LILY* 175 



seedsmen's catalogues, prominent in the cultural instruc- 

 tions, and the trustful beginner, not taking the proper 

 precautions, loses his bulbs. So well established has this 

 opinion become, that failure wholly due to frost is 

 attributed to some unknown cause. This opinion is 

 founded on the fact that the species denominated hardy 

 are natives of either cold, or temperate climates. A. more 

 erroneous^ opinion, or one fraught with more danger to 

 the plant^ could not well be entertained. The species 

 that are truly hardy in New York, other than those 

 indigenous to the soil, are remarkably few ; indeed, they 

 are the exception rather than the rule. While it is true 

 that some of the species are found in the coldest parts 

 of the habitable globe, growing most luxuriantly, it is 

 equally true that those same species, grown in temperate 

 climates, are not hardy to a degree which renders it safe 

 to plant them in our borders without protection. 



It is but proper to remark, at this time, that there 

 is no climate so severe on every class of bulbs, such 

 as are usually considered hardy, and left in the open 

 border during winter, as that of the Middle Atlantic 

 States. This is particularly applicable to the Atlantic 

 coast, from Massachusetts to Virginia, where the ther- 

 mometer often indicates forty degrees of frost when 

 there is not a particle of snow on the ground for the pro- 

 tection of vegetation. In these localities the frost pene- 

 trates the earth to a great depth, and is soon thawed 

 out. These constant changes from freezing to thawing 

 cause the earth to contract and expand to such a degree 

 as to frequently tear the bulbs in pieces. \Ve have 

 known whole fields destroyed in this manner. This 

 shows the mechanical effect of freezing. Now let us be 

 more specific. Siberia affords us a striking illustration 

 of climatic influences on growth and preservation of 

 bulbs. There the beautiful little Tenuifolium is indige- 

 nous, and there it is largely employed as an article of 



