CHAPTER IV 



HYBRID LILIES 



THE raising of Lilies from seed is a method of propaga- 

 tion that hitherto has not been practised to a great 

 extent, but it is undoubtedly a phase of Lily culture 

 that should be encouraged. Not only is it interesting to 

 watch the gradual if slow development from the seedling 

 to the flowering stage, but the raising of stock from 

 home saved seed must inevitably result in the production 

 of a healthier and more vigorous strain of Lilies more 

 suitable for successful culture in the climate of these 

 islands. It is now a well known fact that seedlings 

 raised from other classes of cultivated plants are, as a 

 rule, stronger, aud more adaptable to this climate than 

 seed collected from plants growing in a wild state, and 

 therefore one reasons that what is true in regard to one 

 class of plants would be in that of another. 



It is also a recognised fact among gardeners that cross- 

 bred plants are, as a rule, more vigorous than their 

 parents, and one need only instance the case of hybrid 

 orchids to uphold this theory. 



So far as results have already proved, the Lilies that 

 have been produced by intercrossing species are in 

 almost every instance more vigorous than the parent 

 species, and therefore we may hope that in the future 

 we shall have numerous hybrid Lilies that combine the 

 vigour of hybrids with the beauty and grace of the parents. 

 The intercrossing of Lilies, and raising the resulting 

 progeny, is a very fascinating art, but up to the present 



47 



