April u, i8SS.] 



Garden and Forest. 



8i 



The Cultivation of Lilies. 



WHAT soils do Lilies require, or in what kind do tliey best 

 succeed ? are questions often aslved; and a fitting answer 

 is, tliat it mal'ces but little difference. The character of the soil 

 is of less importance than its condition. I have planted Lilies 

 in soils varying from the heaviest clay to the lightest .sand, 

 and have had perfect success in all. My preference is a light 

 loam, moderately moist and rich, and in partial shade. If that 

 is not at command, I plant in such as I have, with full confi- 

 dence that a soil which will yield a g'ood crop of garden vegeta- 

 bles will produce Lilies. 



It is a mistake to suppose that each plant needs a soil ^\'ith 

 certain specific characters for its perfect development. It is 

 safe to say of Lilies, at least, that all the species ^^'ill thrive in 

 the same soil. Make a heavy soil rich and provide good 

 drainage, and you will get an abundance of Lilies. Make a 

 light soil rich and keep it moist by a liberal mulch, and the 

 result will be the same. 



A common cause of failure in Lily-culture is planting in wet 

 situations. Too much water around the bulbs in winter is 

 about as injurious as too many degrees of frost. While the 

 Lily prefers a moist and cool situation, it will not thrive where 

 the soil is covered with water during winter. 



There are many gardens noted for productiveness which 

 cannot be planted until long after neighboring ones because 

 of too much moisture ; such are not suited to the Lily. 

 The remedy in such a case is a raised bed, which may be pre- 

 pared by marking out a bed of a required size and digging' the 

 earth deep. Then on the surface place stones, of about the 

 size used for paving, some ten inclies apart each way. Fill 

 the spaces between the stones with soil level with the tops. 

 Upon this place the bulljs, and between them put smaller 

 stones ; then cover the bulbs to the depth of six inches with 

 good rich soil. The bulbs should not be placed nearer than 

 one foot from the edge of the bed, which edge should be nicely 

 sodded and kept neatly trimmed during summer. Upon the 

 approach of frost, mulch a little more heavily than if the bulbs 

 were planted in the ordinary border. 



With these precautions, nearly all Lilies can be grown in 

 the greatest perfection. 



For the perfect development of the flower, a few other pre- 

 cautions are necessary. The first is to cover the bed during- 

 summer with some neat mulch, in order to keep the ground 

 cool and moist; this is not only necessary for the full develop- 

 ment of the flower, but for the growth of the bulb, and the 

 flowers the coming season will be numerous and strong just 

 in proportion to the size and strength of the bulb formed this 

 year. For mulching, some low-growing annuals should be 

 used, such as Verbenas, dwarf Petunias, or any other that 

 fancy may suggest. This applies only to Lilies in a raised bed; 

 when they are planted in the shrubbery-liorder, an excellent 

 place for them, this precaution is not necessarv. 



The second precaution is, to have the Lily-bed partially 

 shaded, to protect the plants from the mid-day sun. This may 

 be done by a light lattice-cohering, say three or four feet above 

 the plant; or by arranging a frame with a light canvas covering, 

 to be used only in excessively hot weather. This will not only 

 prolong the season of flowering, but the flowers will be larger, 

 the colors and markings better defined, and the whole plant 

 stronger and more healthy. Of course, good flowers can be 

 produced without these precautions, liut better ones can be 

 produced with them. 



When to plant is an imiiortant consideration. It is well 

 known that the best time to remove plants, and particularly 

 bulbs, is during their period of rest. The Lily has but a short 

 season of rest ; it is constantly doing something in the way of 

 development, but its energies are only employed in one direc- 

 tion at one time. The growth of stem and flower consumes 

 the bulb, which, in its turn, is built up by the action of leaf and 

 stem. It is better to transplant as soon as possible after the 

 bulb has perfected its growth. If taken up at this time the 

 bulbs can be packed away in leaf-mold until spring, if neces- 

 sary. It is far better to take up, separate the bulbs and plant out 

 the same day. Bulbs should remain dry but for a very short 

 period. In importing new varieties and for purposes of sale, 

 it becomes necessary to keep them dry longer than they 

 should be. Every day they are exposed to the air materially 

 weakens them, and often beyond their power of recuperation. 

 No wonder growers get discouraged in their efforts to exhibit 

 a Lily-bed, when they buy Inilbs that have been in dry sawdust, 

 or exposed to the dry atmosphere of the seed-room, from Octo- 

 ber until May. Such bulbs will not recover their strength, if 

 ever, until long after the hopes of the buyer have been blasted, 

 and he has bestowed his blighted affections on some other plant. 



When Lilies have become established frequent removals are 

 not desirable; they should remain undisturbed as long as they 

 flower well. It is well to remove the small bulbs that form at 

 the base of the stem in early spring, and transfer them to the 

 reserve ground to complete their growth and be ready for 

 future use. C. L. Allen. 



Seedling Rhododendrons. 



T THINK we ought to encourage the raising and planting of 

 -'■ seedling Rhododendrons more than we do. By raising 

 them from seeds saved from the hardiest varieties already in 

 cultivation we may reasonably expect a majority of the seed- 

 lings to prove hardy. And I have no doubt in point of vigor 

 and health the seedlings have the advantage over the grafted 

 plants. But in the production of flowers I am inclined to think 

 that the grafted plants will bear more than will the seedlings, 

 because, being less vigorous, they are more branchy in propor- 

 tion to their size, and e\-ery little shoot among Rhododendrons 

 should carry a bunch of flowers. 



Four years ago last fall we planted a hundred seedlings in 

 one bed. They were then some 20 to 24 inches high, and well 

 set with buds. In spring they bloomed as if nothing had hap- 

 pened, and have ever since grown and flowered most satisfac- 

 torily ; and all are still alive and in excellent health. Now, the 

 most striking feature about these seedlings is their vigor. They 

 have outgrown a lot of grafted plants that occupy the same 

 bed with them and which are considerably older than the seed- 

 lings, and there is more suppleness in their wood and fresh- 

 ness in their foliage than the grafted specunens show. The 

 flowers of all are beautiful — indeed, many of them arc as good 

 as those of some of our named sorts. But while these seed- 

 lings, so far, have proved hardy here, in less favored localities, 

 no douljt, all of them would not prove hardy. Butsurely we can 

 raise seedlings that will prove hardy generally from Ever- 

 estianum, Album elegans, Abraham Lincoln, and other hardy 

 kinds. 



We mulch this seedling bed with oak-tree leaves ; throw 

 them in loosely among the bushes in fall, and about 12 to 18 

 inches thick, and leave them there winter and summer. The 

 frost never penetrates through this mulching ; nevertheless, al- 

 though the soil about the roots never freezes, and the tops may 

 shiver and droop in zero weather, I never have known the 

 plants to be injuriously affected by these apparently inconsist- 

 ent conditions. W. Falconer. 



[The disadvantages of planting seedh'ng rather than 

 named, tried varieties of Rhododendrons, are that more or 

 less of the seedlings prove too tender for our climate, and 

 that many of them produce inferior flowers. For mc-^t 

 people, especially for those who only need a few plants, 

 the named varieties will be found the most satisfactory. 

 Layered, and not grafted, plants should be used whenever 

 they can be obtained. They grow better, and are not 

 troubled with the suckers, which spring up fr(un the slock 

 of. grafted plants. — Eu. ] 



Chrysanthemum Notes.— Chrysanthemumsfrom this time will 

 be much better without any "fire-heat. There is no better 

 place for them than a cold-frame sunk a foot below the ground 

 level. Thev should not be set close together — a space of at 

 least an inch between each pot should be allowed. It is not 

 that the plants themselves would crowd each other when 

 closely packed, but each pot will be found to have the roots 

 strong and vigorous around the outside of each ball of earth. 

 They'should be covered every night with something more 

 than ordinary glass sash, for at least a month to conie, and I 

 know of nothing better than the cloth made by the United 

 States Waterproof Fibre Company. I have frames made to fit 

 sashes six by tlu-ee feet, covered with the cloth and put on 

 everv night, and it is astonishing how much frost they keep out. 

 All plants as they become well rooted should be repo'tted before 

 becoming pot-bound. The black aphis should be kept well in 

 check. I use, first, wherever practicable, fumigation with 

 tobacco, once every week ; then I dust the plants over head 

 with pure tobacco dust. I have found plants injured when 

 using tol)acco snuff. Finally I syringe with tobacco-water, 

 made strong enough to have the appearance of black coffee. 

 The white mildew must l>e fought with sulphur. I mix equal 

 parts of sulphur and very fine flue-dust from hard coal. With 

 this I thoroughly sprinkle the plant above and l>elow and leave 

 the dust on tor a couple of days. If at any time it is not possible 

 to repot plants when they become pot-bound, give an occa- 

 sional watering of liquid manure to keep up the food supply. 

 Do not neglect to keep plants st;iked as they gi-ow. 



Joint TJtorpe. 



