GROWING LILIES FOR EASTER 85 



cause of getting small flowers. There is no danger after the buds begin 

 to turn for then is the best time to hold them back. 



A good cellar is the best place to hold them back, where it is dark. 

 I have kept them in such a place for a period of two weeks, bringing them 

 up a few days before Easter, so as to harden them up before sending them 

 out. In handling lilies, care should be taken so as not to shake them 

 around too much, especially those that are not staked, as the stem is 

 very weak, at the base of the plant. This method of growing does away 

 with that to a certain extent, for in repotting, you can set your plants 

 down in the pot. 



As to varieties, there are many. I think that when placing your order 

 for bulbs, in the fall, a thought should be given as to the date Easter falls 

 on, the following year, as some lilies force easier than others. The 

 Harrisii is the easiest one to get in early. I am growing them as my 

 main crop this year. And they are uniform in size and height, hardly 

 any diseased ones, and they are about to show bud now, which with 

 ordinary heat will be just right for Easter. I am also growing the 

 Formosum and Giganteum. The Giganteum is a prettier lilly than the 

 Harrisii; the flowers stand up nicer, but they require more heat. The 

 Formosum is a good one to grow, as a batch of them will give you 

 flowers through the winter months, but is not a lily to depend on for 

 Easter. 



I will conclude by saying that getting lilies in for Easter has put more 

 gray hairs in the florist's head than any other plant he grows, for failure 

 to get them in on time means a big loss in time, space and money. Some 

 florists have to resort to giving the plants a watering of warm water 

 twice a day. More or less of the remaining dip their heads in warm water. 

 I have gotten up, twice a night for several nights, prior to Easter, when 

 I had to resort to hard forcing, where we grew several thousand plants, 

 and with the aid of the fireman's lantern, syringe the house so as to get 

 the moisture. And some of them, looked as if they had gone through a 

 siege of smallpox when I got through with them. But lilies for Easter 

 was the slogan, and lilies we will have at any cost. So when the clergy- 

 man comes with a poor mouth, don't be too hard on him, and count the 

 buds too close. 



The Chairman: Is there any one who has any question they would 

 like to ask Mr. Williams. 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. Green: Just one question or suggestion I would like to make, 

 and that is in regard to the Formosum lily. The average small florist 

 does not grow enough of them. We grow them in the fall, and begin to 

 grow them and cut them steadily up along to Decoration day. They all 

 had the same treatment exactly, but some of them were eighteen inches 

 high, and some of them were seven or eight feet high. Another thing 

 about us small fellows; I am a small grower comparatively, in a small 



