22 
SPECULATIVE IDEAS ON FORCING. 
m 
the decaying bark of trees, and over rocks partly covered with soil, and root along the intemodes. When it 
grows erect, it seldom exceeds a foot in height. It always grows about the base of dwarf stunted wood, similar 
to coppice. The flowers come near the extremity of the branches, and are produced in September; they are 
campanulate, rose-coloured, often as large as a tulip, with remarkably firm petals. 
SPECULATIVE IDEAS OK WHAT IS TEEMED FORCING. 
T HIS, the general term employed to express the means used to accelerate garden products, does 
not so aptly describe the practice of the present day as of that in bygone years. Then, it was in 
many cases indeed forcing; now, perhaps, it ought to be called persuading. Good gardeners have 
taken a more rational basis for their proceedings. 
In former days, the root action, as a concomitant of the procedure, was scarcely taken into account. 
Vines, &c., were “ set to work,” as it was practically termed, in November, with an outside root, and 
probably in a six-feet deep damp border, without hesitation. To be sure, they were pruned after some 
favourite recipe, and the houses made very smart; and the production of one crop of tolerable fruit 
was deemed conclusive of the triumph of branch over root—of fire heat over solar heat; or, at least, 
of the independent position the branch could assume when man chose. But, oh! in those times, what 
tales of Strawberries going “ blind j” Peach blossoms “ dying unmarriedVine branches furnishing a 
study for the curious by turning, in sudden metamorphosis, into tendrils, to amuse the puzzled phyto- 
logists of those days. Such things as these, although they might be pushed aside by practical men as 
things that would happen in the very best conducted establishments, have in their turn been the subject 
of keen investigation; and it is now considered that a tree is endued with keen susceptibilities, and 
wondrous self-restoring powers. 
My purpose in thus instituting a comparison between ancient and modern gardening is to draw 
attention to what is ordinarily termed “bottom heat” in forcing affairs. As for the Vine border 
outside the house, the Vines of which are to be forced tolerably early, there is not one practitioner in a 
score in these days who will leave his border unprotected ; whilst the majority employ heating material 
to create an artificial warmth. The question of bottom-heat does not, however, concern Vine-borders 
merely; it is a principle of very wide application. In the fruit-forcing department, an important class 
equally demands an application of the same principles, in order that the root may be in a position to 
reciprocate with and meet the demands of the excited branches. I may name Peaches, Figs, Straw¬ 
berries, Baspberries, Cherries, &c. &c., whether in pots, tubs, or the open soil. And as for flower¬ 
forcing and retarding, the subjects are too numerous to be particularized. 
Now, if the root-care exercised over the Vine border be right, these things are, and have been, 
sadly neglected or misunderstood. 
Owing to the great vicissitudes in our clime, the accumulating ground warmth is liable to many 
controverting tendencies ; and, if our climate be really deficient in anything, as regards the vegetation 
on the earth’s surface, it is probably in the ratio the ground heat bears to that of the atmosphere. It 
is not too much to suppose that our spring blossoms suffer very much from this cause alone —a fitfully 
excited branch, without any reciprocation of the root. It appears, then, to me, that a department in 
every garden of pretensions should be devoted to tender fruits and flowers ; and this should be termed, 
“ The Ground Heat Department.” Such should be not far from the forcing processes; and as nothing 
peculiarly interesting to the general observer would appear on the face of it, the whole might be 
enclosed, and form a very interesting little episode to those who wished to study principles. A few 
poles of ground would suffice for most establishments, and this might be readily heated by piping at a 
very moderate expense. One boiler might be well employed occasionally in working two five feet beds; 
being placed so that a couple of pipes—flow and return—could traverse each plunging-bed at about a 
yard apart, parallel, and running longitudinally. What I suggest is, an autumn bottom-heat of an arti¬ 
ficial character, with but the ordinary atmospheric temperature of September, October, and, it may be, 
a portion of November; or, in other words, a guaranteed ground or root warmth of some half dozen 
