50 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



roots. On the other hand, there is no objection whatever to an 

 elevated ring at the top. It may be made of a strip of zinc, and 

 may extend two or three inches above the top of the pot, thus 

 permitting of quite a liberal addition of soil. The stem-roots 

 will feed in it, and the plants will benefit greatly. 



It is not every Lilium that is suited for pot culture. The 

 huge giganteum, for instance, is altogether too forceful a grower. 

 The commoner, hardy kinds, such as the Tiger Lily (tigrinum), 

 croceum, and chalcedonicum, look best out of doors. But such 

 refined Lilies as longiflorum (long-flowered) and its varieties, and 

 speciosum or lancifolium (which forms the subject of one of the 

 coloured plates), and varieties, are admirable for the purpose. The 

 Madonna Lily (candidum), elegans (thunbergianum), and its varieties, 

 and the Golden-rayed Japanese Lily (auratum), are often grown 

 in pots with success. The potting should be done as early in 

 autumn as the bulbs can be got, and the soil and general treat- 

 ment may be the same as for Hyacinths. The bulbs of auratum 

 purchased in autumn will be English ones, and if large, firm, and 

 solid, none can be better. The imported auratums are much cheaper, 

 but they do not arrive until winter or spring ; and do not, as a 

 rule, give such good results as the English bulbs. Perhaps the 

 most popular Lilies for pot culture are the Easter or Bermuda 

 Lily, which is a variety of longiflorum called Harrisii, and the 

 variety of speciosum known as album Kraetzeri. Both are pure 

 white, and are largely grown for market. It is well to pick off the 

 stamens of the latter before the pollen becomes ripe, otherwise it 

 will scatter and stain the flowers. 



The most popular garden Lily is certainly auratum, and the 

 florists and collectors have given us some beautiful varieties of it. 

 The species, as is well known, has white flowers, with yellow stripes 

 and red dots. In the variety rubro-vittatum the yellow stripes 

 become crimson, and this is a very distinct and beautiful variety. 

 Wittei is pure white, and Virginale is marked only by a faint 



