483 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER 
[ December 8, 188#. 
glazing, without any of it above the glass. Provided the glass is 
properly bedded in putty, it is taken off level with the upper surface 
of the glass, and the squares are securely nailed in, there is no objec¬ 
tion to be taken to it. There is no leakage if the work is performed 
in a proper manner and the painting duly attended t°. It is simple 
and effective, the glass readily placed in position, and repairs can be 
expeditiously effected by any person of ordinary intelligence. I am 
a staunch believer in laps, jump joints are useless, but the smaller the 
lap the better, and in no case should exceed a quarter of an inch—an 
eighth is still better, yet there must be a perfect lap from one side 
to the other, and not half an inch on one side and barely an eighth or 
none at the other. A large lap means water lodging and much repairs 
to do after the first severe weather, with, in the course of time, a 
strip of opaque matter across every pane corresponding to the width 
of the laps, and extending from neglect in washing over a great por¬ 
tion of the surface. Some people have an idea that wide laps are 
useful for ventilation, which they surely do not believe, or they 
would be more particulur in keeping them free of accumulations of 
dirt. They are useless in that way, and serve no purpose only to 
make a frequent acquaintance with the glazier, to say nothing of 
their obstructing light, which every cultivator needs so much in 
winter. 
There is one other matter in connection with glass in respect of 
the formation of the squares which deserves more than passing com¬ 
ment. When the squares or panes are cut square the water for the 
most part follows the rafter or sash bar, but the lower part of the 
square being convex, the upper part of the square of course being cut 
concave, the water is directed to the centre of the panes and runs 
down the centre of them to the gutter. Water does not lodge in the 
lap, as it drains to the centre, aud passes away without leaving a 
drop, so that the danger of breakage from frost is reduced to a 
minimum, and the water is taken away from the parts most liable to 
decay or the rafters. 
As regards paint it is needless to point to its necessity, but it is no 
use deferring it until the woodwork is in position, for should rain fall 
the pores and the joints will have absorbed all they can, and the 
painting is only so much material and labour wasted. The wood- 
work ought to be painted with at least two coats before fixing, and 
every joint or wherever a joiners’ tool is employed on the woodwork 
in erecting it should be well coated with paint so as to cover it well 
and render the woodwork proof against the absorption of water. 
After fixing it should have two coats more, and due attention be after¬ 
wards given to its renewal, which is the better of a coat every year, 
but certainly should be given every other year, and then two coats. 
Of paints I have a preference for white lead brought to the proper 
consistence with linseed oil, with the needful turpentine for drying, 
hut for wear a light stone colour is certainly preferable, as it does not 
show dirt so soon as white. Whatever the paint it should be the best 
lead and oil colour, and the less of the light substances as brown 
umber, or blue, &e., the better. The ironwork ought also to be 
painted before fixing, and if finished off a light blue the effect, is 
pleasing. Black is too violently contrasting, and is the poorest to 
use imaginable, though very commonly employed. The dull red or 
chocolate now so fashionable is very durable, but unsightly.— 
G. Abbey. 
(To be continued.! 
FORCING LILY OF THE VALLEY. 
The rapidly increasing popularity of these charming flowers is 
fully illustrated by the hundreds of thousands which annually reach 
this country from various Dutch, German, and other growers, the 
demand for clumps being on the decrease, and that for single crowns 
rapidly increasing. This preference for single crowns seems to 
arise from various causes, primarily, perhaps, from the fact that 
they may be obtained much more cheaply, and cost far less for 
carriage. A thousand single crowns, for instance, will go into a 
comparatively small box, the cost for carriage being trifling, while 
the clumps containing the same number of flowering crowns would 
constitute a rather bulky load. Single crowns, again, are more easily 
dealt with than are clumps, and may when being forced be placed 
into a very small space, while clumps must be potted—the smaller 
ones into 48’s and the larger ones in 32’s. 
Having just received my first batch of a thousand crowns in 
boxes, it may be serviceable to some at this season of the year when 
so many are anxious to do them well if I state briefly the mode of 
procedure. This is so very simple that it is within the reach of all 
who possess a stove, and where a uniform bottom heat of from 
75° to 85° is maintained. To be clearly understood in this matter 
I will ask the reader in thought to accompany me back a few weeks 
to the time when these crowns are first received either from the 
Continent direct or from his own seedsman at home. To get them 
early is always an important point. This I urge as important, so 
that the crowns shall not be exposed to the vicissitudes of our ever- 
changing climate any longer than is possible. As soon as received 
they should be laid in the soil in the bundles as received, taking 
care to cover them with at least 4 or 6 inches of soil, and not 
leave the entire crown exposed as is often the case. I find coal 
ashes excellent to bury them in, and being light and open the frost 
does not penetrate deeply, and the crowns may be got at any time. 
I strongly recommend their being thus buried as soon as received, 
for this reason that they force tetter, and are not so liable to rot 
off at the neck of the crown as when left exposed to external in¬ 
fluences. This is more noticeable in the earliest batch, and which 
need hard forcing. When they have been exposed, and are lifted 
and placed in heat at once, I have noticed a blue fungus form 
around the base of the crown, which eats them off in about a 
couple of days. This fungus is a rarity if the crowns are deeply 
covered, and which seems to keep them plump and fresh and ready 
for action ; certainly it is a more natural state for them. 
In some nurseries Lilies of the Valley are forced in great num¬ 
bers, and special accommodation is at hand. In such cases they are 
generally planted out in the houses on a bed with plenty of bottom 
heat. Where smaller quantities are required the following will be 
found to answer well. I obtain some boxes 3 feet long or there¬ 
abouts, and about 22 inches wide and 8 inches deep. Such an one 
will take about four hundred crowns. Previous to untying the 
bundles I shorten the roots to about 4 inches long, after which they 
are placed in rows in the boxes as thickly as possible in cocoa fibre 
refuse, there being about an inch between the rows, and a similar 
distance from crown to crown, when the box is filled with as many 
as can be packed in it. Fill the box level with fibre and press 
rather firm, when they may be removed to a frame or pit slightly 
heated. Having been in this temperature a week or so they may 
be taken to the forcing house and placed on the bottom heat, and 
by covering them with slates a greater amount of heat will be 
retained than otherwise, and which also serves to keep them in 
darkness. 
Given a constant bottom heat as above stated, they may be had 
in flower in about three weeks or a month, so that there is just time 
to get a batch in for Christmas, at which time they will be most 
acceptable. After that time, and especially if they have been 
brought on gradually, they come on much more quickly, and after 
the first early batch, together with giving a greater per-centage of 
flowers, we get foliage too, which is generally minus in the earliest 
batch. To meet this we lift some old patches from the ground and 
place them in strong heat under the stages perhaps, where they get 
sufficient light to give them colour. 
While being forced water should be plentifully supplied, and at 
about the temperature of 75°. In about a fortnight they will be 
pushing through, when the slates must be removed. A hot-water 
circulating tank, having a direct feed from the boiler, constitutes 
my bottom-heat bed, which at the hottest end often exceeds 90°, 
and sometimes reaches 95°. At this point, however, I place the 
boxes on pots, allowing a 3-inch cavity. Here they come on 
admirably, and are all that could be desired, and after all they are 
not so difficult as many imagine, and being inboxes are easily trans¬ 
ferred to a cooler house to harden off.—J. H. E. 
NOTES BY THE WAY. 
Keeping Potatoes. — It may not be generally known that Potatoes 
can be kept sound and well-flavoured until next year’s crop comes in. 
The following is the method (said to be a French one), which I closely 
followed with the best results :—A large baler of water, the water being 
kept up to the boiling point. The Potatoes when well washed (avoid 
breaking the skin if possible) are placed in small baskets or nets, which 
are then rapidly thrust under water and there retained for about four 
seconds. The tubers in each batch on being withdrawn are spread out on 
the flooring to dry ; when dry they are stored away in a dry dark room as 
nearly air-tight as possible. The Potatoes by this process will have lost 
all tendency to germination. 
Calla jethiopica as an Aquatic. —Several large pots of the above 
were sunk in the lake here over two years ago. In winter they are quite 
3 feet below water level; though frozen last winter, yet they did not fail 
to throw up two or three good spathes to each pot in spring. 
Judging Chkysanthemums.— Whi’e willing to acknowledge Mr. 
Murphy’s ability as a scribe, yet I do not think that he has any cause to 
be “ sorry ” that Mr. Pithers wrote so plainly of the Dublin shows. In my 
opinion Mr. Murphy’s glossing over mistakes will be more detrimental to 
the cause he has at heart than Mr. Pithers’ plain speech. “ He that heareth 
reproof getteth understanding.”—C. S. Ritchie. 
TRAINING PEACH TREES. 
With reftrence to my remarks on this subject (page 407), Mr. 
Simpson, Wortley Hall, Sheffield, informs me that he advocates the two- 
limb system with maidens “ for the sake of clearness to beginners,” and 
that personally he is not particular, but “ fills the house with bearing 
