuriant 
  shrub, 
  which 
  

   during 
  its 
  six 
  or 
  seven 
  years 
  of 
  life 
  have 
  been 
  so 
  often 
  set 
  

   high 
  on 
  the 
  happy 
  moment 
  of 
  flowering, 
  are 
  now 
  wrapped 
  

   up 
  in 
  these 
  few 
  buds, 
  which 
  the 
  inexorable 
  gardeners 
  de- 
  

   cide 
  to 
  spare. 
  And 
  as 
  though 
  fearful 
  of 
  another 
  check, 
  

   another 
  cruel 
  failure, 
  the 
  sapling 
  sends 
  its 
  nutriment 
  up- 
  

   ward 
  with 
  such 
  force 
  in 
  the 
  supreme 
  effort 
  at 
  flowering 
  

   that 
  one 
  can 
  almost 
  see 
  the 
  rod 
  breaking 
  into 
  leaf 
  and 
  

   blossom 
  before 
  one's 
  very 
  eyes. 
  

  

  Surely 
  here 
  is 
  a 
  bud 
  like 
  a 
  tiny 
  bead, 
  where 
  but 
  a 
  mo- 
  

   ment 
  ago 
  was 
  nothing 
  but 
  the 
  bark 
  of 
  the 
  dried 
  twig 
  ! 
  

   And 
  there 
  is 
  a 
  tiny 
  leaflet 
  peeping 
  forth 
  as 
  though 
  by 
  

   magic! 
  Almost 
  as 
  we 
  watch 
  these 
  evidences 
  of 
  life 
  un- 
  

   fold, 
  and 
  each 
  snowflake 
  calls 
  upon 
  her 
  sisters 
  until 
  a 
  

   tall 
  and 
  showy 
  pyramid 
  of 
  fragrant 
  blossom 
  stands 
  proudly 
  

   erect 
  before 
  us. 
  

  

  Perhaps 
  now, 
  in 
  the 
  joy 
  of 
  her 
  perfection, 
  the 
  lilac 
  will 
  

   forgive 
  the 
  stern 
  repression 
  of 
  her 
  tender 
  buds. 
  That 
  

   she 
  will 
  forget, 
  too, 
  how 
  she 
  was 
  condemned 
  to 
  grow 
  in 
  

   total 
  darkness 
  until 
  the 
  first 
  appearance 
  of 
  her 
  flower 
  

   petals, 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  ensure 
  an 
  exquisite 
  snowy 
  blossom. 
  Light 
  

   is 
  given 
  at 
  length 
  only 
  to 
  prevent 
  the 
  flowers 
  from 
  taking 
  

   on 
  a 
  yellowish 
  waxen 
  tinge, 
  and 
  also 
  that 
  they 
  may 
  gather 
  

   health 
  and 
  strength. 
  

  

  Surely, 
  you 
  will 
  say, 
  these 
  marvelous 
  rods 
  have 
  wrought 
  

   a 
  miracle, 
  and 
  done 
  well 
  for 
  their 
  masters 
  ! 
  Alas, 
  they 
  get 
  

   little 
  gratitude 
  in 
  return. 
  These 
  lilac 
  plants 
  are 
  doomed 
  to 
  

   the 
  shortest 
  of 
  careers. 
  No 
  sooner 
  have 
  the 
  lovely 
  and 
  deli- 
  

   cate 
  sprays 
  been 
  gathered 
  than 
  the 
  hundreds 
  of 
  rods 
  that 
  

   have 
  grown 
  so 
  vigorously 
  in 
  each 
  cubicle 
  are 
  ruthlessly 
  

   dragged 
  up, 
  and 
  their 
  brief 
  season 
  of 
  usefulness 
  over, 
  they 
  

   are 
  cast 
  into 
  the 
  furnace 
  to 
  supply 
  heat 
  for 
  their 
  successors. 
  

  

  Trimming 
  and 
  Cutting 
  off 
  Useless 
  Buds 
  

  

  