175 



finger-like elevations of the cells of the surface. The flowers of 

 numerous hybrids glisten brilliantly in sunlight as if the surface 

 were liberally sprinkled with minute grains of gold, a character- 

 istic that is observed also in the species H. aurantiaca. 



The best of the flowers are " full," with broad overlapping 

 petals that are improvements on many of the older types. Thus 

 the clear yellow shade of color seen in H. Thiinbergii is obtained 

 in certain hybrids in flowers that are fuller, larger, and more at- 

 tractive. Increase in the size of flowers is to be had : some hy- 

 brids have flowers nearly twice the size of any of the species or 

 of any of the older varieties thus far seen by the writer and in a 

 few cases (see especially the larger flower shown in Figures 2 

 and 3) the size is combined with rare beauty and fullness of 

 flower. 



Considerable range is seen in general stature and vigor of 

 growth of the hybrids and in the height to which flower stems 

 stand with reference to the tips of the leaves. Some plants, par- 

 ticularly when derived from dwarf parents, are quite dwarf. The 

 most showy and floriferous plants are those that stand with flower 

 stems about three feet tall and only slightly overtopping the leaves, 

 quite as shown in Figure i. Seedlings with taller and more up- 

 right flower stalks are common but are less effective because the 

 flowers are elevated above the leaves with a foot or more of bare 

 stems exposed in a somewhat awkward and ungainly effect. This 

 is one of the defects of the old fulva. 



The season of bloom for the hybrids corresponds in some de- 

 gree to that of the respective parents. As a rule hybrids with 

 early-blooming parents, such as Hemerocallis Diimortierii and 

 flava, are earlier in their blooming than are hybrids with Thiin- 

 bergii and aurantiaca. Some of the hybrids have bloomed late in 

 the season so it may be that varieties can be developed which 

 extend the season of the day lilies. At The New York Botanical 

 Garden the best of the seedlings give a succession of bloom with 

 the climax in July just following the season of the irises. 



In the improvement of the day lilies, getting a single plant with 

 suitable habit of growth and with flowers of a new and desirable 

 type is the important thing. It is then very readily and rapidly 

 propagated vegetatively by division as a " clonal " variety quite 

 as irises and dahlias are propagated. In such a case the entire 



