14 NOTES ON LILIES 



been stored away for a long time out of the ground they are delayed 

 in their growth. 



There is, however, another way in which bulbs increase, and that 

 too very rapidly. A bulb will send up two or more stems, at the 

 close of the season it will be found that each stem has acquired a 

 separate bulb, and that two, three, or more bulbs have been formed 

 out of the original parent. We have counted five good flowering 

 bulbs obtained in this way, all enclosed in the circumference of the 

 -old part y this is especially the case in the Longiflorum section, the 

 Thunbergianum section, Concolor, &c. ; less with Speciosum and 

 Auratum. Besides this increase there are generally three or four 

 tiny bulbs to be found about the base of each stem, so that it fre- 

 quently happens that from one parent two or three flowering bulbs 

 .and three or four small ones may be taken in a season. In such a 

 case it will be necessary every other year at least to take up the bulbs, 

 divide and plant out singly ; the little bulbs will bloom the third 

 season. If not divided out thus, the mass will speedily become so 

 thick that individual bulbs will be starved of nourishment by their 

 neighbours. Among the Auratum and Speciosum families, it is com- 

 mon to find three to six small bulbs at the base of the stem ; these 

 may be carefully detached and planted apart. The Tigers and 

 Bulbifemm form bulblets in the axis of their leaves ; these, when 

 ripe, should be detached and planted out, where they may remain 

 undisturbed. Some of the TJmbellaturn and Thunbergianum will also 

 form bulblets where the flowers have been cut off. 



Making New Growth. We have constantly observed, when taking 

 up bulbs in the autumn, two sets of scales, the outer irregular dis- 

 coloured portion, which represents all that is left of last year's bulb, 

 and an inner regular plump white set of scales, representing the 

 growth of the previous, and the inflorescence of the coming season, 

 this yearly increment of growth occurs in healthy Lilies in the interior 

 of the bulb, the outer and old scales are pushed further apart by the 

 new growth, and the bulb increases in size, more or less, according 

 to the nature and health of the plant. In choosing bulbs, therefore, 

 in addition to preferring a hard, weighty bulb, choose also one that 

 has a light- coloured plump interior, showing good recent growth for 

 next season's flowering. We wero particularly led to these observa- 

 tions by noting some bulbs of L. Brownii, which had grown well one 

 season but had^ not flowered, the bulbs were half as large again as 

 when planted, the interior was filled up with light-coloured new 

 scales, outside which were a few outer discoloured scales, evidently 

 the last year's growth ; the contrast was so great between the two as 

 ^to attract an inquiry into the cause, and further observations on other 

 ;kinds led to the inferences above quoted. Therefore, when it is said 

 that it often takes Lilies a year to recover themselves after importa- 

 tion, it really means that the journey has destroyed or impaired their 



