2,80 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GAEDENING. 



much crowded in the pots, but three or fovir in a 

 five-inch pot are ample, or single bulbs may be put 

 in three-inch pots. The best soil is a compost of 

 two parts of loam, two of coarse sand, and one part 

 each of peat, leaf-mould, and well-decayed cow- 

 manure. "Water should not be given until growth 

 commences. Instead of potting the whole stock at 

 once, when it is large, a. portion may be kept and 

 potted a month or six weeks later, so as to obtain a 

 SQCCessional bloom. By gently forcing a few of the 

 earliest-potted bulbs, the flowering season may be 

 extended from Christmas time till June. In basket- 

 culture the bulbs should be planted all round the 

 interior of the baskets. To prevent the soil from 

 running through 

 there should be a 

 good layer of 

 moss between the 

 sides of the basket 

 and soil. The 

 bulbs produce an 

 abundance of off- 

 sets, so that pro- 

 pagation by other 

 means is unneces- 

 sary. 



Leucojum 



I^Snowflake). — 

 The Snowflakes, 

 like the Snow- 

 drops, have been 

 garden favourites 

 for generations. 

 They are all more 

 or less hardy, but vary a good deal in constitution, 

 some being weakly, others very strong in growth. L. 

 vernum is the earliest to flower, and hardy enough to 

 brave the cold and wet of February. It is somewhat 

 like a Snowdrop, but the flowers are bell-shaped, and 

 white, vrith each of the petals tipped with greenish- 

 yellow. It grows from nine to twelve inches high. 

 There is a larger and stronger-growing variety of it 

 that habitually bears twin-flowered stems, and has 

 the petals tipped with yellow. This is known as 

 L. carpathicmn. This Snowflake (called also Eri- 

 nosma vernum) is a native of moist pastures through- 

 out Central Europe .It flourishes in an open sunny 

 border of light, loamy soil. 



The Summer Snowflake [L. csstivum) is much 

 taller and more robust than the Spring one. The 

 flowers, produced in early summer, are white and 

 drooping, from four to eight on each stem. Two 

 other Snowflakes very similar to this kind are L. 

 pukhellum (which flowers about a, month before L. 

 testivum), and Z. Semandezianum, characterised by 



its fewer flowers on a stem. These three kinds are 

 natives of moist meadows and pastures throughout 

 Central Europe, and are naturalised here. They are 

 of easy culture, thriving in moist partially-shaded 

 positions in almost any kind of soil. They are 

 admirably suited for naturalising in moist woods, 

 and on the banks and margins of lakes and 

 streams, and are readily increased by separating the 

 bulbs at almost any season. There are a few other 

 species of Xeucojum, once placed in the genus Acis, 

 all natives of South Europe and North Africa. There 

 they are of dwarf slender growth, with narrow, 

 grassy foliage, and bear small, white, bell-shaped 

 flowers on slender stems. The species of the Aris 



section now in 

 cultivation are Z. 

 autumnale, L. 

 roseum, L. tricho- 

 phyllmn, L. hye- 

 male, and L. 

 grandiflorum. 

 These are all too 

 delicate to be re- 

 commended for 

 general cultiva- 

 tion, as they re- 

 q^uire great care 

 and attention to 

 succeed with 

 them. 



Ijililim [Lily). 

 — ^LUies are so 

 diverse in growth, 

 stature, and 

 colour, that they are equally well suited to the mixed 

 border, the shrubbery, and the rock garden, while 

 the tenderest kinds are valuable for the green-house. 

 They range in stature from a few inches high, as in 

 L. alutaceum, to as much as ten and twelve feet in 

 Z. giganteum, and some of the Califomian species. 



Of late years the number of cultivated Lilies has 

 been considerably augmented, until now there are 

 upwards of fifty species, with probably as many 

 varieties. These have been culled from almost every 

 region of the Northern Hemisphere, from Japan in 

 the extreme east to California in the west, and from 

 the hiUs of Southern India and the Philippines to 

 the dreary plains of Siberia and the cold swamps of 

 Canada. The head-quarters of the genus are Europe, 

 Japan, and CaUfomia ; and the species from these 

 regions are aU hardy enough for our open English 

 gardens. 



All Lilies are herbaceous perennials ; that is, their 

 stems die down after flowering, and though the roots 

 are active throughout the winter, no signs of growth 



IXIOLIEION TAIAEICUM. 



