Lilies 



heat of 6'5. Increase the supply of water as the plants progress, and 

 shift them into 6-inch pots for flowering. While they are in flower 

 they may be placed in the conservatory, or wherever else they may be 

 required for decorative purposes. When the flowers have faded, take 

 them to the greenhouse to complete their growth, after which dry them 

 off slowly, but with the clear understanding that they are never to be 

 desiccated. They may be wintered in the greenhouse, and should 

 certainly be placed where they will always be slightly moist, even if a 

 few leaves remain green throughout the winter. Frequent disturbance 

 of the roots is to be particularly avoided in the cultivation of Amaryllis, 

 and therefore it is desirable to allow them to remain in the same 

 pots two or three years ; or if they are shifted on, it should be done 

 in such a way that the roots are scarcely seen in the process. Top 

 dressing and liquid manure will help them when they have been some 

 time in the same pots. 



Lilium auratum. This magnificent Lily has proved to be as 

 hardy as the white garden variety, and is now freely planted in 

 borders and shrubberies where the noble heads of bloom always 

 command admiration. But the splendour of the flower will continue 

 to ensure for it a high degree of favour as a decorative subject for 

 the conservatory. When grown in a pot the best soil is sandy peat, 

 but it will flower finely in a rich light mixture, such as Fuchsias 

 require. It is advisable to begin with the smallest pot in which the 

 bulb can be placed, and then to shift to larger and larger sizes as 

 the plant progresses, taking care to have the bulb two inches below 

 the soil when in their flowering pots, because roots are thrown out 

 from the stem just above the bulb, and these roots need to be care- 

 fully fed, as they are the main support of the flowers that appear 

 later. When the flower-buds are visible, there should, of course, be 

 no further shifting. In respect of temperature, this is an accommo- 

 dating Lily ; but as a rule a cool house is better for the plant than 

 one which is maintained at a high temperature. The supply of 

 water should be plentiful during the period of growth and flowering, 

 but afterwards it can be reduced. 



Lilium Harrisii (The Bermuda, or Easter Lily) is of the longi- 

 florum type, but the flowers are larger, and are produced with greater 

 freedom than by the ordinary L. longiflorum. Moreover, the Ber- 

 muda Lily flowers almost continuously. Before one stem has finished 

 blooming another shoots up. This perennial habit gives it a peculiar 

 value for the greenhouse, and renders forcing possible at almost any 

 season. 



307 X2 



