54 NOTES ON LILIES 



to moisture, young roots will be soon emitted. Now, what does this 

 point out ? The bulb is not at rest, as we might suppose, but, in 

 autumn and Avinter, growth is going on, and preparation is being 

 actively made for next year's flowering. I draw from this a conclusion 

 of some importance to Lily cultivators, viz., that Lilies, to ensure 

 good growth, should be planted out in their places as soon after 

 flowering as possible, so that none of the young roots may be dis- 

 turbed, and fair time may be given them to prepare for next year. 

 In purchasing Lilies I should like to give my orders very early in the 

 season, and I should request that none of the roots be cut off" the bulbs, 

 but that they should be sent to me freshly taken up and packed in some 

 moist material. Indeed, some of the Dutch growers recognise this, 

 for, though they expose their roots intended for sale to the action of 

 the sun and air, to dry the bulbs and give them a colour (according 

 to the custom of the trade), yet theij require that the hulhs they purcliase 

 shall he supplied to them quite fresh, and with the roots uncut; of course 

 with imported bulbs this cannot be ; but it is manifest that a bulb 

 planted (say in October), rooting and dra^ving its supplies of nourish- 

 ment, must be in a far better condition to support active growth in early 

 spring, and develope a fine head of flowers, than one planted in 

 January or February, kept dry all the winter, having hardly time 

 given to it to emit a few roots before the stem shoots up and develop- 

 ment progresses at a rapid rate. All Lilies ought to be in their 

 places, where they are to remain, by the end of October. Another 

 question arises out of these remarks. Do Lily bulbs make fresh 

 growth every year, the old growth decaying more or less, as does 

 that of the Crocus ? I beheve they do, for the following reasons : — 

 1. When the stems shoot up from the centre of a bulb, it opens up 

 and widely separates the old scales, and much enlarges the size of the 

 bulb. I have been surprised to find bulbs, under such circumstances, 

 of the size of a medium orange when in flower, though when planted 

 they were only as large as a five-shilling piece. 2. Fresh growth, 

 recognised by its white, fi'esh, firm appearance (light not yet having 

 coloured it), takes place inside the bulb, pushing out the old dis- 

 colored scales. In kinds such as Loiigiforum, Speciosum, Auratum, 

 and Martagon, where the color of scales is well marked, I have seen 

 many bulbs, freshly dug up, entirely composed of new growth, a few 

 only of the old scales remaining-. 3. When Lilies degenerate, as they 

 often do in pot culture, they get smaller and smaller every year : the 

 tints of their flowers also degenerate. Now, in this case, is it not 

 because the new growth under unfavourable circumstances become 

 smaller and smaller each year, till, at length, it ceases altogether, and 

 the bulb dies ? The same thing of tens happens to many bulbs gro\vn 

 out of doors in unfavourable conditions ; they get weaker and weaker 

 every year till they die, unless moved to a more suitable spot. I 

 should much like to watch some Lily bulbs grown in a glass pot. 



