CHAPTER XII 



LILIES FOR DIFFERENT SOILS 



It has been observed by some of our best amateurs 

 that it is not usual for more than four or five kinds 

 of Lilies to do well in the ordinary soil of any one 

 garden. This is scarcely to be wondered at when 

 one thinks of the enormous geographical distribution 

 of these plants. All the known Lilies are natives of 

 the northern hemisphere, and virtually within the 

 temperate zone ; any that occur within the Tropic of 

 Cancer are in mountainous places at an elevation 

 of some thousands of feet. They extend from Japan 

 in the east to the western States of America, and as 

 they grow in every variety of soil and situation it 

 stands to reason that the conditions offered by any 

 one garden are not likely to suit a large number of 

 species. 



But as gardening consists not only in doing what 

 is easiest but also in taking pains to suit plants with 

 what they want, by learning what are the needs of 

 the Lilies that may be most admired by any individual 

 amateur they may generally be made to succeed. 



Still it will be reasonable to give the preference 

 to the Lilies that will be favoured by the soil of the 

 garden, and the following list will approximately show 

 the likings of the kinds we have to deal with. 



43 s 



