JULY 191 



flew off to the river to enjoy the process of digestion, the 

 pleasure of which must have been enhanced, no doubt, 

 by the dying throes of her prey within. 



XLIV 



Among all the forms of multifarious beauty which the 

 enterprise of the great horticultural firms and The Giant 

 the industry of their collectors have added of ^y 

 late to the furnishing of British gardens and shrub- 

 beries, the most conspicuous have come from China the 

 Flowery Land. The richness and variety of the native 

 flora in that vast realm seem inexhaustible; but none 

 of the recent introductions exceed in splendour the 

 Giant Lily (Lilium giganteum), which was first seen in 

 this country a couple of generations ago. For forty 

 years it has flourished and flowered in the garden that 

 I love, yet even at this day, when hardy plants are all 

 the fashion, it remains a comparative rarity; and even 

 where it is cultivated, it seldom is given the conditions 

 necessary to secure the finest display. 



Dr. Augustine Henry, who, collaborating with that 

 other famous collector, Mr. Wilson, has added so much 

 to our knowledge of the flora of Central and Western 

 China, was the first to reveal to me the secret of success. 

 Put this lily in a shady spot and leave it alone. It is 

 essentially a woodland plant, shunning the full blaze of 

 sunshine and coveting the true forest soil. Plant it on 

 the northern margin of a wood or high shrubbery, or 

 group the bulbs along woodland paths and glades, in 

 deep, cool soil, and it will reward you by its glorious, 

 glossy heart-shaped leaves, from amid which rise in June 



