INDIANA irORTICUI/rURAL SOCIETY. 427 



of food fortlu* n.itivos. Avhile in cpiitinl Indiana the same plant is not 

 reliably hardy. The reason is that in Siberia the snow falls before the 

 ground freezes, and the l)nll)S are kept warm and snuj? all winter, while 

 here the gronnd freezes hard; and the liulbs are liable to perish. 



Of the hardy, robnst growing lilies that, once planted, are always on 

 hand when the blooming season conies aronnd, the list, in my experience, 

 is too short to be satisfactory. First to bloom is the white, or madonna 

 lily. This species is older than history, as the tirst notice made of plants 

 speaks of it as well known. It is a native of the countries bordering on 

 the Mediterranean, but cultivated in Kuglisli and American gardens for 

 more than two hundred years, and still is considered one of the best. It 

 lias one peculiarity not foinid to such an extent in any other — its one 

 period of alisolute rest is in July and August, when the bulbs are 

 perfectly dormant, and tliis is tlie only time in the year when they should 

 be disturbed or transplanted. If this is done at any other season of the 

 year, great injury to the bulbs occurs, they requiring years to recover. 



The white lily is one of the most l)eautiful. clear white, fragrant 

 flowers, attaining a height of three or tour feet, and blooming in the 

 latter part of .Tune. Another favorite of mine is the lily E'legans, of the 

 Umbellatum family, a very free growing and free blooming plant, attain- 

 ing a height of two or three and one-lialf feet, witli clusters of brilliant 

 orange-red flowers. One l)ulb will, in a few years, form quite a chimp, 

 and give a tine effect on the lawn. 



The single tiger lily is well kiU)Wn as an every-dny, always-on-hand 

 flower, beautiful, if it was not so common. 



Lily auratum. the gold-banded lily of .Japan is well known. It is due 

 to the variety to say that for llie open border they are the grandest of 

 all lilies. In tiie garden it stands long without fading, and its fragrance 

 can be distinguished a long distance away. With proper soil, rich bur 

 free from standing water, with a mulch of coarse manure or other protec- 

 tion in winter, this lily attains magnificent proportions. Lily lancifolium. 

 red and white, are beautiful .Japanese varieties that flourish greatly under 

 proper conditions. 



If we come to bulbs for summer planting, the most important, and 

 proltably the most important of any season, are the Gladiolus (Litth? 

 Hword), whicli derives its namV' from the sword-like leaves. It is an 

 ficknowledgcd fact among all growers of summer flowering plants and 

 bulbs that there is no flower grown which retpiires so little attention and 

 care and so little limited capital commensurate with results, as the 

 Gladiolus. Although it is a flower that is especially adapted to window 

 blooming. afl(>r the buds are well developed in the garden, still a mag- 

 nilicent disi)lay can be secured by planting in massive beds, or as a back- 

 ground foi- Cicc llowering dw.-irf anniials. I'.y successive planting every 

 two or three we(>ks from .\pril until late in .Inly, a succession of bloom 

 may be had from early in the season until November, 



