LILIES 299 



required for decorative purposes. When the flowers have faded, take 

 them to the greenhouse to complete their growth, after which dry them 

 off slowly, but with the clear understanding that they are never to be 

 desiccated. They may be wintered in the greenhouse, and should 

 certainly be placed where they will always be slightly moist, even if a 

 few leaves remain green throughout the winter. Frequent disturbance 

 of the roots is to be particularly avoided in the cultivation of Amaryllis, 

 and therefore it is desirable to allow them to remain in the same 

 pots two or three years, or if they are shifted on, it should be done 

 in such a way that the roots are scarcely so much as seen in the 

 process. Top dressing and liquid manure will help them when they 

 have been some time in the same pots. 



LILIUM AURATUM. The Golden-rayed Lily of Japan is as 

 hardy as our common white Lily, and, like it, will grow with vigour 

 in good loam, though, in common with the rest, it loves peat. Since 

 it has been cheap it has been plentifully planted out, and proves to 

 be a remarkably beautiful, and indeed noble, border flower ; but its 

 distinctness will always insure it a high degree of favour as a con- 

 servatory plant. When grown in a pot the best soil is sandy peat, 

 but it will flower finely in a rich light mixture, such as Fuchsias 

 require. It is advisable to begin with the smallest sized pot in which 

 the bulb can be placed, and then to shift to larger and larger pots as 

 the plant progresses, and the flower-buds appear, when, of course, 

 there must be no further shifting. In respect of temperature, this 

 is an accommodating Lily, but as a rule a cool house is better for the 

 plant than one which is maintained at a high temperature. The 

 supply of water should be plentiful during the growth and flowering, 

 but should be reduced when the flowering is over. 



LILIUM HARRISII (The Bermuda, or Easter Lily) is of the lo?igi- 

 florum type, but the flowers are larger and are produced with greater 

 freedom than by the ordinary L. longiflorum. Moreover the Bermuda 

 Lily flowers almost continuously. Before one stem has finished 

 blooming another shoots up. This perennial habit gives it a peculiar 

 value for the greenhouse, and renders forcing possible at almost any 

 season. 



Immediately the bulbs are received they should be potted in rich 

 fibrous loam the more fibrous the better and be placed in a cold 

 frame. They need little water until growth has fairly commenced, 

 after which more moisture will be necessary. So far as safety is con- 

 cerned they only require protection from frost, but for an early .show 

 of bloom artificial heat is imperative. The temperature should, 



