1883.] 



THE AMERICAN GARDEN. 



47 



THE BERMUDA EASTER LILY. 



(Lilium Harrisii.) 



This is one of the most important and 

 valuable additions that have been made to 

 our list of Lilies since many years. In gen- 

 eral appearance, and more especially in the 

 shape of its flowers, this Lily resembles the 

 old, well-known L. longiflortm, upon which 

 it is a decided and marked improvement 

 in every way. It is evidently a variety of 

 Lilium eximium, grown in the Bermudas for 

 a long time, changing its character so as to 

 become more floriferous. 



Having my attention drawn to its great 

 value, I became anxious to see it in its native 

 home, and made a visit to the Bermuda 

 Islands, where I saw it in all its pristine 

 glory, and became still more firmly con- 

 vinced of its rare excellence. The freedom 

 with which this Lily blooms is remarkable. 

 Lilium longiflorum usually bears from one 

 to two flowers to a stalk, and often comes 

 "blind," or fails to bloom at all; but this 

 Lily flowers when very small, and never fails 

 to bloom. Bulbs the size of a hickory-nut 

 send up vigorous stems, flowering freely ; 

 those of medium size producing a correspond- 

 ingly larger number of flowers ; while large 

 bulbs produce about twelve flowers to the 

 stalk, as is shown in the accompanying illus- 

 tration, which is an accurate and exact repre- 

 sentation taken from nature. Last year I 

 had a stem with seventy perfect buds and 

 blossoms ; but even this, although it may 

 seem well-nigh incredible, has been exceeded 

 by a plant brought here from Bermuda last 

 spring, which bore one hundred and forty- 

 five blossoms on a single stem, and was 

 noticed in the New- York papers as a " Floral 

 Wonder." These, of course, are exceptions, 

 but serve to show the freedom with which it 

 blooms. 



In addition to this, it has another charac- 

 teristic peculiar to it, I believe, in that it 

 often throws up a second flower-stalk some- 

 times before the first one is out of bloom, 

 which bears a second crop of flowers, 

 so prolongs its season of bloom. 



The flowers are large, trumpet- 

 shaped, pure waxy white, symmet- 

 rically formed, as beautiful , 

 and chaste as anything can 

 be imagined, lasting from 

 ten days to two weeks. 

 The ends of the petals are 

 recurved, giving it a very 

 graceful appearance. Its fra- 

 grance is delightful. It is per- 

 fectly hardy, and is one of the 

 finest plants for the garden border, 

 shrubberies, and cemetery decora- 1 

 tion. A bulb once planted requires very 

 little after-care and attention, and lasts 

 for years. 



While for outdoor planting it is already 

 recognized as a most desirable acquisition, 

 its paramount importance lies in its value 

 as a winter-blooming plant for market pur- 

 poses, as well as for conservatory or parlor 

 decoration. Three or four times as many 

 flowers can be grown with the same number 

 of plants and the same expense as from the 

 old varieties — a very important considera- 

 tion with the commercial florist. An addi- 

 tional superiority consists in its earliness, 

 being more than a month earlier than any 

 other sort now grown. I had some in bloom 

 on January 22d, from bulbs started late, and 



I am confident that they can easily be forced 

 for the Christmas Holidays. 



For forcing purposes the bulbs are planted 

 in pots, at any time during autumn, similar 

 to Hyacinths, kept outdoors until the pots 

 are well filled with roots, when they are 

 removed to a higher temperature. The soil 

 should be kept moderately moist, and receive 

 an occasional application of liquid manure. 

 For outdoor culture the bulbs maybe planted 

 in the spring or fall, but unless they can be 



anted very early, the latter 

 sason is "to be preferred. The soil 

 d be deep, mellow, and rich, with- 

 out containing fresh manure, and must be 

 well drained. The bulbs should be planted 

 about four inches deep, and be mulched 

 during winter. 



F. R. Pierson. 



SINGLE DAHLIAS FROM SEED. 



Single Dahlias have proved so decidedly 

 successful last season that the theme of 

 raising them from seed is now, no doubt, of 

 interest to many of our readers. It is by 

 no means difficult to raise Dahlias from seed, 



but to obtain best results certain conditions 

 have to be observed. 



The first consideration should be, says Mr. 

 J. Macdonald, the originator of Paragon, in 

 Tlie Gardeners' Magazine, to secure the best 

 strain of seed it is possible to obtain, and 

 then the aid of a warm house or hot-bed to 

 bring on the plants. Very early sowing is 

 not desirable ; the first week in March is 

 soon enough. An ordinary seed-pan, four- 

 teen inches in diameter and six inches deep, 

 will raise sufficient plants to start a large 

 garden. As the seed is much larger than the 

 ordinary run of flower seeds, it does not 

 require any special care. A well-drained 

 pan and ordinary potting soil will suit it as 

 well as the most elaborate preparation ; but 

 a moderate degree of heat the seed must 

 ive, or the plants will be so small when the 

 me comes for planting them out, that they 

 ill be but little good the first year. If the 

 led-pan is placed in a temperature of sixty 

 jgrees it will do well, and the seed will 

 ?getate in a few days. As soon as the 

 ants are an inch in height they must have 

 both light and air, or they will get drawn 

 and weakly. 



When they have formed their second seed- 

 f they should be potted singly in three- 

 inch pots, but they must still have artificial 

 warmth if they are to be kept growing. At 

 the end of April they ought to be large 

 enough to be shifted into five-inch pots, and 

 then they may have greenhouse treatment 

 for another month. At the end of that time 

 they may be placed in a cold pit or frame, 

 and be gradually hardened off. Ten days 

 will be long enough for the hardening pro- 

 cess, if the sashes are taken off by day and 

 put on again during cold nights. 



The requirements of single Dahlias are the 

 same as those of the double kinds. To main- 

 tain a constant succession of flowers they 

 must have a rich, deep soil to grow in, and 

 in dry weather plenty of water. These single 

 varieties do not look well when grown as 

 tall plants, as we grow the show flowers ; 

 the center of the plants should therefore be 

 inched off before they are planted out. 

 This is all the stopping they require in order 

 to produce compact, bushy plants. 



A FLOATING GARDEN, 



As an illustration of inborn love of : 

 Josiah Hoopes mentions in the New -York 

 Tribune a floating garden, stationed in the 

 middle of a broad river, where the keeper 

 of a "draw" on the bridge had improvised 

 an old scow and fitted it up quite tastefully — 

 with common flowers, it is true, but still 

 in a manner displaying judgment as well 

 as perseverance under difficulties. Here, 

 while attending to his daily routine of duty, 

 he was literally in the midst of fragrance 

 and beauty, although on every side sur- 

 rounded by water. The simple arrangement 

 of the beds was alone suggestive of a culti- 

 vated taste ; the tall pyramids of Cypress- 

 vine in full bloom surrounded by beds of 

 Geraniums, Coleus, etc., placed in perfect 

 harmony as to fitness and contrast in color, 

 caused them to be especially noticeable, 

 even had they been growing in the garden 

 of a rural home ; indeed, they put to shame 

 the surroundings of many pretentious cot- 

 tages, whose owners think they have arrived 

 at the highest limits of modern gardening. 



