a 
THE MADONNA LILY 5 
these bulblets are able to stand on their own feet, so to speak, by 
feeding from the air through their leaves, the better. 
If for any reason propagation by scales can not be undertaken in 
its proper season, it is not necessary to lose a year by not propagat- 
ing at all. One can still take advantage of the adaptability of the 
lily by making the propagation extend over the entire winter and 
spring. This may be particularly useful in case the grower wishes to 
propagate foreign bulbs the year they are imported. The stocks 
usually come into this country too late in the fall to do much with 
them outside except to plant and let them grow, to be propagated the 
next season. 
A good propagation may be accomplished late in the season by 
layering the scales in late September to November and holding 
them until late May to June before planting in the field. To be 
certain of success with this method of propagation dry sand or other 
well-pulverized earth in a frost-proof place must be used. Again 
resort may be had to a shed with a dirt floor. The scales may be 
strewn thickly but in single layers, alternating with an inch or two 
of sand, built up in this way to a depth of 8 or more inches and’ 
the whole covered with enough straw or débris to keep out frost. 
On no account should any moisture be allowed to seep in on this 
propagation, and the pack is better when left undisturbed. 
The scales may be arranged in the same way in shallow boxes, or 
the propagating bed may be made in a basement or dry root cellar. 
In such situations the temperature will be low and consequently 
the development of the bulblets slow, which is exactly what is de- 
sired in order to bridge over nearly a full growing season in the 
propagating bed. When the scales are put in in a normal season 
they go into the field in early October and make top growth before 
winter, but when planted late and kept cool and dry propagation 
is retarded, so that they need not be put in the field before June, 
when they will root, make top growth, and get ready for the second 
winter. 
When the bulblets are taken from the propagating beds the whole 
mass can be shoveled carefully on to screens having a one-fourth- 
inch mesh to separate the sand, leaving the bulblets with the re- 
mains of the scales attached clean and ready to line out in the field. 
The average grower will use for propagation the old, hard, firm 
scales of full size. It is possible, however, to manipulate the scales 
so as to get a considerable increase in the number of bulblets. Two 
or three scratches across the concave surface or splitting the base 
of the scale for one-third its length from the base upward will 
greatly increase the number of bulblets produced. EK. T. Barnes 
considers that he can afford to spend the time to split the base of 
the scale in order to get the increased number of bulblets. The 
writer’s experience has not been reassuring on this point, inasmuch 
as the yield of bulblets has always proved sufficiently abundant with- 
out employing these artificial means. 
PROPAGATION BY STEMS 
The third method of increasing the stock of the Madonna lily is 
by what may be called the stem method. This consists essentially 
of layering the bases of the old stems in comparatively dry sand for 
