LILIUM CANDIDUM ii 



it is what is called the most capricious. When we say 

 a plant is capricious, it is, of course, a veiled confession 

 of ignorance, for whereas we may well believe that the 

 laws that govern the well-being of any plant are 

 more or less fixed, and with most plants we can make 

 sure of the right way of culture ; in the case of this 

 Lily we cannot find out what those laws are ; and 

 though it has been more than three hundred years 

 in our gardens, we can only give general advice as to 

 where and how it will do well. 



A plant so lovely should be tried in every garden. 

 It may be assumed as a general rule that where 

 the soil is of loam, or of anything rich and holding, 

 whether of a clayey or of a calcareous nature, that 

 there it is likely to do well. Further than that we 

 dare not go, for it is impossible to give a general pre- 

 scription on several points of culture, such as whether 

 to plant deep or shallow, whether to divide often or 

 to let alone, whether to manure or not ; for, as the 

 result of searching inquiry, we only get the most con- 

 fusing and contradictory reports from persons whose 

 observations are keen and accurate and whose state- 

 ments may be accepted as absolutely trustworthy. 



Thus, one good gardener says, '* In every instance 

 it resented manurial treatment in heavy soils." While 

 another says, " Plant in rich soil well manured." 

 Another, " L. candidum likes plenty of manure." 

 As to soil, one writer says, " I think our dry, open 

 soil, saturated with iron, is the cause of bulbs being 

 so healthy." Another says, " In a hot, dry, old garden 

 on a slope, the old Madonna Lily luxuriates ; the rock 



