192 THE GIANT LILY 



massive, columnar stems, bearing aloft great creamy 

 blossoms of exquisite fragrance. In October a liberal 

 harvest of seeds may be gathered, which should be sown 

 in a shady border. They lie dormant a whole year, and 

 then germinate freely, whereby the stock of this majestic 

 foreigner may be increased to any extent. Nay, more : 

 owing to its endurance of shade it sows itself freely in 

 British woodlands, where the undergrowth is usually so 

 rank as to choke the finer forms of vegetation. Lately 

 I saw the sides of a ditch in a Surrey oak wood thickly 

 peopled with self-sown seedlings of this lily, promising 

 a glorious display in summers to come. Dr. Henry tells 

 me that it is among the most conspicuous features of 

 Chinese forests. Note, however, that he who would enjoy 

 flowers from seedlings of this lily should start sowing 

 betimes, for the plants must be from seven to ten years 

 old before they blossom. 



In this country the giant lily has shown as yet no sign 

 of being susceptible to that fatal rust or fungus which has 

 affected the white Madonna lily and the scarlet turncap 

 so disastrously. The beauty of these two species is so 

 peculiar that the utter loss of them from our gardens 

 would be irreparable. They still make vigorous growth 

 in spring, but in most districts they are affected in May 

 by a blight which sears the roots and stem-leaves, so that 

 the plant has no strength left for the supreme effort of 

 putting forth blooms. I have seen the disease baffled by 

 planting the bulbs upon chalk laid in a deep trench ; but 

 chalk is hard to come by in northern gardens. An expert 

 friend recommended kainit, spread on the surface round 

 the plants in the proportion of two ounces to every 

 square yard of ground. I tried it; and found that I 



