116 THE GARDEN BEAUTIFUL 



A variety of soils is necessary to success if a large 

 general collection is to be cultivated, though a light 

 soil is better than heavy for the sorts most commonly 

 grown, even if it contains some gravel. No general 

 culture can be given to fit all kinds, but the directions 

 for care which we give will strike a good average 

 treatment. 



It is a good plan to put a handful of fine sharp 

 sand under all bulbs planted in the fall, for it les- 

 sens the chances of decay and allows the roots a 

 better start. In the case of lily bulbs it is also a 

 good plan to drop some sand on top of the bulb; it 

 is much better to fill the interstices between the 

 scales with sand than to have them full of soil con- 

 taining decaying vegetable matter. 



Lilium superbum will thrive in a very heavy soil ; 

 L. tigrinum will do in any, while the following are 

 adapted to light soils: auratum, chalcedonicum, 

 candidum, longiflorum and the varieties of specio- 

 sum. Among the best sorts to grow are : auratum, 

 the gold-banded lily of Japan, white with bands of 

 yellow and spots of purple ; candidum, the Madonna 

 lily from southern Europe ; longiflorum variety exim- 

 ium; Lilium Harrisii, the Bermuda or Easter lily, 

 from China and Japan; speciosum variety rubrum 

 from Japan; tigrinum from China and Japan, the 

 tiger lily of old-fashioned gardens, though the vari- 

 ety splendens of the tiger lily is far better than the 

 old type, having large, nodding, bright red flowers 

 freely spotted with large purplish spots ; superbum, 

 the American Turk's cap, which grows wild in the 

 eastern half of this country; and many of our na- 

 tives are well worthy of cultivation. The most pop- 

 ular Californian lily in the eastern states is L. 

 Washingtonianum, and the one common throughout 



