General Aspects of Commercial Gardening 15 



gave rise to so strong a demand as to tax severely the resources of 

 nurseries for a long series of years, and have an immense influence for 

 good upon a great industry. They had another effect in their relation 

 to the garden, and that was to quicken an interest in rare and beautiful 

 plants from other parts of the world, by showing that there were subjects 

 other than timber trees and the common laurel suitable for furnishing the 



O 



garden. 



In the case of Lilium auratum there was a brisk demand for bulbs 

 at a comparatively high rate, and when it became possible to supply 

 them at a price which placed them within the reach of practically all 

 owners of gardens, the demand increased to an enormous extent. For 

 forty years or more the importations of the bulbs of this Lily have 

 annually been on such a large scale as to represent a trade of consider- 

 able importance and to occupy a prominent position in the business of 

 those who are concerned with the distribution of bulbs. Lilium longi- 

 florum, which was introduced to this country in the year previous to 

 John Gould Veitch's voyage to Japan, has enjoyed a higher degree of 

 popularity than even that of L. auratum, not because of its flowers 

 being superior in beauty, but because of their adaptability for decora- 

 tive purposes. To the florists they are of immense value, for they can 

 be used more or less successfully in wellnigh all forms of the decorative 

 art, and with the aid of the refrigerator in retarding the bulbs they 

 can be had in abundance at all seasons of the year. 



British cultivators are no longer wholly dependent upon Japanese 

 growers for their supplies of bulbs, but they annually obtain large im- 

 portations from them. The demand for this beautiful and useful Lily 

 is very great, and the importation and distribution of the immense 

 numbers of bulbs that are annually required in market-growing establish- 

 ments and private gardens has become so important a detail of com- 

 mercial horticulture that one could wish statistics showing the exact 

 quantities that annually reach this country from Japan were available. 

 Lilium speciosum, which also forms an important part of the trade in 

 Lily bulbs with Japan, was introduced from that country in 1833; but 

 since that year the Japanese growers of Lilies have sent us varieties of 

 this species which are so superior in the size, form, and colouring of 

 their flowers as to surpass those of the typical white and coloured forms 

 and to render them of quite secondary importance. 



Of much interest is Iris Kcempferi, which was introduced to this 

 country from Japan in 1857, and attracted much attention when the 

 large handsome and richly coloured flow T ers were first presented to public 

 notice at the exhibitions, and began to make their appearance here and 

 there in private gardens. For a time they failed to make the headway 

 that was anticipated, and this was in a large measure due to the cultural 

 details being then imperfectly understood. Many of those who planted 

 this Iris in its varied forms failed to recognize the fact that to achieve 

 success the roots must have the run of a rich and moist soil, an abun- 



