THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. H 



OX THE CULTIVATION OF LILIES. 



ET ilESSRS. TEUTSCHEL AND CO., COLCnESTEE. 



|E beg to be allowed to make a few remarks supplementary 

 to the paper on this subject in the October number. 

 The remarks you have made on the difficulties ex- 

 perienced by beginners in lily culture are very true ; 

 these difficulties hitherto, from want of real practical 

 knowledge, have been inevitable : there is unfortunately no royal 

 road to knowledge even about growing lilies — trials must be 

 made, expense incurred, and probably much disappointment, but 

 experience thus gained at the expen!?e of the pocket, is the most 

 valuable and reliable. "\Ve have ourselves suffered great disappoint- 

 ment in cultivating certain kinds, and incurred heavy lo??es, but 

 we hope by recording our experiences, (see our Xotes on Lilies) to 

 induce other cultivators to imitate our example, and thus by degrees 

 the proper treatment requisite for each particular kind will be 

 woiked out ; nevertheless, every lily grower must for himself find 

 out how far these instructions must be varied to suit the 

 particular local conditions of soil, aspect, and climate, where he 

 resides. 



We cannot quite concur in the remark that very few varieties 

 are fit for open border culture : much depends on proper drainage, 

 soils, aspect, shade, etc., but if these are properly adapted, certainly 

 nineteen out of twenty kinds mentioned in our list may be success- 

 fully grown out of doors, and thus these beautiful flowers may 

 easily be brought within the reach of the many, and rendered 

 popular and pleasing. It is mainly with this view that we have 

 placed on record our experiences of out-door culture, and solicit 

 others to follow our example. 



With regard to the losses mentioned in your paper as occurring 

 in the wet winter of 1S72-3, I'rom insufficient drainage, we think 

 it self-evident that if that fault had been avoided, or if the bulbs 

 had been lifted and stored in a cool cellar, during the months of 

 December and January, this would not have happened. On our 

 light soil, several feet deep, but resting on sand or gravel, the 

 drainage is so perfect that a well forty feet deep, used many years 

 ago for water supply, now never contains a drop ; hence we lose no 

 bulbs in the winter, however wet, our chief loss is in summer from 

 drought. 



Clearly, however, in wet and damp soils, loss may be avoided by 

 providing artificial drainage under the lily bed — such as a heap of 

 clinkers, brickbats, or such like, by planting the bulbs on the side 

 of a slope instead of a hollow, or by lifting, as aforesaid, the bulbs 

 in the wettest and dullest time of the year ; but this should only 

 be resorted to in extreme cases. 



If artificial drainage be provided in damp soils we are sure that 

 bulbs will be all the stronger for being wintered out of doors. 



January. 



