LILY. ' 257 



fine earth manured with old compost, and in a spot 

 completely sheltered but open to the sun. Before 

 winter cover up the roots with light short decayed 

 dung, which rake off in spring, when the young 

 buds will be found appearing beneath. 



Lily Of which there are many varieties, but a 

 few of the best are the large common white, grow- 

 ing four or five feet high; (the small white flower 

 not unfrequently called lily, is a Narcissus;) the 

 orange lily, which takes its name from its colour; 

 the fiery lily, which may be known by the bulbs it 

 bears on the stalks; the martgon or TurkVcap 

 lily, of which there are many sorts, and which are 

 named from the turning in of the petals, presenting 

 the figure of a turban; the tiger, and the crown- 

 imperial. The bulbs are scaly and do not agree 

 with the treatment of hard bulbs. If kept long 

 out of the ground they must be placed in sand to 

 prevent drying. The proper season for planting is 

 September: planted in spring they are apt not to 

 flower that year. But the best rule with all the 

 tribe is to observe when the leaves begin to decay 

 after the season is flowering, and then to take them 

 up, whether to give more room or fresh soil. They 

 are too monstrous for beds, and do best either in 

 single plants, or in patches or intervals. The crown- 

 imperial, though not the most showy of lilies, is a 

 grand and elegant flower, and remarkable for its 

 rapid growth at an early period of the spring. At 

 that season of all food it is the most enticing to 

 snails. Being horribly blefiant and juicy, it is pro- 



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