many branches, each with marked character- A CLUSTER 

 istics. Of these, the most famous, because the ^ F LILIES 

 most beautiful, is the Lilium. This branch, 

 too, has been broken up into groups, but all 

 retain a certain beauty and dignity that set 

 them apart. A lily is a lily the world over. 



Some most excellent qualities belong to this 

 branch of the family, such as their hardiness 

 and constancy of character. These sterling 

 qualities make them enduring garden flowers, 

 always forceful and strikingly effective. 



Here in this small bed have come together 

 relatives from the far corners of the earth. 

 We recognize our own Turk's Cap and the 

 beautiful Meadow Lily. Here are true orient- 

 als, the Speciosums, "of Eastern skies aflame," 

 the royal gold-banded Auratum, still a little 

 unwilling to consent to naturalization, while 

 Elegans lifts her bright face to the sun, and 

 the old-time Tiger Lily, with undiminished 

 dignity, holds his place in the garden. But 

 oldest and loveliest of all is the Madonna, or 

 Annunciation Lily. It is a cluster of the flowers 

 of this matchless one that I have taken for my 

 beloved, for it is, of all my garden beauties, 

 [ 103 ] 



