AND THEIR CULTURE. 37 



frequently done by laying them down on their sides. It is quite time 

 enough for this when they begin to show the sere and yellow leaf, and to 

 die off, a time when heavy rains or any excess of wet would prove 

 injurious. At no season, however, will Lilies bear the amount of drying- 

 off that most other bulbs can endure, and the pots containing them should, 

 therefore, be placed to winter where they will not be subjected to currents 

 of air, or in such a position as that the soil would lose too much of its 

 moisture. The great mistake many make who grow Lilies in pots, is in 

 not attending to them sufficiently early as regards shifting and dividing, 

 for if this operation is too long deferred, it is impossible to perform it 

 without injuring or destroying a large portion of the thick fleshy roots, 

 which all Lily bulbs have in such abundance when in a state of good 

 health ; and, therefore, the necessary re-potting, &c., should be done as 

 soon after the tops die away as they can be taken in hand. This ought 

 in all cases to be carried out with as little disturbance as possible to the 

 old ball where there are any live roots in possession, by carefully picking 

 out, with a sharp-pointed stick, the soil which it may be requisite to 

 remove. 



" In the raising of new Lilies from seed there is a fine field open for the 

 hybridist, and there is no lack of choice varieties to work from. 

 Auratum, when grown out in the open, seeds freely in favourable seasons, 

 and so also does Giganteum., both of which are, on that account, and from 

 their general superiority over most others, capital sorts to breed from, 

 although there is no reason why efforts to obtain new varieties of great 

 worth and distinctness should be confined to any particular kind. As the 

 flowers do not require any delicate manipulation, such as is needed by 

 most others, any amateur can work at it with an equal chance of success, as 

 those more skilled in the art. The principal thing is, when the blooms 

 expand, to remove the anthers from all those to be fertilised, which may 

 be done by clipping them off with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors. This 

 must be accomplished before any of the pollen becomes ripe, otherwise 

 some of it is sure to fall and adhere to the pistil, which nature has so 

 abundantly provided with viscid matter, to insure that at least some 

 portion of the pollen grains, may fall on it and adhere, and thus carry out 

 their allotted functions. Plants, as a rule, will always become fecundated 

 with their own pollen much more readily than they will with that from other 

 species, hence the necessity for removing their anthers while they are in 

 an unripe state. Both these and the pistil are so conspicuous in the Lily, 

 and the important part both serve is so generally understood, that any 

 attempt here at an explanation would be superfluous. To those unac- 

 quainted with either, a mere cursory glance will show their several 

 positions, and the purposes they are intended to serve, and how readily 

 they may be turned to account in increasing our floral treasures, and 

 adding to our pleasures and happiness. It should be borne in mind that 

 bees may frustrate the work, even after the removal of the anthers ; and 

 in order to guard against this, the flowers to be operated on should be 

 protected by placing very tine gauze or hexagon net over them, keeping 

 the net from chafing them by using a few twiggy sticks stuck in the 

 ground on which to support it. 



