STtoo (Sartien ifaborftes. 167 



be composed of it alone. We readily concede 

 its beauty ; the next thing is to manage it. " The 

 more I see of lilies, the less I know how to grow 

 them," is a wise maxim of H. J. Elwes. One re- 

 quires tact and perseverance to grow the lily. 

 Very many of its numerous species are fastidious, 

 quick to express their likes and dislikes ; some, 

 indeed, refuse to yield to culture unless in a cli- 

 mate of their own choosing. Yet, after all, most 

 of the species may be satisfactorily grown if 

 proper attention be paid to soil, position, and 

 protection. 



While the majority of the genus are hardy, 

 and very many are natives of cold climates or 

 high elevations, winter protection to nearly all 

 species is nevertheless advisable with us. If the 

 ground remained covered with snow the entire 

 winter, the bulbs would not surfer. It is the 

 alternate and frequent changes from freezing to 

 thawing which contract and heave the ground 

 that causes the trouble, the bulbs themselves 

 contracting and expanding with the changes of 

 temperature. No less important is the matter 

 of drainage : very few lilies will endure being 

 water-logged ; very few, also, will endure ma- 

 nure about their bulbs. The manure harbors 

 wire-worms, which are fond of the lily's ten- 

 der scales. To obviate this, and to strength- 



