174 We farfcen's .Story. 



green stems means to make the bulb go to rest 

 prematurely, the result being that the next sea- 

 son the flower-stems come up weaker and pro- 

 duce smaller flowers. There is no objection to 

 cutting the stems down gradually from the top 

 as they become dry ; this does not weaken the 

 bulbs, and at the same time avoids the appear- 

 ance of untidiness. 



We would naturally expect much of the scar- 

 let martagon or scarlet Turk's-cap (L. chalcedo- 

 ntcum), the true " lily of the field." Indeed, it is 

 never disappointing, except when it is disturbed, 

 the species being extremely sensitive to removal, 

 and never being good for several years after 

 transplanting. It is one of the grand things in 

 red ; an old clump of it, in fiery scarlet flower, is 

 a sight for a cardinal to dream of and a hum- 

 ming-bird to admire. Its cultural requirements 

 are as simple as those of the Madonna lily, and 

 the beautiful cross between these two, the Nan- 

 keen lily (L. excelsum, L. testaceum, L. Isabellt- 

 nuni). No garden should be without this fine 

 hybrid to accompany the white lily. It inherits 

 the stateliness and the combined perfume of 

 both parents, with a soft apricot or buff-salmon 

 color unique among its family. 



An overestimated lily, I think, is the yellow 

 L. Hansom. It is to the Japanese species what 



