18G NOTES ON LIHES 



CHAPTER XI. 



FALLACIES^' OF DUNEDIN (!) 



rilYSIOLOGY OF LILY BULBS. 



The following peculiar views have been recently put forward in the 

 Horticultural Journals, by a A'cteran Lily gi-owor, writing under the 

 ^lom dc phnne of " Dunedin.'^ 



FALLACIES (r) OF LILY GROWERS. 



§ 1. "There is hardly a situation in which Lilies will not thrive, and yet 

 hon' rarel}- do we see them grown. Tins is true enough, but it raises the 

 important question, who is to blame ? Is it the buyer, or the seller, 

 the amateur gardener, or the professional Lily grower ? There are 

 thousands upon thousands of amateurs in the suburbs of London, and 

 other large towns, who could spare time for the interesting and healthy 

 exercise of gardening in August and September ; but who could not spare 

 a day, or even an hour during the latter part of October, and yet, if they 

 '^Pply to nurserymen, they are told that Lily bulbs* will not be ready for 

 lifting before the end of that month. li' they apply to the Lily growers 

 in Holland, the answer is even more fallacious, for they are told tliat Lily 

 bulbs will not be harvested until tlie end of October, and that the best 

 time for planting is from October to March. Others say, as an excuse for 

 late planting, that Lily bulbs are not fully '" matured" before the end of 

 October. Now, this is a fallacy, most hurtful to both buyer and seller. 

 No Lily bulb can be said to be fully matured, until it has advanced to a 

 state of perfection, that is, until it is in full bloom,t this being its last and 

 highest stage. In October, and onward through the winter months, Lily 

 bulbs can only be said to be maturescent, that is approaching maturity. 

 We are told by a writer on Lilies that a Lily will flower better the second 

 year after planting than the first. This also is a fallacy, but why ? Too 

 late planting. The growth of the first year is checked, while the growth 

 of the new, or successional bulb, is undisturbed, consequently, that bulb 

 blooms well the following year, leaving the parent bulb to decay and die. 

 lu some Catalogues we are told that Lily bulbs should not be disturbed for 



* Lilies have been obtained from tlie New I'lant and Bullj Company, Colchester, for 

 years past, after the 81st August, and even before that date, if specially ordered. 



t Surely this is incorrect, no one cer licard of a hulb beimj in full hJoom. Duncdin 

 means evidently, that the whole phmt is in a state of perfection, and fully matured at 

 the season of iloweiin;,', and, that therefore, the ludb is also fully matureil or rijjeued. 

 Continental, as also English nurserymen, in usnig tlie word matured or ripened, apply 

 it certainly to l)ulbs, but mean (whieii is quite another thing) that after flowering,' 

 there follows a season of rest, shorter or longer it may be, during which the bulb ripens, 

 • •onsolidates and matures its juices, jilumps out its buds, and prepares, so to speak, 

 for another ellbrt, just as trees after loosing their leaves, put on internal growth, harden 

 their wood, &c., during the season of lest, and this process of hardening and consoli- 

 dation is what is generally known by the term ripening. 



