August 21, 1886. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
805 
ordinary bay window, and some of these were in their 
full beauty at Christmas. 
I might have given some directions as to the 
trimming of cut blooms for the exhibition table, but I 
feel with the poet, that it would be “ throwing words 
away ” to attempt it; everyone must acquire this 
knowledge by practice, and by watching some adept in 
the matter. I may, however, say that I do not approve 
of so much artificial trimming as is generally practised 
by exhibitors, believing that art seldom improves nature. 
If you want artificial flowers they may be had without 
the trouble of growing them, nevertheless, there are 
little improvements which maybe made in most flowers 
by the tweezers, such, for instance, as the removal of 
decayed or straggling petals whose absence is certainly 
no loss ; it is when a flower is literally turned inside 
out, and re-constructed that I would not allow. As a 
rule, the best flowers when well grown require little 
trimming to add to their beauty. There is a stiffness 
about a highly trimmed flower which is not iD 
harmony with the freedom of nature, and which I 
should not be inclined to encourage were I employed to 
award the prizes at Chrysanthemum shows. 
In drawing these articles to a close, I should like to 
state that the great secret of success as an exhibitor is 
in hard work and unremitting attention, which to any 
but an enthusiast in the matter would be looked upon 
as slavery. I well remember, some two or three years 
ago, carrying three or four stones of maiden soil for a 
particular purpose to a garden a mile distant from my 
house, and on arriving at my journey’s end I threw 
the load off my back, for the “lamb had become a 
sheep ” during my walk. A fellow gardener expressed 
his surprise at the trouble I had given myself in order 
to accomplish so insignificant an object, to which I 
replied that he was not half a gardener, and that he 
ought to possess a little of the ardour of the Patriarch 
Jacob, who, when serving seven years for his favourite 
wife, confessed that “they seemed as but a few days, 
for the love he had to her ” ; and to the true lover of 
nature, fair Flora possesses attractions quite as powerful 
as the belle of Padanaram, and her attire has been pro¬ 
nounced by the highest authority to be even more 
gorgeous than that of the royal philosopher himself. 
“ I say unto you that even Solomon, in all his glory, 
was not arrayed like one of these.”— Gao. Kidson, 
Hull. 
-*>£<-- 
NOTES ON LILIUMS. —III. 
The species which brought my last chapter to a close 
brings the date of flowering up to the end of June, 
allowing, of course, a margin for early or late seasons. 
Throughout July we have a great multitude of lovely 
and elegant species and varieties filling the air with 
their delightful, and, in some cases, overpowering 
fragrance, and at the same time gracing the borders 
and beds which are devoted to them by their resplen¬ 
dent forms. Where all are beautiful it is impossible to 
particularise as to which may be the best, without some 
further explanation as to what special purpose they may 
be required. It may be, probably, for pot culture, for 
effective border planting, for flowering at a given season 
of the year, for adaptation to some particular soil or 
soils, or climate, or it may be that brilliancy of colour 
alone may be meant by the term “ best,” and as each 
and all of . these require different answers, a separate 
question should be clearly asked. Foremost among 
the early July Liliums I must place 
Lilium pardalinum, a highly superior species, and 
at the same time most desirable and attractive. It 
differs from the majority of those previously mentioned 
in its cultural requirements by its preference to peaty 
or bog soil ; this remark applies with equal force to all 
those Lilies which come under the head of superbum or 
canadense, all of which delight in peat and moisture. 
They are also benefitted by partial shade, although if 
an abundant supply of moisture to the roots be forth¬ 
coming the shade may be dispensed with. When well 
suited this Lily will attain 8 ft. to 10 ft. high, and 
thus seen, it is one of the most beautiful of American 
Lilies. The predominant colour is rich scarlet, shaded 
with orange, and freely spotted with purple-brown. 
It belongs to the Turk’s Cap or Martagon group. 
Though a decided swamp Lily in its native habitat, it 
may be observed that these conditions are not absolutely 
essential in English gardens ; for example, I have had 
this very pleasing species flowering well this season 
grown in light pasture loam, and fully exposed. The 
bulbs were below the average of what are termed 
flowering bulbs : still they flowered well, and grew 
some 3 ft. 6 ins. high, which was rather a surprise to 
me considering our soil is very dry. Well-flowered 
examples will average eight or a dozen blooms on a 
stem, so that a group of them will soon produce a most 
telling effect. Though this species reaches so great a 
height, it is generally self-supporting, which is in its 
favour. There are also some good varieties of it, as 
Californicum, intense crimson ; Bourgaei, crimson- 
scarlet, and crimson spots, having the largest flowers 
of this section. Michauxi is also a crimson-scarlet, 
while Pallidifolium has rose-scarlet flowers. All these 
forms, it may be well to remark, shade from the pre¬ 
dominant colour to either orange or yellow, and all 
are freely spotted. For associating with the above, 
Lilium canadense and its forms are well suited ; 
the cultural requirements are the same, and it ranks 
among the most elegant of all Lilies. In habit of 
growth it is somewhat fragile. Its slender stems are, 
however, no detriment to it ; on the other hand, it 
imparts to it a grace peculiarly its own. Its maximum 
height is 5 ft. to 6 ft., flowers golden yellow’, very 
freely produced, and heavily spotted. The variety 
rubrum differs only in the colour of its flowers, which 
are red with black spots. In passing, I would just 
remark that the heights here given are such as they 
attain in established clumps and under the conditions 
herein laid dowm; under ordinary treatment, they 
seldom rise to a greater height than 3 ft. or 4 ft. 
Before leaving this group, I will briefly allude to the 
Lilium chalcedonicum. 
Martagons themselves, by which I mean the typical 
representations of this group. In general aspect they 
are not so effective as most members of this genus. 
They are, however, very old inhabitants of our gardens, 
having been introduced from Germany at the close of 
the sixteenth century, and the type species is well 
known among cottagers and amateurs. It will, in 
common with all its forms, succeed well in any good 
ordinary vegetable soil, attaining to about 3 ft. 6 ins. 
high. The colour is purple with black spots ; it is a 
very hardy and robust Lily. 
Lilium Martagon album, the white Martagon, is 
a very fine pure white form, which should find a place 
in all gardens ; while in L. Martagon Dalmaticum we 
have a most remarkable Lily, the flowers of which are 
much larger than in any other Martagon, and of an 
intense blackish purple, in which particular it stands 
out alone from all else. It is a very fine and most dis¬ 
tinct kind, and forms a fitting companion for the two 
just named. I cannot, however, refrain from men¬ 
tioning the scarlet Turk’s Cap, 
Lilium chalcedonicum, to which allusion was made 
in your last issue. In colour it is an intense fiery 
scarlet, and in consequence is the most brilliant and 
effective of all Lilies. Its flowers last throughout the 
entire month of July, many of which are produced on 
each stem. In all respects it is a grand and noble 
species, its vividness of colour rendering it so desirable 
for association with such kinds as Longiflorum and 
others, whose pure white trumpets form a striking con¬ 
trast to the rich scarlet of Chalcedonicum. Large clumps 
of it are now rare, though in days of yore it may have 
been seen flowering with its wonted freedom in cottage gar¬ 
dens with little or no care. The last large clump which 
1 had the pleasure to gaze upon, was in a wayside garden 
in the neighbourhood of Nottingham, and which had 
the appearance of having occupied the same position for 
years, in fact it is one of the finest established clumps I 
have ever seen, and annually it carried some thirty 
flower stems. Its owner was justly proud of his Lily, 
and as would many others who are admirers of this 
genus, if they could but procure such noble examples as 
this one. And is it not to be regretted that after a 
lapse of nearly 300 years, this Lily has become scarce, 
and which once w r as so common. None will venture to 
discard such a gem as this, for we have nothing in the 
whole genus that can well occupy its place in our 
gardens ; its cultivation is very simple for it will thrive 
well in any ordinary garden soil which is fairly rich, 
and it deserves any care at our hands. But having 
gone somewhat fully into those of the Martagon groups, 
let us now briefly look at some of those contained in tho 
Eulirion group, or that portion of them with trumpet¬ 
shaped flowers ; these are 
Lilium longiflorum, and its forms, than which 
perhaps we have none better adapted for pot culture. 
They are all perfectly hardy, growing about 18 ins. to 
2 1ft. high, with long lanceolate acuminate shining 
leaves, and pure white and deliciously fragrant flowers; 
these vary in length considerably, in the type the 
flowers are about 6 ins. long, in the Eximium the 
flowers are much larger, and very pure white ; both 
these are admirably adapted for forcing, and for this 
purpose are grown in quantity. Whether grown in 
pots or in the border, they rejoice in a rich loam, and 
when the pots are full of roots they are much assisted 
with frequent doses of liquid manure. The form of 
Longiflorum are very nearly allied to evergreen, that is 
as soon as the flowers fade, and the stems show signs of 
decay, fresh green shoots maybe seen protruding from the 
soil, and these, if carefully grown on, will in due time 
develop flowers. The above named forms of Longi¬ 
florum may be had very cheap, consequently they 
should be grown by all. The remainder of this section, 
some of which require special culture, I will call tten- 
tion to in my next.— J. 
-- 
FLOWERS AT READING. 
It would indeed be a rare occurrence for anyone to 
visit the Messrs. Sutton & Sons’ Beading Nursery and 
find nothing to write about or to admire. At this 
season of the year the visitor finds a glorious floral 
feast to partake of, and whilst the things seen are of 
the best of their kind, they are displayed with so much 
good effect and neatness that for the moment it is pos¬ 
sible to forget we are in a nursery, and have rather 
dropped into some well-kept private garden. Just now 
the great feature under glass is the Begonias. That 
other considerable growers have grand strains and 
brilliant exhibitions of these beautiful summer flowers 
is, of course, admitted ; but certainly the Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons have not merely a glorious display— 
they have quality in their flowers which cannot be 
surpassed, and culture which cannot be excelled. Two 
broad span-roof houses, each 100 ft. long, are cramful 
of Begonias raised from seed sown so recently as Feb¬ 
ruary last. All are coming into bloom, and in a month 
will be a superb spectacle, especially as by that time, 
all being in full bloom, the colours will have been 
massed, and the effect thus produced is even more 
striking than when seen in mixture. Mere big flowers 
are not aimed at—rather quality, form, stoutness of 
petal, brilliancy or variation of colour, and dwarf com¬ 
pact habit allied to exceeding freedom of flower. These, 
it must be admitted, are points worthy of consideration, 
and at Beading they are being rapidly utilised. From 
pure white down to the deepest blood-crimson the 
Colours vary, but we prefer that those interested in Be¬ 
gonias should see for themselves, when also they will 
find some very beautiful hybrids, especially of Pearceii ; 
and the pretty whitish pink Princess Beatrice, another 
hybrid, is growing so well and blooming so profusely 
in the open air as a bedding plant. 
Gloxinias may be not inaptly described as greenhouse 
perpetuals, for here they seem to be always in bloom. 
The present, which consists of seedlings from a sowing 
last February, fine robust plants, full of vigour, and 
blooming superbly. Many show such truly huge and 
finely formed flov’ers that we are tempted to ask when 
will Gloxinias stop. Truly they seem big enough now, 
and as for colours they are as varied, as the hues in so 
many are sublime. The pure white kind, of which 
