August 1-2, 1899. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
793 
lottery in its results than the hybridising of almost 
any other class of plants. The general means 
employed is to sow the spores of distinct species or 
varieties closely in a mixed patch. It then happens 
that the antherozoids of one species fertilise the 
oosphere of the archegonium of another species or 
variety resulting successfully in a cross. 
Runners from Barren Strawberries.— TV. Logan, 
Perth : We have had good plants from runners of so- 
called barren Strawberries, and have found them 
fairly productive as bearing plants. But the general 
opinion of experts is that runners from barren 
plants should be left alone. 
AMERICAN ALOES AT ABBEY PARK. 
For some considerable time past there has been a 
collection of American Aloes at Abbey Park, 
Leicester, just as similar collections are kept in some 
Mr. Bum, the superintendent, is proud of these 
variations to his usual run of flowering subjects. 
« » ■ 
LILIUMS AND THEIR CULTURE.* 
How gorgeous and beautiful the majority of Lilies 
are is well known to us all; and what is there more 
suitable for the decoration of our conservatories or 
greenhouses, from early summer to quite the end of 
autumn ? In fact, with a good supply of bulbs it is 
quite possible to have more or less in flower through¬ 
out the greater part of the year, especially Lilium 
longiflorum and its varieties; and certainly no 
garden, be it large or small, is worthy of its name 
unless it includes some of this notable family. Very 
few plants can compare with them in the open 
garden, presenting as they do, such rich and varied 
colours, combined with delicious fragrance the 
majority of them, and all more or less hardy, which 
enhances their value, and places them beyond a doubt 
to present a withered appearance. Examine each 
bulb before potting or planting, and remove any 
decaying matter. I find one bulb in a 6-in., or three 
in an 8-in. pot give good returns, the pots being 
clean and well drained, and the compost to be used 
fairly rich, good turfy loam, fairly rough, well-rotten 
manure (though not too freely used), a little mortaror 
lime-rubble, and coarse river or silver sand, a mixture 
I find suits them well. Half fill your pot with this 
and place a pinch of sand over, and then place your 
bulb or bulbs in and just cover the same with soil. 
This leaves a good space for top-dressing later on 
when in full growth. 
After being potted they should be placed in a cold 
pit or frame, plunging the pots in ashes, and cover¬ 
ing the tops of the pots with two or three inches of 
cocoanut fibre refuse. This tends to keep the soil 
uniformly moist, as no water will be required for 
for some time. When you perceive the shoots 
appearing through the fibre the pots must be brought 
American Aloes at Abbey Park, Leicester. 
of the London parks, for planting as centres to beds, 
centres of designs, for the formation of beds or 
rockeries entirely devoted to succulent plants, or for 
standing in prominent positions as specimen plants. 
A considerable number is grown at Abbey Park, and 
two of the old stagers have taken it into their head 
to flower. Being popularly known as the Century 
Plant in many parts of the country, the story will no 
doubt be passed round once more during their 
flowering period. The idea is that Agave americana 
flowers only once in a century, whereas it flowers when 
strong enough to do so. By confining the plants in 
pots or tubs, however, they may be kept for many 
years before they reach flowering size. The accom¬ 
panying illustration shows the plants when the stems 
had just reached 22 ft. in height, so that the speci¬ 
mens may well be giants of their kind. We have 
seen large plants whose stems did not exceed 18 ft. 
The Aloes at Leicester were not in bloom when 
photographed, so that the stems may yet be taller. 
to the front as most suitable subjects for planting in 
the open garden. As yet, no writer, as far as I have 
been able to ascertain, has told us when, and by 
whom, the “Lily” was introduced into Britain. 
Probably we are indebted to the Romans for giving 
us such a noble flower as well as many other good 
things in our gardens, as according to a very recent 
writer (the Hon. Alicia Amherst) nothing worthy of 
the name of a garden existed in Britain before the 
Roman Conquest. 
I will dilate first on the most amenable, or those 
usually given “pot culture,” giving L. longiflorum 
and its varieties precedence. These should be pro¬ 
cured as early as possible in the autumn if a new 
stock should be required, and potted up without 
delay, as most, or I may say all the Lily tribe are 
more or less injured if allowed at all to get dry, so as 
* A paper read by Mr. James Mayne, gardener to the Hon. 
Mark Rolle, Bicton, at a meeting of the Devon and Exeter 
Gardeners’ Association. 
up to the light without delay, or the shoots very 
soon get spindly or drawn as the gardeners term it. 
They should be kept as near the glass as possible 
right up to the time of flowering if kept under glass 
until that period. In this position very little water 
will be required during November and the two suc¬ 
ceeding months, though on no account must they 
suffer for want of it after once the growths begin to 
push up. A top-dressing of similar soil as at first 
advocated should be given when the stems are a few 
inches high, or as soon as new roots can be seen on 
the surface. When the shoots are fairly well 
advanced more water will be necessary; and the 
plants must be frequently fed with a fertiliser or 
diluted farmyard manure when the flowers show, and 
right up to the time they begin to expand. 
A sharp look-out must be kept on this Lily, as 
green fly is its greatest enemy, and if not kept at 
bay will soon cripple its growth. Fumigating with 
one of the many good insecticides now in the market, 
