LILIUM LANCIFOLIUM. 



LILIES. 



THE LILY is loved in every land. It is the queen of flowers, and only the Rose can dispute 

 its regal honors. We find it in the humid vale, the arid desert, and on the lofty mountain top. 

 With few exceptions, Lilies succeed in our gardens admirably, are subject to no diseases, and 

 continue to increase in strength and beauty for many years. From six to a dozen of the best 

 varieties will give a good collection, better far than is seen even in most of our best gardens. 

 The past twenty years has added to our garden Lilies the best we now possess, such as Lanci- 



foliunt, of several varieties, Auratum, Wash- 

 ingtonianum, Bloomer ianum, &c. Some of the 

 newer varieties have been, affected with a strange 

 disease, or perhaps did not take kindly to our 

 climate and soil, or may have been seriously 

 injured by a long journey. Whatever may have 

 been the cause, the Auratum certainly was not 

 reliable for a number of years 

 after its introduction. Some, hav- 

 ing every appearance of sound- 

 ness, when planted would make 

 a vigorous start, and then, with- 

 out apparent cause, perhaps as 

 the buds were about to open, 

 show signs of disease, the leaves 

 drooping, and an examination 

 showing a decaying bulb. Oth- 

 ers would flower beautifully the 

 first season, and decay the sec- 

 ond or even the third. We 

 have lost thousands of Auratum bulbs in this way. We have now mature, good sized bulbs, 

 raised in our grounds beds of many thousands, with the foliage very much improved, and very 

 little, if any, sign of disease. The Auratum is so grand that we must have it, though we occa- 

 sionally lose a bulb or two; and as we now grow them with every appearance of sound- 

 ness, the difficulty, whatever its cause, we hope is entirely overcome. 



The California Lilies we have not before dared to describe, although we have cultivated them 

 several years, because sometimes we have received several species under one name, and at other 

 times, what seemed to be one variety, with a good many more names than it was entitled to. 

 Our management, also, seemed to be defective, so we visited California to see the Lilies and 

 consult with her most conscientious florists and most experienced botanists. We think we now 

 understand the characteristics of the California Lilies, and their habits, so that we can describe 

 them understandingly ; but the most important lesson we learned was the necessity of deep plant- 

 ing. We are quite certain we dug Lily bulbs in California rally eighteen inches below- the sur- 

 face, and are satisfied that much of our losses 

 with the Auratum and the Pacific Lilies was 

 the result of shallow planting, though we are 

 well aware that this was not the entire cause. 

 We would advise all who plant the Auratum, 

 or any of the California Lilies, to set them 

 deep. Indeed, all Lilies require deep planting. 

 The collection of Lilies is now so large 

 and so good that no lover of flowers can 

 afford to ignore this interesting and elegant 

 family, and no garden can be considered 

 complete without a good collection. We 

 will describe a few of the best. 



Lilium landfolium. Among the many truly valuable flowers that have been introduced into 

 this country and Europe from Japan and China, during the past twenty years, we know of 



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LILIUM CHALCEDONICUM. 



