On the Culture of the Guernsey Lily, #c. 177 



the leaves decay, that is, about Midsummer, at latest, till 

 the end of August, when the flower buds should appear If 

 the bulbs are not left dry early in the summer, the autumnal 

 shoot will be delayed, till the season becomes too cold for the 

 proper growth of the flowers or leaves, and the natural 

 course and vigour of the plant will be interrupted, after which 

 it will require at least a year to repair the injury it will have 

 received. Whenever the sprouting of the bulb is tardy, it 

 should be assisted by placing it, for a short time, in a war- 

 mer situation. If the stigma does not expand so as to become, 

 after a few days, trifid, it is a sign that the temperature is 

 rather too low, to suit the plant, and the leaves will proba- 

 bly not push freely without more heat. I have obtained 

 seed from the Guernsey Lily ; not, however, by placing the 

 bulbs (as Mr. Knight recommends*) in a stove to ripen it^ 

 but by procuring the blossom early, in an airy situation. 

 The confined air of the stove probably prevented Mr. 

 Knight's from ripening their seed. 



A good yellow loam, without any manure, will suit Guern- 

 sey Lilies very well : but I think they will thrive in any 

 wholesome compost, which does not tend to canker their 

 bulbs : they should be planted partly above ground, for the 

 wet earth round their necks will prevent their flowering or 

 thriving, and will even sometimes destroy them. The old 

 coats about the neck of the bulb, which hold water like a 

 sponge, should be occasionally pulled off. 



The prevailing notion that Guernsey Lilies would not flower 

 a second time in this country, has arisen from improper 

 treatment, the bulbs having been either placed without pro- 

 lection out of doors, where the frost will infallibly destroy 



* See Horticultural Transactions, vol. iii. page 399. 



vol. iv. A a 



