LILIES UNDER GLASS 49 



means of advancing, or ekeing out, the lily sea- 

 son outdoors. Potted lilies, brought into flower 

 under glass, are extremely convenient to place 

 temporarily in bare spots in the shrubbery or 

 the hardy border, where the pots may be sunk 

 in the ground, or to brighten up the piazza or 

 living-room. The most serviceable kinds for 

 such disposition are L. longiflorum, L. japoni- 

 cum, L. auratum, L. speciosum and L. candidum. 

 The best compost for potting lilies consists 

 of two-thirds fibrous loam and one-third fibrous 

 peat with a little leaf-mold and sand. This 

 suits almost all lilies. For the madonna lily 

 a small amount of lime rubbish may be added 

 and L. rubellum will do well in stony, sandy 

 soil if the drainage is perfect. Pots should be 

 roomy and for stem-rooters there must be plenty 

 of depth. These are planted low and the pots 

 filled up with a somewhat richer compost when 

 the stem-roots appear. In the case of L. aura- 

 tum and L. speciosum this top dressing should 

 be followed by an application of weak liquid 

 manure. After planting, the pots are plunged 

 in a bed of ashes four inches deep and later 

 transferred to the greenhouse or a coldframe. 

 Potting is done in October for early bloom in- 

 doors and later for indoor succession or for 



