July 27, 1912 



II R T 1 C U L 'I U R E 



103 



The many vii^itors to the de- 

 lightful exhibition of sweet pens. 



recently held in the Massachu- 

 setts Horticultural Society's Hall 



under the auspices of the National 



Society devoted to this flowci-, 



had an oppojtunity of seeiiij,^ 



and passing judgment upon this 



new introduction from China. 



Messrs. Farquhar staged a magnifi- 

 cent e.xhibit consisting of aboui 



two hundred stems in a setting of 



Kentias, the whole nicely lil- 



ling the lecture platform. The 



Massachusetts Horticultural Society 



recognized the display by awarding 



it a gold medal, the society's higli- 



est distinction. The representative 



horticultural gathering present was 



of the opinion that the honor was 



well-earned and jadiciously be- 

 stowed. The display itself and the 

 encomiums unstintedly expressed were a gratifyino- re- 

 ward to one who was privileged to discover and intro- 

 duce this fine addition to a world-wide appreciated and 

 beautiful family. I first met with it in 1903 and the 

 year following sent a few hundred bulbs to Messrs. 

 Veitch who in due course distributed them. Later under 

 the auspices of the Arnold Arboretum, I collected a 

 large consignment expressly for Messrs. E. & J. Farquhar 

 & Co. of Boston. That it has proved so eminently 

 successful to cultivation hereabouts is a source of pro- 

 found satisfaction to all concerned in its introduction. 

 Had my efforts in China resulted in nothing beyond 

 this lily I should not have labored in vain. 



In HoETicuLTUBE, Jan. 32, 1910 (p. 106), I made the 

 following statement, "the writer inclines towards L. 

 myriophyllum ami lelieves it the finest hardy tuhular- 

 flowered Lily extant." This I hold to more strongly 

 than ever and am happy in the knowledge that competent 

 judges have also arrived at this same opinion. It pos- 

 sesses all the qualities necessary in a first-class plant of 

 its kind. Let us take them seriatim : 



^ I. It is perfectly hardy even here in Massachusetts. 

 The flowers on exhibition were cut from open-ground, 

 the bulbs having been planted last fall. They passed 

 through the winter quite unprotected and were un- 

 scatlied in spite of tlic bleak situation they occupied. 

 Never a bulb of the several thousands planted fail^Ss to 

 produce its flowering stem in due season. ' 



II. It is of easy culture requiring no attention what- 

 soever beyond weeding. The stems though slender are 

 rigid and wire-like and no stakes are needed. Being a 

 stem-rooting lily the bulbs should be covered to a depth 

 of 6 to 8 inches. Good, mellow loam and a well-drained 

 sub-soil are the essentials for its successful culture. Well- 

 decayed leaf-soil is good for all lilies and mav be ap- 



Lilium myriophyllum 



LiLIUM MYPiIOPHYLLUJL 



plied when planting or as a top-dressing. Dung I do not 

 loeommend unless it be that from an old, spent hot-bed 

 wliich is good as a top dressing or mulch for nearly 

 everything. Peat is deadly; artificial fertilizers un- 

 necessary and highly dangerous. 



III. Its constitution is most vigorous and free from 

 disease. The same bulbs wliich yielded the exhibit with- 

 stood the severe drought of 1911 and showed no distress 

 during the dry spell of June last. No water 

 was given them during either season. (The accompany- 

 ing illustration from a photograph taken on July 11th 

 last, shows what a portion of the field looked like on that 

 date.) 



IV. The flowers are of pleasing color. The outside 

 is more or less suffused with red-purple becoming paler 

 as the flowers expand, but very rarely is it entirely ab- 

 sent. The inside of the tube for two-thirds its length is 

 flushed with clear canary-yellow. ■ The mouth is of the 

 purest white. Sometimes the outside coloring is reflected 

 through giving a delicate rose-tinted flush to the interior. 

 The anthers are golden-yellow and add much to the 

 beauty of the flower. 



_ V. The flowers cut last a week to ten days in a room 

 diffusing a delicate fragrance which is pleasant and not 

 over-poweringly strong as is the case witli manv lilies. 

 yi. Lastly, it forces admirably without losing any 

 of^its charms as all who saw the blooms at Messrs. 

 Farquhar's Italian Garden exhibition in March last 

 will allow. Personally I believe it may become the 

 Easter Lily of the future but there is no need to enlarge 

 upon this subject. 



The plant grows VA to 4 feet tall (usuallv averag- 

 ing 31/2 to 3 feet), the stems being very densely crowded 

 (hence the name — mi/riophylhim) with narrow 1-nerved, 

 gracefully decurved leaves, each 2 to 5 inches long and 

 generally roughish along the mid-rib below. The flowers 

 vary in number from one to seven or even more on rare 

 occasions, are 5 to 61/0 inches long and horizontallv dis- 

 posed from the summit of the stem. Its elegant foliage 

 adds much distinction to the plant whilst" the yellow 



