162 THE LILY. 



of broad petals reflexing in the form of a globe, without 

 separation at the points, or forming gutters or uneven ribs 

 in the petals, but showing a fair, round, even surface, and 

 exhibiting none of the backs of the petals. 



3. The petals should be thick, rich in texture, free from 

 notches, or puckers, of pure ground-color or white. The 

 blooms should be on strong foot-stalks, the lower flower 

 farther off the stem than the upper ; and there should not be 

 less than seven in the truss, or spike, that should form a 

 tapering head of flowers. 



4. The varieties speckled with the ruby-like spots should 

 be of pure white ground, and the spots bright scarlet : those 

 with pale rosy ground should have black spots ; and the 

 more and the larger, the better. 



The species most commonly cultivated are 



L. candidum. — This is the old-fashioned white or 

 Annunciation lily, one of the oldest inhabitants of the gar- 

 den, but always a favorite, and a plant of which no garden 

 can have too many. While thriving in common border- 

 soil, this species grows and flowers with wonderful luxuri- 

 ance in a richly prepared bed. In our own garden, such a 

 bed was a splendid object during the past season. The bed 

 was ten feet in diameter, excavated six feet deep in sandy 



