LILIES. 
113 
being the great market time. One large grower for Covent Garden 
told me he cut 1,400 dozen blooms during one Easter week. 
Then, again, think of the hundreds of thousands of Auratum, Speciosum, 
and others, annually exported from Japan ; also the many thousands of 
North American Lilies sent to Europe. Now see what a vast trade has 
sprung up : not only are hundreds employed in raising and exporting the 
bulbs, but a still greater number in forcing and selling them ; and as a 
consequence tens of thousands throughout the world have been enabled 
to beautify their homes at a slight cost with these — some of nature's 
fairest flowers. And am I not justified in saying that any undertaking, 
which causes in a right manner the distribution of large sums of money 
all over the world, cannot fail to benefit the human race ? Therefore I 
think the Lily, as much as, if not more than, any other plant, has played 
its part in the horticultural history of the world. 
I should like to refer to the discussion on Lilies initiated by Miss 
Jekyll and now taking place in the Garden newspaper. The result is bound 
to be of great value, as the various opinions, when classified, will certainly 
be a practical guide both to the amateur and professional ; and I think we 
are all indebted to those enthusiastic cultivators who, like Mr. Wilson 
and Miss Willmott, show us in their gardens what is possible in regard 
to Lily cultivation. 
In conclusion let me urge on all who love the beautiful in nature to 
try and cultivate the Lily. We are bound to have our disappointments 
and failures ; but these should only determine us to try again ; and when 
we do have success, we are amply repaid for all our trouble. For what 
flower can compare with the stately habit and noble outline of the Lily ? 
And what are more effective in the garden than the various fine forms, 
well established, standing out in all their graceful beauty against the 
dark background of tree and shrub ? 
In attempting to speak on a subject which has so wide a range, I have 
felt my inability to do it justice, and know that I must have left out much 
of importance and interest. But if there is anything which I have not made 
quite clear, I shall be pleased to explain it, as far as I am able to do so. 
I 
