492 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
June 6, 18 6. 
IndividHal cases of successful cultivation by these means prove 
only that it is possible so to grow the plants. Whether they can 
be as well grown without them is the point, and I maintain that 
they can, other conditions being right. With regard to the best 
fertilisers for the other class of Orchids referred to, I have had 
good results by using well-diluted Peruvian guano. Icthemic 
guano and various other fish manures have received strong testi¬ 
mony from many growers, but as I have used them only to a very 
limited extent I could not say whether they are in any way 
superior. A good change from the foregoing will be found in 
steeped cow-manure diluted until the water is hardly stained, and 
clarified soot water in equal proportions. 
Liquid manure made from horse droppings, according to my 
experience, is the reverse of beneficial applied to the roots, though 
as an agent for supplying ammonia to the atmosphere it is first- 
class. Another point where I can hardly agree with “ B. W.” is in 
regard to watering immediately after repotting. He advises a 
thorough watering to settle the soil about the roots. As far as I 
have seen, the compost for Orchids generally, D. nobile included, 
settles itself only too quickly, the chief difficulty being found in 
keeping it in an open and aerated condition.—H. R. R, 
HOME-GROWN LILY OF THE VALLEY. 
Early forcing is an important phase of a gardener’s duty, and 
by superior art applied in growing plants for this purpose, flowers 
of numerous kinds are produced in profusion quite out of their 
natural season. Many that a few years ago were thought to be 
proof against the forcer’s powers have been found to adapt them¬ 
selves admirably to these conditions. Their name is legion, and 
amongst all the flowers which swell the number none is more 
popular than the Lily of the Valley. It is perhaps no exaggeration 
to say that in the growing and forcing of these the florist’s art is 
displayed to a greater extent than in any other. 
Perhaps the great public demand for Lilies is in a measure 
responsible for this, as whenever there is a clamour in the markets 
for any particular flower means are surely found to supply it. 
Such is the case with the one under notice, and to supply the 
English market with crowns assorted and suitable for forcing, Lily 
of the Valley growing in some parts of the Continent is quite an 
industry. The forcer’s power is then brought to bear, with the 
result that by careful arrangement fine blooms are abundantly 
produced, and placed in the markets from some weeks before 
Christmas until they flower naturally out of doors. In almost 
every establishment in the country, large or small, Lilies are forced 
in some cases by the hundred, and in others by the thousand ; and 
so general has this mode of cultivation become that any notes on it 
would almost appear superfluous. 
It is, therefore, to the growing of the Lily of the Valley under 
its natural conditions that I will confine these remarks. Strange as 
it seems, it is nevertheless true, that in many instances the interest 
in this charming flower appears to cease at the close of the forcing 
season. Perhaps it may have never occurred to some readers in how 
few establishments outdoor Lilies are really grown. True, they 
may often be seen eking out a miserable existence in some out of 
the way corner of the kitchen garden, or perhaps making faint 
endeavours to bloom under some dense shrubbery ; but as for 
being cultivated, that is a thing upthought of. Many are planted 
in such positions as above referred to, and left year after year 
without a thought of giving the attention due to them, until after 
abstracting all the supporting properties from the soil they either 
produce weak, dwindling spikes, wfiichare hardly worth the trouble 
of gathering, or else they become so matted together that flowering 
becomes a thing impossible. 
That outdoor Lilies pay well for the small amount of attention 
and labour that it is necessary to bestow on them is amply proved 
in the large numbers of magnificent flowers that are produced in 
establishments where they are considered worthy of this little 
extra care. By the systematic splitting of crowns and replanting 
it is also surprising the rapidity with which they will multiply, and 
for the benefit of anyone who may be desirous of effecting this the 
following notes may prove useful. In no aspect are they out of 
place, but for supplying early flowers a position near a south wall 
is undoubtedly the best. A bed with a north-easterly situation is 
suitable if it is desirable to keep them in bloom a considerable 
time ; and last, but not least, a little shelter is necessary, such as 
would be afforded if planted in the shade of bush or pyramid 
fruit trees serving the purpose admirably. 
If the space is at disposal it is a good plan to plant a few here 
and there as accommodation will permit. In commencement beds 
of rich soil should be prepared in which has been incorporated some 
good manure. In the autumn, as soon as the foliage dies off 
naturally, the clumps should be divided into small tufts, with, say. 
two or three crowns to each, shorten the long roots with a knife, 
and plant them about 9 inches apart, in rows in the prepared beds 
and the same distance between the rows, taking care that the 
crowns are left just exposed above the ground. It is extremely 
necessary that the soil be made firm by trampling round each one, 
and it is a good plan to make each bed about 4 feet wide, leaving a 
path of about 15 inches between. 
In the following and subsequent autumns after planting they 
will require top-dressing with well decayed manure, and the sooner 
this operation is performed after the foliage is off the better. 
Provided all conditions are favourable, in three years after plant¬ 
ing, the beds, whether large or small, will be thickly covered 
with crowns, when some of them then may be taken up and 
replanted, following out the same process as before, but if placed 
again in the same position the ground should be well manured 
previously. As in the case of all other plants, however, change 
of ground is in every way desirable. 
Though home-grown Lilies subject to the above treatment are 
not equal to Berlin crowns for forcing, still they are very satis¬ 
factory, and if clumps are cut out with a spade and placed on a 
gentle hotbed to come in flower in March or April, they produce 
fine blooms, together with abundance of bright green foliage, which 
is very acceptable. It is also an advantage to let some of the 
crowns grow quite thickly together, as in a hot, dry season, the 
foliage forms a means of protection to the flowers, but, on the 
other hand, should the weather be wet, the blooms often decay 
from the same cause. 
By paying attention to the points recorded above, it is surprising 
what a large number of fine, substantial flowers may be obtained 
from a small space of ground, by which it may be seen how they 
repay for a little care and attention in cultivation.—G. H. H. 
[We have recently received a box of Lilies grown as described, 
which gave ample evidence of good culture, many of the spikes, 
clothed with large bells, being 7 inches in length.] 
ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE. 
Parched ground, drying winds, and a dry hot atmosphere— 
conditions which at the time of writing prevail throughout the 
greater part of our country—seem to indicate that the heading of 
this note is a delusion. Indeed it is, so far as the bulk of vegeta¬ 
tion in the open air is concerned, but if the stamp of high culture 
is to be apparent among plants and crops grown under glass, it 
is absolutely necessary during the prevalence of tropical weather 
that special attention be given to the maintenance of a certain 
amount of atmospheric moisture. Experience teaches practical 
cultivators that unless these matters are attended to satisfactory 
results cannot be obtained. Why this is so is a matter which has 
led to much discussion, and a certain school of theorists have 
maintained, with all the energy and emphasis they could command, 
that the leaves of plants are capable of absorbing moisture from 
the atmosphere, while on the other hand the majority of plant 
physiologists deny that this is possible. Be that as it may, we 
know we are on safe gr^^und in assuming that if leaves do not 
absorb moisture from the atmosphere they are very much benefited 
by being surrounded with atmospheric moisture, because it prevents 
the too rapid escape of moisture through the pores of the leaves. 
Here, then, we have a safe basis to start on, and the next point 
to be considered is best practical methods of maintaining the 
requisite degree of atmospheric moisture. The syringe is, in many 
instances, the most useful of all appliances for this purpose. In 
very hot weather it is, however, necessary to use water in greater 
quantities than could be conveniently done with a syringe ; here 
the watering can, with a coarse rose attached, may with advantage 
be brought into use for damping the floors and walks of plant or 
forcing houses, vineries or pits. 
In addition to this damping of walks, stages, and other available 
spaces several times daily, we have to consider the matter of 
damping the foliage of various kinds of vegetation, and in this 
direction a good deal of discretion is necessary, because many 
plants which delight in a moderately moist atmosphere (providing 
it is accompanied by strong light or sunshine) are more satisfactory 
when syringing is not regularly practised. Pelargoniums of various 
sections bear out this statement, at least those that are grown for 
the beauty of their flowers rather than for the varied markings of 
their leaves. 
Experience, and that alone, will teach the cultivator exactly 
which plants may with advantage be copiously syringed, and which 
produce the most satisfactory results when damping between 
them only is practised. A good rule to follow in the matter, under 
the guidance of common sense and observation, is to syringe freely 
all plants that are grown especially for the beauty of their foliage 
