48 THE BOOK OF THE LILY 



time it has not been much practised in this country, and 

 consequently we have but very few hybrid Lilies. 



In California, however, the well known hybridist 

 Mr Burbank is actively at work in this direction, and 

 has sent to this country a series of hybrids, a selection 

 from the large number he has raised, and we may expect 

 more from the same source, and let us hope that other 

 hybridists there are engaged in the same work. 



The raising of seedling Lilies is a tedious process, 

 necessitating as it does much patience and attentive care. 

 From the time the seed is sown until the bulbs reach a 

 flowering size, varies probably from five to ten years, 

 and during that period more or less attention must be 

 given to the young stock, though this amount of trouble 

 is well repaid by the results, as no one can predict what 

 may be the actual result of intercrossing. 



The late Mr Wilson often told the writer that the best 

 way to raise seedling Lilies is to sow the seeds broad- 

 cast in a selected spot for a seed bed, and then pay no 

 heed to the beds beyond clearing the rank weeds away 

 occasionally until the foliage of the seedlings can be 

 discerned among the weedy growth. He used to follow 

 this practice at Wisley, and pointed to beds of magnificent 

 seedling Lilies such as L. monadelphum and dalmaticum in 

 full flower, with stems six to seven feet high, which had 

 never been disturbed since the day the seed was sown 

 six or seven years previous. 



Although it is only in recent years that hybrid Lilies 

 have been raised artificially, nature has always been at 

 work in this direction, and probably we have among our 

 so-called species of Lilium several natural hybrids, but 

 our knowledge of the limitations of species do not enable 

 us to definitely assert which are hybrids and which are 

 pure species. So far as we can assume with our present 

 knowledge there is but one known natural hybrid, which 

 is the beautiful Nankeen Lily L. testaceum, whose origin 



