188 BULBS AND TUBEROUS-BOOTED PLANTS. 



this purpose. It is not difficult to successfully grow the 

 plant. The method employed by those who grow this 

 Lily largely and well, is to pot the bulbs singly in eight 

 inch pots, as soon as the bulbs can be obtained, the 

 earlier the better, and when possible using a rich, lively 

 loam, avoiding fresh manure; plunge the pots to the 

 rim in a frame where they can have free sunlight and 

 air. Their annual autumn growth will soon commence, 

 when water should be freely given, and growth encour- 

 aged as much as possible, which will continue until the 

 ground is frozen. Upon the approach of frost, cover 

 the pots with newly fallen leaves, and cover the frames 

 with sash or shutters, using care to exclude heat, which 

 might stimulate untimely growth, and to keep out the 

 frost, or rather, hard freezing, in order that the pots 

 can be taken into the greenhouse as required, during 

 winter. The pots can be brought in at any time after 

 the plants have had a short rest. It is better, however, 

 not to start them too soon, but to commence about the 

 first of January, and bring them in as required for a 

 succession. They are best grown in a cool house, where 

 they can have an abundance of light and air. When 

 crowded, in a warm house, they grow up long and weak, 

 and quickly become the prey of insect enemies. In a 

 cool house, say with a temperature of 60° F. by day, and 

 40° by night, they will come into bloom in ten weeks. 

 They can be made to bloom in much less time, but at 

 the expense of health to both plant and flower. 



Home grown bulbs are greatly to be preferred to 

 imported ones, the latter quite frequently being injured 

 by heating in transit. Another reason for this prefer- 

 ence being that all vegetation is more rapid in this cli- 

 mate than in France, where these bulbs are principally 

 grown for the American market. Here the bulbs have 

 a longer period of rest, and develop their growth in a 

 much shorter period. The consequence is, the bulbs 



