24-2 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
sented at an ill-timed period, we offer the following remarks on 
flower-forcing, not as containing any new doctrine, or as a 
learned disquisition on cause and effect, but that the beginner, 
and those who delight in giving personal attention to their 
favourites, but who are not professionally engaged in the 
pursuit, may have some guide to their operations, and a 
timely knowledge (if only a primary one) of the principles on 
which they are or should be working. 
Perhaps the most correct idea of these principles would be 
gained from a close observance of Nature’s laws, and the posi¬ 
tion of the plant in its original or wild state ; for if possessed 
of a knowledge of the natural habits of his plants, their precocity 
or tardiness to flower, their stations, and an acquaintance with 
the average temperature of their native localities at the period 
of blooming, the culturist would be enabled to estimate, with 
great exactitude, the quantity of stimulative power necessary 
to the production of flowers at a given season, by increasing 
the artificial temperature above the natural one, in a cor¬ 
responding ratio with the required and natural periods of 
blooming. Still all this information is not easily obtainable, 
and if it was, would be rather cumbrous in practice; therefore 
it is that certain rules deduced from the experience of many 
are usually employed without reference to other matters, that 
perhaps from being misplaced, or not rightly understood, would 
lead the tyro to an erroneous conclusion. 
The forcing of flowers, in the correct acceptance of the 
term, is the production of blossoms at a season quite distinct 
from that in which the plants would bring them forth if left to 
natural influences, and in the successful working requires, first, 
a full and decided maturity of all the various organs of the plant: 
this infers a previous developement at least perfectly healthy, 
if not luxuriant; for it will be found that the beauty of the 
forced flowers depends very much on the growth of the fore¬ 
going season, and will be rich or meagre, all other circum¬ 
stances being the same, in an exact proportion to its vigour. 
Secondly, the plants to be operated on should be thoroughly 
established before their introduction to an elevated atmosphere, 
that they may have acquired the means of immediately sup¬ 
plying the necessary aliment to meet the demands of an in¬ 
creased circulation, and accession of new parts; there is a 
great difference, even in the limited number of plants that are 
