THE POND 179 



annual box of L. auratum at one of the famous 

 autumn auction sales of Mr. Stevens. For a modest 

 sovereign or so one can replenish the garden with 

 this absolutely necessary lily. I have never really 

 established it, and will not pretend to a success I 

 covet. Auratum always deteriorates with me in my 

 peat-beds. Auratum rubro vittatum and A. platy- 

 phyllum are, however, at once hardier and grander 

 than the type. The unspotted A. Wittei is very 

 beautiful also. A. virginale is not unspotted, as the 

 name implies. My favourite lily continues to be 

 L. giganteum ; but this year, though I particularly 

 wanted a good bloom-spike for my book, only one 

 appeared from the bed, and that but small. Other 

 lily disasters also overtook me. I had a grand L. 

 Henryi coming on with no less than twenty-five fine 

 buds on the spike. Never did I see such a promis- 

 ing thing ; but for some reason, hidden from me, 

 Nature lost her temper on the night of August 3rd, 

 and blew a whole gale out of the south-west. The 

 havoc was terrific, and among the many sufferers 

 I found L. Henryi with his head off and his year's 

 work rendered futile. I grow hydrangeas on stan- 

 dards, and poor paniculata was stricken hip and 

 thigh. Great trusses of snowy bloom lay scattered 

 all over the garden. 



So much has been said about the lily, and such 

 wisdom uttered by professional gardeners, that it 

 would be vanity for me to add any word. To 

 name but one : Miss Jekyll's lovely book cannot 

 have escaped you. My favourites, after L. gigan- 



