82 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



garden of the average flower lover. In the gardens, for instance, 

 in the rural districts where flowers are grown, the tiger lilies are often 

 seen, and occasionally auratum, speciosum, or elegans, but beyond 

 this the lily family is not represented. Few people succeed with 

 lilies outside of the varieties mentioned. Failures result from 

 various causes: lack of knowledge of the varieties best suited to the 

 climate; soil, location; and cultural treatment. Some people will 

 succeed with lilies in situations where others fail. Some will suc- 

 ceed with one manner of treatment while others will succeed with 

 another. 



As a rule all lilies are given as hardy by the dealer and the major- 

 ity are, under certain conditions, but the climate is so varied in this 

 country that lilies that are hardy in one section may not be in 

 another; for instance, they are able to withstand the winter in 

 Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, while they will succumb 

 on Long Island, New Jersey, and even farther south, because the 

 ground usually has a blanket of snow in the northern states all 

 winter, while on Long Island and farther south the ground freezes 

 and thaws all winter and snow rarely covers the ground for more 

 than a week at a time, and then only three or four times during the 

 winter. This is death to most lilies; the frequent freezing to a 

 slight depth lifts the bulbs and pulls them off the roots the same as 

 it does with many perennials. Iris Kaempferi often freezes out 

 this way. Funkia subcordata alba we have to lift and heel in over 

 winter. I have had seedling tenuifoliums and sets of other lilies, 

 where they were not covered, frozen out so they were entirely out 

 of the soil. Now we imitate the snow blanket by using coarse 

 stable manure, or gladioli tops which is our most available mulch. 

 Particularly tender sorts we plant in frames, mulch with litter, and 

 cover with sash or tight shutters to carry off the water. If sash is 

 used we cover lightly with litter to keep out the sun. We never 

 mulch until the ground freezes, to avoid giving the mice a harbor. 

 In my early days I bought a lot of lilies, among them Hansoni at 

 $5.00 each. Thinking to do well by them, I prepared a fine border 

 in early fall, planted them carefully at the proper distance and depth. 

 To make sure that they would not be injured by frost I gave them a 

 heavy covering of leaves before the ground froze, thinking I would 

 have a good show the next year. When I uncovered them in spring, 

 to my dismay, I found that the mice had destroyed every one. 



