POTTED FLOWEEING PLANTS 337 



508. Botanical characters. Lilies are herbaceous 

 plants with scaly bulbs and an upright stem, more or less 

 densely clothed with narrow, lance-shaped leaves. From 

 the axils of the terminal leaves, or from the tip of the stem, 

 a number of flower-buds are formed. The color of the 

 varieties most generally forced is white. Within recent 

 years, the dark pink variety of speciosum has come into 

 favor. 



Habitat. China, Japan and Formosa. 



509. Commercial importance. With the introduction 

 of the practice of . cold storage for lily bulbs, the former so- 

 called " Easter lily " has become an all-the-y ear-round 

 crop. There is a constant retail demand for the flowers, 

 and the culture of the crop is, therefore, profitable (Fig. 38). 



510. Importation of bulbs. Lilies are not difficult to 

 grow under glass, if the bulbs are strong and vigorous. 

 Bulbs are usually imported during August and September, 

 and should be potted as soon as received. Scaly bulbs 

 should never be allowed to dry out. All bulbs should be 

 examined carefully to detect any disease if present. There 

 are three leading commercial grades, measured by the 

 average circumference in inches, namely : five to sevens, 

 seven to nines, and nine to elevens. The price of bulbs 

 varies according to size. The average commercial grower 

 most commonly uses the seven to nine size. 



511. Culture. Lilies which are designed for Christmas 

 bloom should have a soil well enriched with thoroughly 

 decayed stable manure. They should be potted the same as 

 other bulbs, but it is well to set the early bulbs on a cushion 

 of sand. In potting, the lilies should be placed in four- 

 inch pots and shifted to larger ones as the pots become 

 filled with roots. The top of the bulb should be level with 

 the surface of the soil. As soon as the bulbs are potted, 



