LILAC 



3431 



LILY OF THE VALLEY 



LILAC, li'lak, the popular name given to a 

 familiar shrub of the olive family, whose fra- 

 grant white or purple-tinted blossoms are a 

 delightful feature of yards and parks in the 

 spring season. The common lilac is one of the 

 ornamental shrubs most frequently used in 

 landscape gardening, and because of its decora- 

 tive value is cultivated extensively in North 

 America and in Europe. The plant grows from 

 six to fifteen feet in height and flowers in May, 

 the blossoms, of which there are single and 

 double varieties, appearing in large terminal 

 clusters. This plant thrives almost anywhere, 

 but rich loam is most favorable to its success- 

 ful growth. 



LILIUOKALANI, le le oo o kah lah ' ne, LYDIA 

 KAMEKEHA (1838-1917), queen of the Hawaiian 

 Islands just previous to the time of their acqui- 

 sition by the United States. In 1891, on the 

 death of her brother, King Kalakaua, she as- 

 cended the throne. Her treatment of non- 

 naturalized whites caused a revolt against her; 

 in 1894 she was deposed and a .republic was 

 proclaimed. The new government sought an- 

 nexation to the United States but met with 

 opposition from President Cleveland, who de- 

 manded that the queen be restored to her 

 throne. This was refused by Hawaiian lead- 

 ers. In 1896 Liliuokalani visited America to 

 press her claims, but on the annexation of 

 Hawaii to the United States in 1898, she re- 

 turned with a good degree of contentment to 

 her private estate in the islands. She has since 

 been friendly towards the American authorities, 

 but never until after a state of war was de- 

 clared between the United States and Ger- 

 many, in April, 1917, would she permit the 

 American flag to be flown from her residence. 



LILLE, leel, a fortified city in the northern 

 part of France, on the River Deule, situated 

 about seven miles south of the Belgian frontier 

 and 155 miles northeast of Paris. It is the 

 capital of the department of Nord. At the 

 outbreak of the War of the Nations (which 

 see) it was a prosperous center of the French 

 iron industry a city of beautiful squares and 

 boulevards and modern public buildings. Dur- 

 ing the invasion of Northern France, in the 

 first year of the war, Lille, with scores of other 

 towns, was captured by the Germans and placed 

 under martial law. A war tribute was levied 

 on the inhabitants and large numbers of them 

 were deported into German territory. As the 

 city was long the scene of furious fighting be- 

 tween the Germans on the one hand and the 

 French, British and Belgians on the other, 



many of its public buildings were destroyed 

 by the furious bombardments directed against 

 it. Lille has numerous educational institutions 

 and libraries and one of the largest art muse- 

 ums in France outside of Paris. In normal 

 years its factories turn out great quantities of 

 linen, cotton goods, damask, ribbons and laces, 

 spirits, machinery and tobacco products, and 

 the city also has great printing houses, sugar 

 and oil refineries and dye works. In 1911 the 

 population (including suburbs) was 217,807. 



LILY, lil'i, the common name of one of the 

 largest and most important of plant families. 

 The word popularly refers to such garden and 

 hothouse flowers as the tiger lily, the Madonna 

 lily, and the beautiful white Easter, Mediter- 

 ranean, Chinese and Japanese lilies. White 

 lilies in all lands are regarded as emblems of 

 purity and innocence. 



Julia C. R. Dorr, a poet of the Southern 

 United States, has given this thought poetic 

 expression in the lines 



And the stately lilies stand 

 Fair in the silvery light, 

 Like saintly vestals, pale in prayer ; 

 Their pure breath sanctifies the air, 

 As its fragrance fills the night. 



To this widely-distributed family also belong 

 those commercially and economically impor- 

 tant plants commonly known as onion, garlic, 

 leek, asparagus, aloe, and many others. Typi- 

 cal lilies have tubular or bell-shaped flowers of 

 six parts, with petals often backward curving. 

 In the different species the colors vary from 

 white to scarlet, and are evenly colored or 

 mottled with spots of purple or brown. . 



Lilies grow from scaly bulbs and send forth 

 bare or leafy upright stems, topped with single 

 blossoms, or with several g'ayly-nodding flowers 

 in a cluster. Well-drained, deep, sandy loam, 

 sheltered from strong winds and hot summer 

 sun, is best for lily culture. The bulb should 

 be planted six inches or more in depth. 



Twelve species of lilies are native to the 

 United States. The calla and the water lily are 

 not included among these, for, though called 

 lilies, they belong to very different families. 

 See illustration on page 3432; also the articles 

 CALLA; EASTER LILY; WATER LILY. 



LILY OF THE VALLEY, a favorite garden 

 plant of the northern hemisphere, belonging to 

 the lily family. Its drooping, bell-shaped flow- 

 ers, of a beautiful, pure-white color, are borne 

 in a long cluster on a slender stem, and possess 

 a delightful fragrance. The flower stalk rises 

 from an underground rootstock, and usually 



