L I L 



there are many varieties; the white, 

 red, and blue-flowered ; and of the 

 Persica, also the parsley-leafed and the 

 sagc-leufcd. They vnay be raised from 

 suckers, layers, cuttings, and seed; the 

 sowing and planting may be made dur- 

 ing the autumn in any common soil. 



LILIUiM. Lily. Thirty-five species, 

 including the common white lily (L. can- 

 didum), martagon (L. martagon), tiger 

 (L. tigrinum), orange (L. aurantium), 

 bulb-bearing {L. bulbiferum), and their 

 varieties. Besides those already men- 

 tioned, the following are especially 

 worthy of cultivation : — 



Bronsiartii. 



longiflorum. 



Eximium. 



Japonicum longiflorum. 



Lancifolium album. 



punctatura. 



roseum. 



Orange. 



Speciosum rubrum. 



Superbum pyramidalis. 



Venustiim. 



With the exception of L. eximium, 

 which is a greeu-house bulb, all the 

 others are hardy. 



Out-door Culture. — The proper time 

 for planting and transplanting them is 

 in autumn, when their flowers and stalks 

 decay, which is generally in August and 

 September, the roots being then at rest 

 for a short space of time, though the bulbs 

 taken up at the above season of rest, may 

 be kept out of ground if necessary, till 

 October or November; the white lilies, 

 however, do not succeed, if kept long 

 out of the earth; and all the others 

 succeed best when planted again as 

 soon as possible. Plant them four or 

 five inches deep, and at good distances 

 from one another. 



None of the sorts require any par- 

 ticular culture, for they will endure all 

 weathers, so no more is necessary than 

 destroying weeds among their stems by 

 the hoe, and supporting with sticks. 



They may all remain undisturbed two 

 or three years, or longer; nor, indeed, 

 is it proper to remove these sorts of 

 bulbs ofiener, for by remaining, they 

 flower stronger after the first year. It 

 is, however, proper to take up the bulbs 

 entirely every three or four years. 



Propagation. — By Offsets. — All the 

 sorts of these roots yield ofi'sets abund- 

 antly every year, which, when greatly 

 wanted, may be taken off annually, in 



351 L I L 



autumn ; otherwise once in two or three 

 years. 



The small offsets should then be 

 planted in beds a foot asunder, and 

 three deep, to remain a year or two ; 

 and the large bulbs should be planted 

 again in the borders, &c., singly. 



By Seed. — This is sometimes prac- 

 tised, but more particularly for the 

 martagons, to obtain more varieties. In 

 antumn, soon after the seed is ripe, sow 

 it in pots or boxes of rich light earth, 

 half an inch deep; place the pots in a 

 slieltorod situation all winter, and the 

 |)lant will appear in the spring ; in April, 

 remove the pots to have only the morn- 

 ing sun all the summer, giving moderate 

 waterings; in August, transplant the 

 bulbs into nursery-beds in flat drills an 

 inch deep, and three or four asunder; 

 but, as the bulbs will be very small, 

 scatter the earth and bulbs together in 

 the drills, and cover them with earth 

 the above depth ; and having grown h.ere 

 till August or September following, 

 transplant into another bed, placing 

 them eight or nine inches each way 

 asunder, here to remain to show their 

 first flowers, then transplant them finally. 

 — Abercrombie. 



Pot-Culture. — The following excel- 

 lent directions, though applicable es- 

 pecially to L. speciosum or lancifolium, 

 are also applicable to others of this 

 genus. Thoy are the practical directions 

 of Mr. Groom, the well-known florist, 

 of Walworth, near London. He says: — 



" To cultivate Lilia in the greatest 

 perfection, they should be removed as 

 rarely as possible, and only when the 

 bulbs become too close ; for disturbing 

 them is most injurious to their grov\th 

 and flowering." 



Bulbs from Stems. — To obtain these 

 from L. speciosum, and the practice 

 would, perhaps, succeed with several 

 others, Mr. Groom placed pieces of 

 turfy peat round the stem, with room 

 for finer peat to be placed next the 

 plant; in this bulbs were very success- 

 fully obtained. 



Potting. — " Grow them in pots of 

 large size, having plenty of drainage, 

 and use peat only, with a little fine sand 

 for the soil. One great point is to keep 

 the bulbs, particularly the largest, at a 

 sufficient depth, to allow room for the 

 stem-fibres to grow freely. When they 

 require repotting, which should only be 

 performed whilst the bulbs are dormant. 



