94 THE BOOK OF THE WINTER GARDEN 



latter have been persistently run down for years, even 

 by those who catalogue them. They by no means 

 deserve this — indeed are good, although the flowers are 

 in looser trusses than are the Roman. 



Valley Lilies 



For flowers during December and January procure 

 retarded crowns ; pot 1 8 crowns to a 6-inch pot, working 

 in the soil well with the fingers, and leaving J inch of 

 the crowns above the surface. Place in a heavily-shaded 

 position, say, beneath a greenhouse bench, and in a tem- 

 perature of about 50 degrees. Some inches of growth 

 will be made in a fortnight, when the shading may be 

 gradually reduced, the heat increased to ^^ to 60 degrees, 

 which is high enough, but in no case should sunshine 

 touch the plants, as light foliage is preferred to a darker 

 green. Under this treatment winter lilies will flower 

 in three or four weeks after leaving the refrigerator, so 

 that the proper potting time may be nicely calculated. 

 Plants for Christmas week should be started on November 

 20th, as they last some time expanded. 



For late February and March use, the Dutch clumps, 

 single crowns, or even home garden grown lilies will 

 give excellent results. As, however, the foliage is 

 behind, the pots, after the flowers are cut, should not 

 be thrown away, but should be shaded to develop 

 leaves, which may be cut to embellish the next batch of 

 flowers. When lifting lily crowns from the garden for 

 forcing, only the flowering buds — easily distinguished 

 by their plumpness — should be chosen. Cover the 

 potted plants with a couple of inches of leaf soil, fibre 

 or moss, and place in a warm moist house or case with 

 a bottom heat of 80 to 85 degrees or so, and a top heat of 

 75 degrees, where they will flower in four or five weeks. 

 The flowers must be drawn up a bit by shade and moisture; 



