CULTIVATION IN THE UNITED STATES. 11 



of scales larger bulbs can be secured in a much shorter time than can 

 be produced by the scale method. If the general crop were raised 

 from seeds there would be a saving- of at least a } r ear in the production 

 of a marketable bulb. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that in 

 this way plants can be grown which are entirely free from disease, and, 

 most important of all, that the seedlings give an opportunity to select 

 better types than exist at the present time. 



RECENT EFFORTS TO CULTIVATE THE EASTER LILY IN THE 



UNITED STATES. 



For some vears efforts have been made to cultivate successfully the 

 Easter lily in the Southeastern States. This work is of considerable 

 value in showing future growers what to avoid, hut it has so far not 

 been demonstrated that the lily, with the methods used, can be grown 

 to compete with the foreign product. Not only are the bulbs late in 

 ripening, but when harvested they seldom show any increase in size 

 over that at the time of planting. The cultivation of the lily in the 

 Southern States has evidently been conducted with a view to produc- 

 ing bulbs which would ripen in July, or early enough to compete with 

 the Bermuda-grown product. This result has not been accomplished, 

 and with a continuance of the same cultural methods it is not likely to 

 be. Furthermore, a practice which has undoubtedly contributed 

 somewhat to this lack of success consists in using the stock as received 

 from the Bermudas and Japan. It is admitted that in the Southeast- 

 ern States the climate is not as favorable for the bulbs as it is in the 

 countries mentioned; therefore, it follows that early planted bulbs 

 starting into growth during the warm days of autumn and weakened 

 by the cold spells of winter will fall an easy prey to the diseases present 

 in the imported bulbs when planted. If success is to be attained in the 

 future in producing bulbs of marketable size, it must be with different 

 methods and along entirely different lines from those followed in the 



past. 



It has been demonstrated by Mr. A. F. Woods, of the Bureau of 

 Plant Industry, that bulbs of the Easter lily can be carried over a sea- 

 son in cold storage. Not only is this operation a success in itself, but 

 it has resulted in showing that the bulbs are benefited very materially 

 by this treatment, as it subjects them to a condition to a certain extent 

 approaching that existing in Japan, the native country of the species, 

 where the bulbs are heavily covered with snow during the resting 

 period. This fact opens up new possibilities in the cultivation of the 

 lily. Heretofore, bulbs have been planted in some parts of the South 

 early in the fall, with the result that they sprouted considerably before 

 cool weather set in. In fact, the growth made at a certain period was 



