THE LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY. 87 



should be planted all over the bed one foot apart every 

 way, if strong plants ; and the Lily-of-the-valley should 

 be planted as soon as they can be had, which will not 

 be before the middle of November for mature buds 

 and here I recommend single crowns as the best for 

 making the plantation. 



The pit of the Lily will take about 2,700 roots, single 

 crowns, at four inches apart, to plant it well. These 

 single crowns should be all matured roots, each with 

 a bud that will give a spike of flower, one or more, the 

 first season, that is, if those are used which are required 

 to flower the following spring ; if not, any good roots 

 may be used, which can be had in some localities from 

 our woods, but these may not flower for two or three 

 seasons after planting. 



If the single crowns are used that are offered by 

 the trade growers of this plant, such as Krelage or 

 Eoozen, of Holland, every one of them will give one or 

 more spikes of flower the following spring, which from 

 a commercial point of view is of much importance to 

 many men, for 3,000 spikes of flower at 16s. per hundred 

 would realise 24L, which would go a long way towards 

 paying the cost of the pit the first season. The cost of 

 the roots would be 5., but you will never have to buy 

 again. 



In planting these single crowns of the Lily, first 

 make the bed moderately fine, and put three or four 

 inches of fine sifted soil comprising a good portion of sand 

 and some fine leaf-mould on the top of all, and rake it 

 over so as to make it close and even all over the surface. 

 Then draw drills across it with a half-moon hoe deep 

 enough to let in the crowns an inch below the surface 

 of the bed, press the roots well into the drills, taking 



