LILY OF THE VALLEY FORCING. 255 



A thyriumfilix fc&minaplumosum superbitm and A.f.f.pl. Drueryii 

 representing the two finest forms from a batch of plants raised 

 by myself. The pedigree of A. f. f. plumosum Drueryii, incom- 

 parably the most beautiful lady fern ever seen, is shown on the 

 screen as five generations from the normal, the wonderful break 

 in the fourth generation being probably unparalleled, at any rate 

 in its subsequent results. Finally, as a plea for the more 

 extended culture of our beautiful varietal British ferns I show 

 you on the screen the presentment of my own fernery, which, 

 as it constitutes the most eloquent finale I can imagine to my 

 lecture, I will allow to speak for itself. 



LILY OF THE VALLEY FOKCING. 



By Mr. T. Jannoch, F.R.H.S. 



[Bead August 25, 1896.] 



Of the thousand and one plants which readily submit to be 

 forced into flower out of their ordinary season it may fairly be 

 doubted if there is one of anything like the universal popularity 

 which the Lily of the Valley enjoys. Its history as a " forcer" 

 goes back to half a century ago, when clumps of lilies were 

 grown in Berlin and Hamburg in a small way to get a few 

 blooms for Christmas and New Year. By 1856 between twenty 

 and thirty nurserymen in and around Berlin had taken up the 

 cultivation, but in all cases only on a small scale. In 1859-60 

 the largest quantity of flowering crowns that any one nursery- 

 man produced annually was 60,000 ; but this gradually increased 

 until in 1870 seventy- two acres were under cultivation in lilies 

 outside the city of Berlin. At the present moment there are on 

 the Continent and in England many thousands of acres devoted 

 solely to the production of lily of the valley crowns. 



In order to be successful in forcing lilies of the valley the 

 culture of the crowns demands the first consideration. I have 

 seen lilies grow in almost every kind of soil and situation, doing 

 better in some than in others ; but experience has taught me 

 that the best soil for growing crowns for forcing purposes is a 

 light sandy loam, with a damp subsoil ; and the best situation 



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