297 



Lilium tigrinum.— Kew received in January of this year some 

 bulbs of a Lilium from Messrs. Watson & Scull, 90, Lower Thames 

 Street, E.C., who stated that they had been sent by a nurseryman 

 in Shanghai with the information that they were of an unknown 

 lily from the interior of China, where they were cultivated for 

 some medicinal property contained in the bulbs and that thev had 

 stems four to six feet high and flowers "white with a* little 

 yellow." The bulbs on comparison with cultivated examples of 

 species of Lilium were most like those of L. auratum, and the 

 description of the flowers also pointed to that species, which 

 however is known only from Japan, although it has been suggested 

 that it may be of Chinese origin. Bulbs of an "unknown lily 

 from China, with white and yellow flowers" were soon afterwards 

 offered for sale by English and other dealers, and a dozen, were pur- 

 chased for Kew. Some of the plants, from both sources, are now 

 in flower and they prove to be nothing more than L. tigrinum, 

 Ker-Gawl., one of the most widely cultivated of Chinese Liliums, 

 which was first introduced into England in 1804, where it is now 

 in almost every garden, and is represented by several weJl-marko'l 

 varieties, including one with double flowers. It has been 

 collected wild in Peking (David); Hupeh ; Ichang and Patung 

 (Henry) • Szechuen ; Tchenkeoutin (Farges) ; Corea (Perry) ; 



Chemulpo 



(Oldham). It is 



also wild in Japan. Dr. Henry states that in Ichang this species 

 is cultivated and the bulbs eaten, and that dry lily flowers are 

 used by the Chinese for flavouring soups and as a remedy for 

 pulmonary diseases (see also K.B., 1889, p. 110). It is therefore 

 not impossible that the particular form of L. tigrinum now in 

 question, with bulbs unlike those of the forms usually known in 



may 



W. W 



The Treatment of Cacao and other Seeds for Export— The distri- 

 bution of Theobroma Cacao by Kew has hitherto been by means 

 of young plants packed in Wardian Cases, as seeds, whenever 

 tried, had proved a failure. A method of packing the seeds, 

 recorded in the U.S. Monthly Consular Reports for March, 190b, 

 and noticed in the West Indian Agricultural News of October 20, 

 1906, was stated to have been successful when tried in Samoa, and 

 it was decided to put it to the test at Kew. 



The account of the method is as follows : 



" Consul-General Heimrod submits a method of packing cacao 

 seeds for export which has been practically tried in Samoa with 

 excellent results and which he believes will be of special value to 

 planters in the Philippine Islands. 



" The seeds should be selected from ripe pods and well washed 

 in water, then placed on a rough towel and gently rubbed in order 

 to remove most of the pulp, taking care not to damage the slum 

 The seeds are next placed in a current of cool air for twenty-four 

 hours. The packing material is composed of equal parts or 

 vegetable mould and finely ground or pounded charcoal, mois- 

 tened just enough to resemble earth taken out of a shaded place 

 If the packing material is too wet, the seeds will rot ; and if not 



