THE MADONNA LILY 11 
Even in the handling of the smaller sizes there is great danger 
of bruising whenever it becomes necessary to transfer the bulblets 
from one vessel to another. The grocer has learned how to transfer 
cherries from a box to a bag without injury. Masses of bulblets of 
the Madonna and other lhes should be picked up in the same way 
from baskets, lug boxes, or bulb-house trays. 
In no case should the bulbs, either large or small, be held in piles 
when there is danger of the slightest heating or bruising from the 
weight of upper layers. 
The conditions under which the bulbs are held in the interim be- 
tween digging and planting, which should be as short as possible, 
should be such that the bulbs will not heat or mold, on the one hand, 
and not dry out too much, on the other. This bespeaks a dry cool 
basement, where the ventilation can be readily controlled. 
WHERE THE LILY MAY BE GROWN 
Like most plants of wide application to man’s needs, the Ma- 
donna lily may be grown under a great diversity of climatic con- 
ditions. Apparently it is perfectly adapted to our North Pacific 
coast (PI. I, fig. 1) and is being successfully grown in limited 
quantities from the Canadian border well into California. Michi- 
gan has produced good stocks, as have also our North Atlantic 
States. North Carolina and Tennessee report sufficient successes 
to suggest commercial possibilities, and attempts at its initial com- 
mercial propagation are being made in central Florida. One strik- 
ing success is chronicled from the Eastern Shore of Maryland. 
For ornamental purposes the lily succeeds as far south as Florida, 
and even in the interior valleys of California, where the tempera- 
ture at times runs up to 115° F., it does fairly well when carefully 
watered and partially shaded. Successful commercial culture, how- 
ever, 1S More promising where the summers are not hot and the 
winter season is more rigorous, such as regions in our middle 
latitudes and the northern portions of both coasts, 
CLIMATIC ADVANTAGES 
There is little question in the writer’s mind that, other conditions 
being equal, a maritime situation has decided advantages in the 
aboveground handling of the Madonna and many other hhes. A 
cool, moist atmosphere in which the bulbs can be stored without 
danger of drying out too much is a decided asset. This fact im- 
presses one greatly on the North Pacific coast, where this lily not 
only grows to perfection but the bulbs are often seen lying around 
in a way that would assure complete destruction in the higher 
temperatures and under the greater desiccating influences of the 
atmosphere of Washington, D. C. 
A moist atmosphere and uniform low temperatures make for ease 
in handling and marketing which are not to be ignored lightly. 
This does not mean that this lily can not be well grown and 
handled in a drier and warmer climate than that of the Pacific 
Northwest, but it does mean that such a climate will necessitate 
the exercise of greater care while the bulbs are out of the ground 
both in storage and transit, for it takes but a few days of exposure 
to cause excessive wilting of the bulbs in dry hot situations. 
