268 The "jfapan Lilies. 



the top or crown. Cover the surface with leaves, tan, or phie boughs, 

 to prevent heaving by frost. They will also do very well if planted 

 in spring ; and when once planted they may remain undisturbed for 

 several years. For pot culture they are admirable. Plant them in six- 

 inch pots, in a compost like that indicated above, watering very little at 

 first, but abundantly after growth is fully in progress. When the 

 flower-buds form, they may be watered at intervals with a solution of 

 guano mixed with soot. Thus treated, they will flower superbly. 

 Some cultivators adopt a more elaborate method — using a pot much 

 deeper than the ordinaiy flower-pot, and filling it only to within about 

 four inches of the rim, the upper part remaining empty. When the 

 young flower-stem has risen as high as the rim of the pot, the empty 

 space is filled up with any rich compost. Into this the stem emits 

 roots in great abundance, which help greatly to nourish the flower- 

 buds. Japan lilies grow well in the green-house, or in a warm and 

 sunny window. 



There is no doubt that a time is coming when these lilies will even 

 surpass their present beauty. I saw the other day a bed of several 

 hundred seedlings, blooming for the first time, in the garden of an 

 eminent horticulturist. They were the results of cross-impregnation, 

 that is to say, of fertilizing the pistils of the several varieties mutually 

 with the pollen of each other, without introducing the pollen of other 

 species. Some of the flowers were of a very large size, with petals 

 two inches wide ; and the varying shades of color, as well as the 

 diversities of form, wei"e exceedingly striking and interesting. This 

 oflers a flattering j^rospect of the improvement of the species within its 

 own limits. As to the results of hybridizing it with other species, I 

 hope to have a good deal to say at some future time. 



