August 6, 1 S 01 . ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
107 
in a well sheltered place out of doors as soon as all danger of frost 
is past. The pots should stand on slates or ashes to keep out 
worms, and as the stems grow they will require tying to neat 
stakes to prevent them being broken by the wind. When the 
flower buds appear a little weak liquid manure given occasionally 
will assist them to swell, and so increase the size of the flowers. 
When they reach this stage some may go under glass again to 
forward their flowers, and for indoor decoration ; others may be 
plunged in borders or beds outside, as is done in many of our parks 
and gardens, when they have the appearance of having grown there, 
and are very effective in flower garden arrangements. 
When the plants have flowered water must be gradually 
withheld, and when the leaves turn yellow and begin to fall, lay 
the pots on their sides in any cool place free from frost till potting 
time comes again, when the old soil must be shaken away, the 
bulbs repotted and proceeded with as before. 
Such in a short and simple way is the culture of Lilies in 
pots. Another way of indoor growing for those who have the 
means is to plant them in clumps amongst Camellias where these 
are planted out, and there let them remain from year to year, 
giving a rest as far as possible in winter by withholding water. 
This, of course, is only possible in cool houses, where the exclusion 
of frost is all that is aimed at. 
The Lily can scarcely be said to have any distinct disease. 
There is a grub known as the Lily grub, which feeds on the leaves, 
and which requires to be destroyed by hand-picking. The cause 
and cure of “ rot ” have already been dealt with. The chief thing 
to avoid with those growing in pots is overwatering before the 
bulbs have begun to grow, and with those out of doors, to see that 
they have a moist but not stagnant bottom, as either condition 
induces decay of the bulb, and is fatal. 
The introduction of many varieties into this country is 
interesting, and a knowledge of the parts of the world they come 
from is useful to remember in trying to cultivate any variety that 
is new to one. As we have already seen, Lilies are gathered from 
many parts of the world ; but it must be remembered that they 
come invariably from the more temperate parts of the various 
regions, those from India coming from the mountains, and those 
from Siberia from the sheltered valleys. The oldest imported 
Lily I have been able to find is Lilium candidum, which came 
from southern Europe in 1596, nearly 300 years ago ; L. auratum 
came in 1862, L. speciosum in 1832, L. giganteum in 1855 ; 
L. canadense in 1829 ; L. davuricum in 1745 ; L. longiflorum in 
1862 ; and L. Washingtonianum in 1812. We have only to think 
of the great number of varieties now to be had, and then count 
how many are generally grown, to come to the conclusion that this 
beautiful flower has of late years suffered neglect. Now that 
Sunflowers and single Dahlias are on the wane, and most other 
popular flowers have had their day, and much further improvement 
in them seems uncertain, it is not too much to hope, that a larger 
share of the attention and love of florists may be bestowed upon 
these splendid and useful flowers. “ He that has lost the love of 
flowers,” says an old German writer, “ has lost all fear and love of 
Godand seeing that it is the love of flowers which has made us, 
and which keeps us members of this Paxton Society, I submit, in 
conclusion, that there are few which better deserve our care, or are 
more worthy of our love, than this king among flowers—“the Lily.” 
Mr. Hepworth resumed his seat amid applause, and a discussion 
on the subject took place, which was initiated by the Chairman, 
and continued by Messrs. Gledhill, Tranmer Goodall, Thompson, 
Bullock, and others, after which, on the motion of Mr. Thompson, 
seconded by Mr. Bullock, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to 
Mr. Hepworth for his paper. Some fine specimens of Lilium 
auratum had been kindly furnished by Mr. McGowan, and were 
much admired. 
[Lilium Washingtonianum, of which an engraving is given in 
fig. 16, is a native of California, attaining a height of about 4 or 
5 feet, and bearing well formed flowers, white or purple tinted, 
spotted with purplish crimson. It is a beautiful species, and 
succeeds admirably in positions that are not too exposed to sun 
or wind.] 
A VISIT TO NANCY. 
Writing this as I do in the heart of the Jura Mountains, 3800 fe;t 
above sea level, where warm underclothing is necessary, and a great 
coat is often found comfortable, I have by contrast a most vivid impres¬ 
sion of the two sweltering days I passed in Nancy. Certainly it is a 
very hot place, or we were favoured at that time with unusual weather. 
I heard some talk of 100° in the shade, and it may have been something 
like it to judge by results. Paris was supposed to be hot at the time, 
but it was cool by comparison. Nancy is an easy place to reach if 
you keep the direct route, but wishing to visit Chaumont as well as 
Nancy, cn route for Switzerland, I left the train at the latter place and 
took the cross country line to Nancy via Mirecourt. The first result 
was a delay of four hours before a train left, and as those four hours 
happened to be from 12 midnight to 4 A.M., and the only accommoda¬ 
tion to be had was a sofa in the salle d’atteinte, they r,aturally proved 
most uncomfortable. Troubles were aggravated by the amazing sounds 
emitted by the nose of an unconscious Frenchman who occupied the 
other sofa, and who slept, and snored, and choked himself, half awoke, 
groaned, turned, went off again into the snoring and choking condition, 
until I found myself almost tormented into the wicked thought as a 
more awful sound than usual proceeded from him, “ Well, now, I 
really think he is dead at last, and I shall have some peace.” How¬ 
ever he survived, and so did I, and four o’clock came at last, a lovely 
morning, hazy at sunrise, but clearing into brilliant sunshine by 8 A.M. 
Very pleasant and reviving was that early j uirney through the beau¬ 
tiful valley of the Moselle. All Nature was looking her very best, the 
corn just turning colour, one or two fields cut, hay saved but not ricked 
as with us, but mostly left in the fields in large “ pooks.” This was 
in the valley itself, the sides of the hills, which are bold and lofty, 
from 300 to 700 feet or more in height, were mostly clothed with the 
Vines from which the famous Moselle wine is made/ Each plant about 
3 feet high, and the plants themselves about 3 feet apart every way. I 
was struck with the thriving condition of all the crops as a rule. There 
were some weedy patches, but as a whole weeds were well kept under, 
and the Vines especially seemed to be well cared for in every way. 
Nancy is a large, well built, thriving town ; the streets wide, the 
shops and hotels good, the public buildings and gardens interesting and 
attractive. In such a climate in summer the population live mostly in 
the open air, caffs and restaurants abound ; but although there was 
plenty of drinking (and who can wonder at it in such a temperature ?) no 
cases of excess came to my notice. But my visit to Nancy was a visit in 
search of Begonias. Everyone who knows something of the history of 
the Begonia since its introduction knows also that the two leading 
horticulturists of Nancy have done their full share towards developing 
this favourite flower into its now magnificent condition. Giant strides 
in this direction were made in the early days of its history, when Nancy 
sent forth Gloirede Nancy, Blanche Paupierre, Comtesse H. de Choiseu), 
Antoinette GueriD, Gabrielle Legros, Mons. de Dumont, Madame Comesu, 
&c. Some of these even now hold their own. Gabrielle Legros I saw 
was being largely grown by Mons. Crousse as a market plant, hut 
although useful in this way the flowers are too small to compete with 
the magnificent varieties since raised in this and other localities. A few 
of the most telling ones growing in quantities were Felix Crousse, 
dazzling scarlet; Mistress French, a noble flower, very double, and of a 
yellowish white colour; Notaire Bubbled, brilliant red, very free ; La 
France, lovely delicate pink with silvery shade ; Jeanne d’Arc, a very 
good white ; Triomphe de Nancy, straw yellow ; Dr. Felty, rich scarlet 
crimson ; Albert Crousse, carmine ; Felix Mascotte, large, rich scarlet. 1 
also had the pleasure of seeing several seedlings not yet named of 
sterling excellence—one a very large rich double yellow ; another a pale 
blush, the colour of Malmaison Rose ; another, blush white flushed with 
rose towards the centre. All these will in due course be put into the 
market with others, which space will not allow me to mention, and all 
will, I am sure, prove great additions to the co'lections of those who 
grow Begonias. Monsieur Crousse not being able to speak a word of 
English, and my French being not of the first order, Mdlle. Crousse 
kindly acted as guide and interpretress; and in spite of the excessive 
heat a very interesting and pleasant tour was spent in passing up and 
down the numerous long beds filled with thousands of Begonias. All 
are growing in the open air, but every bed is protected from the sun 
either with a close lattice of woodwork nailed together on frames or 
canvas supported on stakes. The plants are all mulched with decayed 
manure and are kept well watered overhead. This is needful no doubt 
in a place where the sun is so ardent as at Nancy, but Begonias can be 
well grown in most parts of England treated as ordinary bedding plants. 
I should not like to say how many thousands of unbloomed seedlings of 
the year were planted out in nursery beds ; very few of these were show¬ 
ing flower at the time of my visit (July 17th and 18th), but all were 
being treated as above and looked very promising. Besides Begonias 
Monsieur Crousse grows largely Ivy-leaf Pelargoniums, Zonal Pelar¬ 
goniums, and Cannas. 
The next morning 1 paid a visit to Monsieur Y. Lemoine, whose 
grounds are situated ]ust outside the town. A drive of a quarter of an 
hour brought me to the gate of a pleasant-looking villa surrounded with 
shrubs and flowers. Monsieur was at home, also h : s son, who speaks 
English well. Begonias here also are a speciality, and among the first 
things that attracted my attention was a large bed of Begonia Lafayette, 
a dwarf-growing variety with upr’ght stout stalks and brilliant scarlet 
double flowers. As a bedding variety none surpasses this. The most 
interesting of all was a bed of Begonia Baumanni, a dwarf-growing 
species with rosy crimson flowers of fair size, single, and borne on rather 
long flower stalks; but the chief feature of this species is that it is 
scented, the perfume being something like that of a Tea Rose, very 
delicious. No doubt this variety is destined to be the parent of a race 
of scented Begonias, and thus the only thing lacking in the Tuberous 
Begonia will be supplied. Already Monsieur Lemoine has a large 
number of seedlings from this variety crossed with others, and consider¬ 
able variation in colour is already manifested, while the scent is retained. 
Many beautiful double and single varieties similar to those previously 
described were found here also, the cultivation being conducted on the 
same principles as at Mons. Crousse’s. 
I hoped to be able to see Mons. Lemoine’s grand and unique collection 
