CHAPTER III 



DESCRIPTIVE AND CULTURAL NOTES 



THE Lilies known and cultivated in English gardens are 

 enumerated below with descriptive notes on the species 

 and varieties, and hints upon their treatment under 

 culture. These cultural notes are given as a guide to 

 the Lily culture under ordinary conditions of soil and 

 climate in these islands, but under particular conditions 

 they must obviously be modified. 



For example, in an abnormally wet or dry district the 

 treatment of Lilies varies from that advised for normal 

 conditions. 



In the naming of the species and varieties, the system 

 adopted at Kew in the hand lists has been followed, 

 whether considered by specialists to be right or wrong, 

 Kew is, in the opinion of the author, the proper 

 authority to follow in all cases of plant nomenclature 

 in this country. 



L. auratum (Golden-Rayed Lily). When first intro- 

 duced to England from Japan in 1862, this Lily excited 

 great interest in this country, owing to its magnificent 

 blossoms, and their distinctness from any other kind. 

 It still remains one of the most popular Lilies. Enormous 

 quantities of bulbs of it are sent to this country from 

 Japan every year, as it cannot be cultivated successfully 

 in Holland on a large scale, as so many Lilies are. 



When grown to perfection, L. auratum is certainly 

 the grandest of all Lilies, but unfortunately it is very 

 capricious in its requirements, and failures in growing 

 it satisfactorily are far more numerous than the successes. 



