ON THE CULTURE OF LILIUM EXIMIUM, ETC. 131 



state this merely to show the necessity of trying various soils under 

 the same treatment. The soil I use for the varieties of L. lancifo- 

 lium or speciosum, eximium, &c, is three parts good light loam and 

 one part turfy peat (such as Ericas will grow well hi) with some 

 white sand. The best method of propagation is — as the plants 

 advance in growth, put some pieces of turf round the stem, leaving 

 room for some very sandy loam and peat, sifted very fine to fill the 

 space round the stem, water must be applied on this to keep it moist, 

 the bulbs will form at the axils of the leaves, which will not weaken 

 the bulb as in the old way of taking scales off; these may be taken 

 off when the stem is decayed, and treated as the old bulbs. I prefer 

 fresh potting the bulbs every autumn, taking care not to injure the 

 old or permanent fibres, but shaking the soil from them as mucli as 

 possible. The bulbs should not be parted until there are too many to 

 allow them to grow strong, when the smallest may be taken away, 

 leaving as many as you think will do well. In potting, care should 

 be taken to keep the bulbs deep in the pots, as Lilies have fibres to 

 the stem beside those of the bulb, which are of great assistance to 

 the stem. 



The latter end of October will in general be about the time for 

 potting, the soil should be used dry. After potting they should be 

 placed in a cold frame for the winter, keeping them only just damp, 

 giving all the air you possibly can, but keeping out the frost. About 

 the beginning of February they start to grow, when they will require 

 more water, always taking care to give plenty of air. The varieties I 

 grow in this way are L. eximium, longiflorum, concolor, sanguinea, 

 venustum, Nepalense, lancifolium or speciosum, lancifolium puncta- 

 tum, lancifolium album, and lancifolium roseum. 



I have no doubt that all these interesting and splendid plants are 

 sufficiently hardy to grow in the open ground, with some light mulch 

 laid on in winter to keep out the frost j in short, any trouble that 

 may be taken will be amply repaid by the elegant, noble, and, in 

 some instances, fragrant flowers. 



