February 9, 1882. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 109 
ing quality of this variety, At present it is quite as sound as the 
Brown Globe and James’ Keeping, and as it is much heavier, 
being besides very clear in the skin, it will to a certain extent 
supersede these varieties. A less quantity also will be grown of 
those varieties of the White Spanish type, such asNuneham Park, 
Reading, and the Banbury, these not keeping so well as might be 
desirable. 
Nantes Horn Carrot. — I am particularly fond of this variety 
of Carrot. It is the best for forcing, sowing on warm borders for 
the main crop, and for pulling throughout the winter. It is quick 
in growth, invariably of good colour and quality, grows to a good 
size, makes but little leaf growth, and keeps well. A more profit¬ 
able and generally excellent variety I believe it impossible to find. 
I do not wish for a better. 
Early Munich Turnip. —We cannot afford to dispense with 
this Turnip on account of its superior earliness, but in point of 
quality it is much inferior to any of the selections of Snowball 
sent out under various names. I make one or two early sowings 
on an east border, afterwards relying entirely upon the older 
varieties, Early Munich only being fit for soups.—W. Iogulden. 
LILIUM AURATUM—THEN AND NOW. 
“Then’’ means nearly twenty years ago, or, to be precise, 
July 22nd, 1862, on which date the Royal Horticultural Society 
awarded a special certificate to Messrs. James Veitch & Sons for 
the above Lilium. It had been exhibited, however, three weeks 
previously at the Society’s Exhibition, and Mr. Beaton described 
it at the time as the “grandest flower of the Show—the most mag¬ 
nificent new Lily from Japan, and the Princess Charles of Hesse 
was the first lady in Europe who smelt that flower in public, and 
was delighted with its fragrance.” A more technical description 
that appeared in the Journal about the same time is interesting 
alike because of its accuracy, and as enabling us to better appre¬ 
ciate Lilium auratum as it was then and as it is now. 
“ This is the grandest of all Lilies. The flower is borne upon a 
purple stem about 2 feet high, and the thickness of a goose-quill; 
and in shape it forms a wide-mouthed shallow bell 10 inches in dia¬ 
meter, the six divisions of which the perianth is composed being 
about 2^ inches across at the widest, curled back at the point, towards 
which their outline is undulating. The colour is snow white, thinly 
but regularly strewn with oblong purple dots and markings; and a 
broad band of golden yellow runs down the centre of each division 
nearly to the base, where the purple markings become elevated above 
the surface into short bristles. The stamens have reddish-brown 
anthers which tremble with the breath, and projecting beyond these 
is the dull purple stigma ; the whole forming a conspicuous and 
elegant centre. In addition to its beauty the flower possesses a 
powerful but delightful fragrance, partaking of that of the Orange 
blossom and the Honeysuckle. The leaves are narrow-lanceolate, 
acute-pointed, and of a very dark green. 
“We were informed by Mr. J. G. Veitch that he found the plant 
growing wild on the hills in the midland provinces of Japan, and in 
places where from 14° to 16° of frost occur in winter : there is, there¬ 
fore, every probability of its standing out of doors with us. To_ the 
same gentleman we are also indebted for the following information : 
‘ The flowering season is July and August, at which time it is 
common in situations exposed to the sun. It grows 1| foot to 2 feet 
high, and is remarkable for the size and fragrance of the flowers. 
The roots are boiled by the Japanese and eaten like Potatoes, and in 
flavour they resemble the Chestnut.’ On another plant there is a 
bud 6£ inches long, which will shortly open, and there are indications 
of others forming in the axils of the leaves, so that it is probable 
that the flowering may not be merely terminal.” 
Thus the plant which caused such a sensation “then” had a 
stem “like a goose-quill” bearing a solitary flower : but how dif¬ 
ferent is the result now 1 The prophetic indication that the 
“ flowering may not be merely terminal ” has been abundantly 
fulfilled. On page 295, vol. xxix., September 30th, 1875, it is re¬ 
corded that there were three clumps of Liliums, each the result 
of three bulbs that had been planted, bearing 250 flowers, and on 
four stems in one of these clumps there were 130 flowers. These 
were not fasciated stems, one of which I have seen bearing seventy- 
five flowers. Such is the advance in numbers. From the “ goose- 
quill” stem then (1862) some stems of Mr. McIntosh’s plants 
measured 3^ inches in diameter, and one was 11 feet high. The 
plants were growing in Rhododendron beds ; soil, sandy loam 
with an admixture of peat and decayed vegetable matter ; sub¬ 
soil also sandy and moist; plants, therefore, what we may term 
naturalised in English gardens far surpass in vigour those de¬ 
scribed by Mr. J. G. Veitch as growing from 1£ to 2 feet high in 
Japan. Still such dwarf plants freely flowered are not uncommon, 
and valuable they are for many decorative purposes. In reference, 
however, to naturalised Lilies, the finest example is probably in 
Mr. G. F. Wilson’s wood of them, which contains approximately 
some fifty thousand bulbs, and their growth and increase indicate 
that they are quite “ at home.” 
From a cultural point of view the advance that has been made 
in this fine Lily is thus both striking and gratifying, and equally 
so the change that has been effected in an inverse order—namely, 
the cost of the bulbs. A bulb that produced one flower then cost 
twenty times more than one does that produces twenty flowers 
now. Indeed the bulbs are so cheap that they should be planted 
everywhere. 
They are imported in hundreds of thousands annually from 
Japan, and although not common enough to be “eaten like Pota¬ 
toes ” they are within the means of all, or nearly all, who cherish 
their gardens. Formerly imported bulbs arrived in a shrivelled 
condition, and not a few of them decayed after being planted ; 
but now vast quantities arrive in a fresh sound state, and few fail 
to grow when carefully planted and at the right time. The 
Japanese adopt a very intelligent mode of packing the bulbs. 
Each is surrounded with a compost of which clay is the chief ingre¬ 
dient ; this is often half an inch thick, and while it does not crack 
and allow the escape of moisture from the bulb, it is yet easily 
removed and crushed into powder. These round balls resemble 
large nuts, of which the bulb forms the kernel. As hundreds of 
readers have not had the opportunity of seeing this mode of pack¬ 
ing, it is shown much reduced in fig. 24, the example having been 
Fig. 24. 
taken indiscriminately from many thousands in Messrs. Carters’ 
warehouse in High Holborn ; and although the case from which it 
was taken was packed in October, the bulb is now perfectly sound 
and fresh. Still, in purchasing bulbs at sales they must be taken 
as they are, and they, of course, do not equal in quality those that 
have been selected and are now sold cheaply by nurserymen and 
seed merchants. 
As might be expected, the cost of Lilium bulbs varies with their 
size. Even within recent years from 10s. to £1 have been given 
for bulbs of extraordinary size at sales, in the hope that corre¬ 
spondingly grand results would follow in the garden. But have 
they followed 1 It is reasonable to suppose that these monster 
bulbs will disappoint the cultivator as often as they will reward 
him. They have reached the zenith of their vigour, and the 
next step is decline. A firm bulb 2^ to 3 inches in diameter will, 
as a rule, give better results than bulbs as large again will—at 
least such is the teaching of experience, and the hint may be given 
for what it is worth. 
The present is an excellent time for planting Liliums, always 
choosing a day when the soil is sufficiently dry to be worked 
cleanly. As above mentioned, sandy loam and vegetable matter 
form an excellent compost, but they will grow in any deep, well- 
drained, fertile garden soil. Water they delight in when growing, 
but stagnant soil they abhor. Sand used liberally round the 
bulbs causes water to pass them quickly, leaving them sound ; 
whereas if it settles round them, especially those newly planted, 
it causes decay. They should be covered from 3 to 5 inches deep 
according to their strength with light, gritty, vegetable soil, and 
mulched with cocoa-nut fibre refuse or manure. The refuse 
mentioned is valuable for mixing with heavy soil for Liliums, 
