154 
FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
the subject has never been treated in a 
systematic manner. 
I begin with the Lily Family ( Lilia - 
ceae ). 
This is a very large group of plants, 
comprising the true Lilies (Lilium), the 
Gloriosas, Sandersonias, Littonias, the 
Tulips, Hyacinths, the Lily of the Valley, 
the Mariposa Lilies (Calochortus), the 
Blue African Lily (Agapanthus), etc. 
The genera Trillium (Wake Robins), 
Erythronium (Dog's-tooth Violet), Bes- 
sera, Blandfordia, Funkia, Milla, Allium, 
Kniphofia (the Tritoma), Albuca, Hem- 
erocallis, etc., all belong to this family. 
Though I have experimented quite ex¬ 
tensively with almost all the genera of 
this family, I have not been successful 
with most of them. The Tulips and 
Hyacinths, which’ form such an important 
part of all the gardens of the North, are 
a failure in Florida. It is useless to 
meddle with them. We have numerous 
tropical bulbous plants, outrivaling them 
in beauty and in easy culture, and only 
these should be largely planted in our 
gardens. 
The true Lilies (Lilium) are the gems 
of this noble family. They all belong to 
the Northern Hemisphere, being num¬ 
erously represented in the cool mountain 
glens of the Californian Sierra Nevada 
and Coast Range, and reaching their 
greatest beauty and highest development 
in Japan. China is likewise rich in fine 
Lilies, and some of the most beautiful 
are found in the Himalayas. They abound 
in Europe and Northern Asia, and some 
of the species attracting the attention of 
all flower-lovers grow in our northern 
meadows (L. Canadense, L. superbum 
and L. Philadelphicum). One species, 
Catesby’s Lily (L. Catesbaei), grows 
abundantly in the flatwoods of our own 
State. Its large, orange-yellow, upright 
flower chalices, spotted with deep-brown, 
'form glorious masses of rich color in 
September. The bulb is small, but is 
easily transplanted to our gardens in rich, 
moist soil. It seeds freely, and batches 
of young plants are usually found around 
the old bulb. Though I have experi¬ 
mented quite extensively with most of the 
species ,of the jtrue Lilies; I have not 
found their behavior encouraging. This 
was, however, at a time when I did not 
understand the soil and climate of Flor¬ 
ida thoroughly. Even at the North, most 
Lilies are very capricious. They thrive 
splendidly for a time; then they suddenly 
disappear. Since I began the cultivation 
of bulbous plants in a systematic way 
under sheds and in well-prepared soil, I 
have had better results. 
None of the European Lilies, not even 
the chaste Madonna Lily (Lilium candi- 
dum) of Southern Europe, will grow 
here. The species of our northern states 
are also a failure. The gigantic Hum¬ 
boldt’s Lily (L. Humboldtii), and the 
fragrant Washington Lily (L. Washing- 
tonianum), being sojourners of the high 
and cool mountain regions of California 
refused to grow with me. The only 
American Lilies which may finally, after 
many generations, adapt themselves to 
our soil and climate, are the Californian 
L. Parryi, a very fragrant lemon-yellow 
species, and the vigorous L. pardalinum. 
Both have flowered with me, but they 
died shortly after the blossoms had faded. 
The Golden-banded Lily of Japan (L. 
auratum) and its varieties, the most im¬ 
posing and beautiful of all the Lilies and 
the most fragrant, has not proved a suc¬ 
cess with me; though some bulbs made 
a vigorous growth at first. The Japan 
Lily (L. speciosum) and its varieties, L. 
