62 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ January 2?, 1*81. 
vigorous, disease resistirg habit, very productive, and the tubers 
first rate in every way. Reading Hero, though not equal to 
Abundance, is yet well worthy of a trial ; and Laxton’s Bouncer, 
a cross between Reading Hero and Scotch Regent, though some¬ 
what more expensive than any yet named, is well worthy of finding 
a place in most collections. Chancellor, which can now be bought 
cheaply in large quantities, is most productive and fairly disease 
resisting, the tubers being of good form and the quality good. 
Imperator is an enormous cropper and fairly disease resisting, but I 
am not greatly impressed with the quality. It is a good poor man’s 
Potato though, and should be given a trial. White Elephant never 
did well with us, but is largely grown by cottagers who have good 
reason to be satisfied with the heavy crops usually obtained, and 
the quality is fairly good. 
Some seasons are unfavourable to the growth of early and 
second early varieties, but in others exactly the opposite prevails, 
hence the advisability of avoiding putting all the “eggs in one 
basket.” The summer of 1890, strange as it may seem, was very 
favourable to the growth of early and second early varieties of 
Potatoes, the crops being heavy, only slightly diseased, and of the 
best quality. I would, therefore, urge upon those responsible for 
the selections to include some of these in the Irish consignments. 
Of the Ashleaf the heaviest cropper will be found in Myatt’s, and 
it ought always to be largely planted everywhere. Veitch’s Im¬ 
proved Ashleaf is earlier, and worthy of a place in any selection 
accordingly. For heavy soils, or any position where disease often 
prevails, not one of the American varieties can be recommended 
by me, though if any exception could be made it would be in 
favour of White Puiitan. Coles’ Favourite, of English origin, has 
succeeded admirably with us for several years. It is of somewhat 
similar habit to the Ashleaf, and nearly as early, while the crops 
are heavy, the tubers well formed, and of excellent quality even if 
kept late. Sutton’s Seedling, another good second early, would 
in many seasons prove a very profitable market variety. It pro¬ 
duces heavy crops of large handsome tubers of fairly good quality, 
but the variety is not so disease resisting with us as could be 
wished. I have formed a very good opinion of Laxton’s Victorious, 
a strong growing heavy cropping kidney with Ashleaf blood in it, but 
this, probably, is somewhat too expensive for Ireland this season. 
Carter’s Surprise, another very heavy cropping, disease-resisting 
kidney, obtained by crossing Magnum Bonum with Myatt’s 
Ashleaf, ought certainly to be given a trial, and so ought the same 
firm’s King of the Russets, the latter being a very heavy cropper, 
the tubers round, good in form and quality. Lady Truscott can 
now be bought cheaply, and this is a very serviceable heavy 
cropping round, much the same remarks applying to Sutton’s 
Satisfaction.—W. Iggulden, Marston Bouse Gardens, Frame. 
LILIES IN POTS. 
We cannot open any of the principal gardening papers without 
meeting some such announcement as the following issuing from 
the two great auction marts where horticulturists delight to 
congregate, and where the choicest plants and roots are from time 
to time sold:—“20,000 immense bulbs of Lilium auratum, just 
received in splendid condition from Japan, 200 L. Krameri,” &c. ; 
while another commences with announcing 15,000 grand bulbs of 
Lilium auratum and a large assortment of English-grown Lilies, &e. 
Now, these advertisements have gone on year after year for at 
least twenty years, and the great question comes. What becomes of 
the bulbs ? Some answer to this I hope to give presently, but it may 
be that some of your readers may be tempted to stroll into these 
auction rooms, and may bid for and purchase some of these Lilies ; 
they are to be had at a very reasonable rate. The purchaser takes 
them home, and is puzzled what to do with them. Of course it is 
utterly out of the question to plant them in the open, the ground 
is so wet and cold that it would imply certain death to plant them, 
and therefore they must be potted either temporarily or perma¬ 
nently. In the former case they must be placed in small pots hardly 
larger than the bulbs, and in tolerably stiff soil in which they can 
make roots, and then in the spring they can be planted out if it is 
wished to grow them thus. 
. But it is with the permanent culture of Lilies in pots with 
which I now have to deal. There are some of the hardier kinds 
which will do best in the open, while there are numbers which 
succeed better in pots in our variable climate, and I am convinced 
that mistakes are often made in their culture which lead to 
disastrous failure, while there are some mysteries in the cultiva¬ 
tion of others we do not yet seem to have mastered. First, as to 
composts. It has been a generally received idea that the only soil 
for Lilies is peat. I am convinced that this is a mistake. There 
are some plants, such as Azaleas, Camellias, and other hard wooded 
plants, their roots being very fibrous, for which the Belgians use 
what comes very near to this for that purpose, the thoroughly’ 
decomposed leaf mould found in the Belgian forests. But the roots^ 
of Lilies are fleshy, implying, I think, that they would like some¬ 
thing more solid in the way of food, while we know that many 
of them come from habitats where strong loam* abounds. _ I 
have, therefore, in the greater number of cases used one-third’, 
of good loam in the compost, and have found ft answer very 
well. 
It is also, I think, an error in culture to shake them out so com¬ 
pletely as we are sometimes advised to do ; in fact, they do not 
require thorough repotting every year, and if the outside portion of 
the ball is taken away they may be placed again into the same pots 
and the compost filled in. There are two sets of roots proceeding 
from the old bulbs—those which issue from the base and are thick' 
and fleshy, these should always be carefully preserved, and those- 
which issue from the base of the flower stalk, which are fibrous 
and of no use to the future nourishment of the bulb ; in fact, in 
repotting it is a good plan to twist the remains of the flower stem* 
out, when these roots will come with it. 
It has generally been recommended to use a quantity of white 
sand in potting Lilies. Now, I seriously question whether this is- 
good advice, especially when it is recommended to place a quantity 
under the bulb in potting. I have generally found that this 
becomes soddened, and even if it does not become sour I doubt 
very much whether it is of any use ; it is far better I think to put 
a quantity of coarse sand and powdered charcoal in the compost,, 
and so to have it free and open ; this prevents its becoming close, 
and insures free drainage. And above all things it is necessary to 
avoid too large pots, especially with newly imported bulbs ; before- 
they have time to root sufficiently the soil becomes very moist, and 
hence decay is likely to set in. 
AVhen I have finished potting my bulbs I place them under a 
glass frame, open in front, and plunged in cocoa fibre refuse, 
being covered about 3 inches ; this protects them from heavy rains,, 
which are injurious, keeps them from frost, and allows a free- 
circulation of air round them. When in the spring the pots are 
filled with roots they are taken out of this position and placed in a 
somewhat similar one facing the south, or in a cool greenhouse, 
and when they have started well they are again removed to a position 
where they are protected from rain and wind, but allowed abun¬ 
dance of air. Stakes ought to be supplied to them, and in placing 
them in care ought to be taken to injure the roots as little as 
possible. It may be thought that as the stems of Lilies are so 
stout they do not require any stakes. Of course they will hold 
themselves up well, but if an eddying wind catches them they 
may snap off, and it w’ould be an unpleasant thing to lose the 
results of a year’s care by neglecting this trifling matter. Where 
there is a greenhouse the plants may be brought in for flowering,.. 
and they will then form a very attractive feature in the autumn 
months. 
There are many kinds of Lilies which are more suited for the 
open than for pot culture, although of late years we have seerc* 
the old Lilium candidum largely forced for the supply of cut 
flowers for indoor decoration. One of the earliest Lilies is Lilium 
Harrisi. This is a very curious instance of the influence of climate,- 
for it is supposed to be none other than the old Japanese L. longi- 
florum introduced some years ago into Bermuda, where from being a 
single-flowered plant it has become so vigorous that imported roots 
will bear a couple of seems with eight or ten flowers, and very 
often will throw up a second growth blooming later in the season.. 
Under ordinary cultivation it may be brought into flower without 
forcing early in the spring, whence it has received the name of 
Easter Lily. I have said imported roots, for my experience of it 
is that it does not retain this character in our climate. 
L. auratum, the Golden-rayed Lily of Japan, is one of the most 
unsatisfactory of Lilies. Whether in pots or the open ground it 
seems almost impossible to keep it. Fine large fleshy roots are 
imported in tens of thousands every year, and yet the experience 
of nearly everyone who grows it is that it either breaks up into 
small bulbs, which are of no use, or else rots away altogether. 
Now and then one hears of success with it, but they are rare cases,,, 
and as a rule I believe disappointment is the issue. There are, 
however, two fine varieties of it which do not seem to follow the 
bad habit—viz., L. platyphyllum, a large broad leaved plant, much 
more nearly allied to speciosum in this respect, and with large 
broad petals, strikingly handsome ; and L. a. rubro-vittatum, in 
which the yellow band on the centre of the petal is replaced by 
a red one. This I have found to do well, and the flower is very- 
handsome. 
Lilium Wallichianum superbum is, I think, one of the very 
handsomest Lilies grown, if not indeed the handsomest, at any rate, 
of the trumpet-shaped Lilies. It grows to the height of 4 or 
5 feet, and bears three to five large white flowers about 8 inches 
long, with the interior suffused with the most delicate shade of 
