BULBS AND TUBERS FOR OUT-DOOR CULTURE. 69 



or ten days. There may be a time when, in some sunny and shel- 

 tered spots, we feel sure we might plant anything without fear of 

 frost, while yet, within a hundred feet, we may find the ground 

 frozen so hard that we could not expect to plant for ten days. 



There are some bulbs that will take no hurt if the ground freezes 

 an inch after planting, and there are others that feel the slightest 

 chill. I have planted gladioli early and had the tops chiUed, yet 

 with no injury ; but tuberoses must wait until the ground is 

 thoroughly warmed and likely to stay so. 



Lilies are among our most trustworthy- allies after the galaxy 

 of spring flowers has passed away. Lilium candidum is one of the 

 hardiest species, but it is also the most particular about the 

 time of planting. The bulbs must be planted when they are in 

 the dormant state ; which is the last of August or the first of Sep- 

 tember. The bulbs start in the autumn, and the foliage remains 

 green through the winter. The bulbs will not bloom if disturbed 

 after they commence growing. L. longiflorum is not as liard^' as 

 many of the other varieties, from the fact that its bulbs are liable 

 to start in the fall if the weather is warm. It is best to cover early 

 with leaves or light compost, as a hard frost after the bulbs have 

 started almost invariably kills them. This lily is easil}' trans- 

 planted. Several 3'ears ago some bulbs were sent me in the spring, 

 from the west, which bloomed almost as soon as those wintered in 

 my own garden. I have transplanted them while in full bloom, 

 taking care to disturb the roots as little as possible, and the next 

 spring they came up strong and vigorous. L. aurattim is quite 

 uncertain, even with the best of protection. I pkint a few bulbs 

 every year, and charge the cost to account of " bedding plants.'' 

 I think they are worth growing if I get only one season's bloom 

 from them. I do not mean it to be understood that I do not win- 

 ter an^^ of the bulbs of this species, but merely that L. auratum 

 cannot be depended upon like L. candidum and L. speciosum. 

 Last season my bulbs were extremely satisfactory, and flowered 

 finely. One bulb produced two stalks with thirteen blossoms on 

 ' each ; another eleven on a single stalk ; and several bore six each. 

 Were I to get no more than two blossoms from a bulb, I would 

 still grow them. 



All the varieties of L. speciosum are hardy. Album Proecox is 

 a much finer white variety than Album. Rubrum, Koseum, Punc- 

 tatum, Melpomene, and Purpuratum are all desirable varieties. 



