16 BULLETIN 1462, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
from a single bulb which was undisturbed in a good border situation 
for six years. When dug it had split into three double-nosed bulbs, 
none of which produced bulblets. Seedlings of this lily on heavy 
clay produced an abundance of bulblets on the stems, but the bulbs 
have been uniformly poor. On sandy loam with good drainage the 
bulbs are good, but no bulblets are produced. 
The handling of this lily under glass seems to be predicated upon 
three main factors: (1) It should not be forced before January 1; 
(2) it should be left outdoors to take the weather until that time; 
(3) it should go on the benches and into a full heat of 55 to 65° F. 
at night without the removal of roots and without a rooting period 
such as is usually given to the longiflorum group. With bulbs meas- 
uring 18 centimeters or more in circumference handled in this way 
good results are to be expected. Flowering will occur in 80 to 100 
days, depending upon the usual factors governing greenhouse culture. 
Bulbs of this lily potted both from the field and from cold storage 
late in September have failed miserably, the vast majority of the 
bulbs decaying in the pots. Bulbs from the same sources potted 
early in January and put at once into heat started growing promptly 
and blossomed in March. An important corollary of these facts is 
the desirability of handling stocks of this lily at the beginning rather 
than the close of the growing period. 
For forcing purposes the bulbs can be dug and stored if necessary, 
but in the climate of Washington, D. C, it is preferable to dig them 
from the field in January and put them directly into heat. For 
field handling the same principle seems to govern. The stocks seem 
to be much better off if moved when growth starts in the spring. 
The reason for this is very patent from the discussion in the previous 
paragraphs. When the bulbs are moved in the fall they lie dormant 
without a hold on the ground all winter. In severe climates this is 
dangerous. Even in the climate of Washington, D. C, much better 
results have been attained with spring transplanting. 
THE EASTER LILY 
American-grown bulbs of the Easter lily (Lilium longiflorum, pis. 
7, 8, and 9) have forced in a way very comparable with the commer- 
cial Formosum and the seedling Harrisii, which are uneven in 
height and behavior and develop under glass more slowly than the 
Giganteum variety. (PL 7.) Uniformity can be obtained here by 
growing up progenies vegetatively from single seedlings, as is done 
with tulips and daffodils, and this will doubtless eventually be ac- 
complished. One grower has already made a mass selection of 
seedlings and has trued up his stock by a culling-out process in the 
field until his lilies appear as uniform as imported " gigs." 
When the time comes for selection the grower must be governed 
by his own ideas as to the most desirable types. The market now 
seems to favor black-stemmed plants, but experience seems to indicate 
that some of the green-stemmed seedlings are more floriferous and 
stronger growers. There is abundant opportunity for the selection 
of superior plants from any progeny of seedlings one may raise. The 
selection can be most successfully made about the time the buds are 
showing and a reselection later when the flowers open. The timing 
of these stocks is no more difficult than that of imported Formosums. 
