LIL 



[493 ] 



LIL 



the WIREWORM and the common GARDEN- 

 SLUG, which see. Whenever a leaf is 

 observed to droop, the grub will be found 

 to be the cause. Gently remove the 

 earth near the drooping leaf, and the 

 enemy will be discovered at work. 



Diseases. The canker sometimes at- 

 tacks the bulbs. This disease arises 

 from too much moisture in the soil. 

 This must be corrected by draining. All 

 cankered bulbs should be taken up and 

 thrown away, to prevent the contagion 

 from becoming general. 



LI'LIUM MA'RTAGON. Martagon, or 

 Turk's-cap Lily. The propagation of all 

 the varieties of this species is the same 

 as described above for L. ca'ndidum. 

 The soil, however, should be liberally 

 mixed with sand. Some species, such as 

 L. co'ncolor and L. supe'rbum, require a 

 considerable quantity of sandy peat 

 mixing amongst the soil. 



LI'LIUM TIGRI'NUM, Tiger Lily; and 

 L. BULBI'FERUM or AURA'NTIUM, the Orange 

 Lily, produce at the axils of the leaves of 

 the flower-stem a considerable number of 

 small embryo bulbs. These afford a 

 ready way of propagating them. Gather 

 the bulbs as soon as they part readily 

 from the stem ; prepare a bed for them, 

 by digging it over, and adding some well- 

 rotted dung. Plant them in rows across 

 the bed at three inches apart in the row, 

 and nine inches from row to row. Let 

 them remain in this bed for two or three 

 years, then take them up, sort the bulbs 

 into two sizes, plant the largest in a bed 

 of rich earth, six inches apart in the row, 

 and a foot between each row. Several of 

 them will flower weakly the first year, 

 tut stronger the second, and will then be 

 large enough to take their place amongst 

 the old strong bulbs. The smaller-sized 

 bulbs should be planted again rather 

 thickly, and will afford a second crop of 

 flowering bulbs the second year. The 

 other points of summer and winter cul- 

 ture are similar to those required by L. 

 ca'ndidum, excepting in one particular. 

 As the flower- stems advance in growth, 

 they put forth a number of young roots 

 from the stem above the bull); when that 

 is perceived, place round each stem some 

 rough, hard pieces of dung for these roots 

 to strike into; this will encourage the 

 flower-stems to grow strongly, and flower 

 finely, besides increasing very much the 

 siz of the bulbs below. 



LI'LIUM LANCIFO'LIUM and its varieties, 



puncta'tum and specio'snm. This is the 

 finest of all the genus. The petals turn 

 buck, like those of the L. ma'rtagon. It 

 throws out roots above the bulbs like 

 L. tigri'num, but does not produce in- 

 cipient bulbs in the axils of the leaves, 

 like the latter species, and must, there- 

 fore, be propagated like L. ca'ndidum, by 

 offsets. This fine species, in the southern 

 parts of Britain, is hardy enough to bear 

 cultivating in the open air, like the rest 

 of the genus ; but it is worthy of being 

 cultivated in pots to bloom in the green- 

 house, everywhere in this country, 

 flowering in June and July, when the 

 generality of the usual inhabitants are 

 enjoying the open air. To cultivate it for 

 that purpose, pot the larger bulbs in 

 eleven-inch pots. If bulbs are plentiful, 

 put three in each pot. Do this early in 

 March, and use a rich, sandy compost. 

 Place them in' a pit or frame sheltered 

 from frost, by covering with mats, giving 

 plenty of air in mild weather, but very 

 little water. Grow them as slowly as 

 possible, so that they may have a large 

 strength of roots to cause a strong growth. 

 When the frosts are over, plunge them 

 in a bed of old tan till the greenhouse is 

 thinned of its plants, and then bring 

 them into their place ; put pans under 

 the pots, and a mulching of dung on the 

 surface of the soil. Water freely, and 

 give plenty of air. The culture in the 

 air is the same as is required by L. ca'n- 

 didum, with the addition of a covering of 

 dry ashes over the bulbs in winter. 



LILY. Li'lium. 



LILY- HYACINTH. Sci'llali'lia-hyaci' nthus. 



LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY. ( Convalla'ria ma- 

 ja'lis.) We know a garden where no one 

 can flower the lily-of-the-valley well, and 

 we also know places where it flowers in 

 the greatest abundance without any care 

 whatever. We have seen it growing 

 naturally by the acre, in a shady wood, 

 the soil being mere sand, enriched by the 

 fallen leaves ; we have dug it out in that 

 wood, and found all the roots within three 

 inches of the surface. We have also 

 seen it flower abundantly on a south bor- 

 der, in a rich kitchen-garden soil. Where 

 it refuses to succeed we would make a 

 bed for it on the north side of a wall ; 

 dig out the natural soil a foot deep, and 

 drain the bottom ; then fill up the bed 

 with a compost of light, sandy earth and 

 rotten leaves, half of each ; press it down 

 gently when within two inches of the top ; 



