April 2, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
485 
LILIES IN BERMUDA. 
Bermuda may be j ustly termed the home of the Lily, 
at least the variety known in the trade as Lilium 
Harrisii, which is botanically, L. longiflorum var. 
eximium, because its increase here is rapid and its 
development perfect. Nowhere else, no, not even 
in its native home, Corea, does it thrive with that 
vigour and multiply with the rapidity it does in 
Bermuda. It may be asked why is such the case ? 
To such queries there is but one reply, simply 
because all the conditions of growth are adapted to 
its necessities. Otherwise the results would be 
entirely different, for it is safe to say that in the 
of heat; therefore the climatic conditions of Bermuda 
are admirably adapted to their growth and 
development as they have no frost, and in their 
hottest weather, which is not extreme, the bulbs are 
at rest. 
Propagation is affected by scales—"shells,” they 
term it—these are sown thickly in rows about i ft. 
apart, or four rows in a bed 3 ft. in width ; they 
quickly form little bulbs which make a rapid growth, 
in fact make flowering bulbs the first season ; that is, 
many of them will be from 3 in. to 5 in. in circumfer¬ 
ence, the latter size being the one that is now 
considered the most profitable for the florist to grow. 
The smaller scales will not make a bulb of this size, 
they have learned thoroughly, viz., to disturb the 
soil in cultivation as little as possible. The bulb is 
injured just in proportion as its roots are injured or 
disturbed. The cultivation is all done by hand, in 
fact as the bulbs are planted so thickly it could not 
be done in any other way. All the cultivation given 
is to keep the ground free from weeds, and, as the 
plants soon cover the ground, weeds are noi very 
troublesome. 
The great enemy they have to contend against is 
a troublesome snail, one peculiar to the country ; 
this is very destructive, but we think could be easily 
exterminated by scattering air-slacked lime over the 
surface of the soil, as its caustic properties will 
James' Strain of Cinerarias. 
broad field of floriculture there cannot be found such 
a great and profitable industry, conducted wholly by 
men unacquainted with the art of floriculture. There 
is not a florist in Bermuda other than by accident ; 
they simply " touch the button ” and Nature does 
the rest. 
All that is required to grow Lilies in Bermuda is 
to plant them ; it seemingly makes but little differ¬ 
ence how, because grow they will in spite of 
difficulties. The secret of Lily culture is to avoid 
extremes of climate; while they are considered 
hardy they are by no means so, they may 
live and grow after a hard freezing, but their vitality 
is so impaired that perfect development is out of the 
question. They are. moreover, quite as impatient 
and these are used for stock, forming, after the 
second year's growth, the larger sized bulbs seen in 
the trade. 
The breaking up of the bulbs into scales is, as a 
rule, done in the most careless and indifferent manner, 
as all work is done when principles are not under¬ 
stood. And, judging from our experiments in bulb 
propagation, we can safely say that if the proper 
pains were taken in preparing the scales for planting, 
the first year’s growth would be at least double what 
they now get. The proper method will be adopted 
by one grower another season, and we shall watch 
the results with interest. All, or most of the growers, 
are enthusiastic in their work and anxious to produce 
the best bulbs possible. In cultivation, one thing 
instantly kill the snail without injury to the plants ; 
on the contrary the application of lime to the soil is 
beneficial rather than otherwise. 
The dealers have had just cause for complaint of 
their purchases of L. Harrisii being mixed with L. 
longiflorum. This condition is sadly too common, 
in fact, in driving by the growing crops the practical 
eye rarely fails to detect the mixtures. There are 
but few—very few—growers who have their stocks 
absolutely pure. Those who have not taken the 
necessary pains to keep their stocks pure can easily 
separate the varieties, and they usually do when the 
bulbs are taken up, as the longiflorums are two or 
three weeks later in their ripening, besides there is 
a marked difference in the shape of the bulbs, particu- 
