772 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 27, 1901. 
observations which he made on the genus. He said 
that he was sure that the high mountains of W. 
China were much richer in species than those of the 
East. He spoke highly of Mr. Wilson’s endeavours, 
and mentioned that he was only in the centre of this 
vast country, and one man could not do much in a 
very long time: he said there was room for hun¬ 
dreds of collectors, especially in the high regions of 
the West, where the average elevation was from 
5,ooo to io.ooo ft. Travelling in this region, he said, 
was very fatiguing and very slow ; a day’s march 
consisted of going up the side of one ridge and down 
the other, and there were not a few of these ridges 
but hundreds of miles of them. 
He said we often drew a very erroneous idea of 
the aspect of China by taking the alluvial valley of 
the Yantze Kiang with its vast rice districts as an 
example. Here the country is excessively flat, as 
may be judged by the fall of the great river, which 
is only 70 ft. in the last thousand miles. In the 
gorges leading off from the Yantze valley he found 
L. Brownii. In a rocky district in Yunnan, at an 
altitude of about 10,000 ft., he found L. leucanthe- 
mum. A peculiarity which he noticed about the 
flowers was that when growing in their wild rocky 
habitat they were of a decided greenish tint, but 
when seen under cultivation they assumed a yellow 
colour. 
L. tigrinum, he said, he never saw growing wild. 
L. Henryi, he only found growing in two districts, 
both in the neighbourhood of Y Chang. It grows 
on grassy slopes at an altitude of 200 ft. to 2,000 ft. 
The rock formation on which it is found varies, as 
in some places it is limestone and in others con¬ 
glomerate. Unlike L. Brownii, it always grew in 
exposed positions. L. giganteum, he noted, only 
grew in the high mountain forests and never in open 
or exposed positions. The colour of the flowers 
varied, he noted, some being almost pure white, 
while the others were greenish. 
Mr. Wilson collected a large quantity of bulbs of 
L. nepalense, but when under cultivation they still 
retained the peculiar hab.t of varying in colour and 
in size, which characterised them in their native 
habitat. 
Lilies in a Town Garden, by Mr. Yeld. 
After the brief but interesting address by Dr. 
Henry, Mr. Yeld read a short paper on “ Lilies in a 
Town Garden." "Lilies,” he said, "do not find 
much favour with gardeners in the north ; they look 
at them as decidedly ‘ mythy ’ subjects to deal with 
and only suited for the warmer south.” Mr. Yeld’s 
garden is situated in the historic town of York, but, 
unlike many other gardens in that neighbourhood, it 
possesses the distinct advantage of being well 
sheltered, and as Mr. Yeld spares no trouble in 
getting in new soil, he proves a very successful Lily 
grower. 
L. Martagon, he said, grew anywhere in his 
garden, and he had some fine ones even under Pear 
trees. L. Hansoni also grew well, but being very 
early, often suffered from frost. L. chalcedonicum 
generally looked untidy in his garden as the leaves 
withered, but in a neighbouring garden, he said, there 
is a dump of it which has occupied the same 
position for twenty years with only the attention of 
lifting occasionally. L Humboldti, he said, did 
well for the first two years after being imported, but 
after that time it went off. 
L. canadense, he found, grew fairly well ; but 
washingtonianum, he thought, was a failure. L. 
sulphureum grew well, but did not bloom. The 
finest he grows is L. colchicum. It takes ten years 
to produce bulbs sufficiently strong to produce 
flowers, but they well repay the trouble, for he had 
seen them with thirteen flowers on a stem. 
L. giganteum, he found, required much attention, 
or it was liable to rot. It was over a plant of this 
handsome species that this Lily enthusiast stood 
with an umbrella during a terrific thunderstorm. 
He gave many pieces of useful advice to Lily- 
growers. The cream of which was never to move a 
plant that was doing well, and that in very dry 
seasons Lilies are not so impatient of manure in the 
soil as they are in wet seasons. Care and patience, 
he thought, was almost as good as a good position. 
In ordinary seasons he agreed with the other 
speakers that there is much to be gained by planting 
them under trees, amongst their roots, where the 
bulbs are kept cool, and there is generally moisture 
to be obtained. 
Culture of Lilies in Pots, by 
Mr. Wallace. 
Mr. Wallace, who exhibited a magnificent group of 
Lilies in the large vinery, gave a very instructive 
paper on their culture in pots. He gave a list of 
species that are most suitable for either forcing or 
bringing on gradually 
For forcing into bloom in the early spring they 
should be potted in the early autumn. Two of the 
best species for spring use, he thinks, are L. tbun- 
bergianum and L. umbellatum ; the variety L. t. 
Prince of Orange he specially recommends. L. 
tenuifolium, he said, is a gem for forcing, but re¬ 
quires a little bottom-heat to start it. L. excelsum 
is a very good pot plant, but Mr. Wallace says that 
like L. candidum it will not stand too much forcing. 
L. rubellum, he thought, was a perfect pot plant. 
Many people are often deceived over this plant, as 
none look more weak and unpromising when they 
first appear above the [soil. L. Henryi he recom¬ 
mended, also, as a pot plant, and one which should 
be started early. Although it grows to a great 
height it is a very graceful flower, and if removed to 
a shady position when the buds appear the colour is 
much improved. 
L. giganteum, he finds, makes a good subject for 
pot culture if it receives careful treatment. One 
thing that must be specially avoided with this species 
is excessive heat, as the stems being hollow they 
soon split. L. odorum, better known as L. japoni- 
cum colchesterense, which is now being sent over in 
such large quantities from Japan, he recommended 
to be removed to a shady and slightly cooler position 
when the buds begin to swell, as when grown other¬ 
wise the blooms lose much of their colour. The 
same treatment was also advised for L. Brownii. 
For very early forcing he thought there was 
nothing to beat L. Harrisi and the variety L. H. 
foliis albo-marginatis, which has ornamental silver- 
edged foliage. L. auratum, he found, could only be 
grown to perfection when in an unheated house and 
allowed to come on naturally. 
In conclusion, Mr. Wallace advised all who go in 
for Lily culture under glass to keep them cool, give 
abundance of air without draughts, syringe fre¬ 
quently, keep the atmosphere moist, and above all 
shade the pots and lower part of the stems. 
After Mr. Wallace’s paper, Mr. Elwes made a few 
more remarks, dealing principally with the good 
results he had seen from Lilies planted in odd 
corners. 
Lily Growing, by Mr. F. W. Moore. 
Mr. F. W. Moore next gave a short paper on Lily 
growing. He emphasised the importance of keeping 
the bulbs cool, and recommended that their roots 
should have the companionship of the roots of other 
things. He also pleaded for more attention to the 
raising of our own bulbs instead of importing 
them. 
Lily Disease, by Captain Saville Reid. 
Captain Saville Reid said that after what had been 
said on the subject there was not much in his paper 
but would be repetition. He gave some very 
instructive extracts, dealing principally with diseases. 
He made some very interesting remarks on the 
Madonna Lily. He described how that when he 
came to his house six years ago, he found the garden 
well stocked with this flower, growing chiefly in a 
grass border. 
After some time the plants became attacked with 
a foul fungus disease which made the leaves wither 
from the bottom upwards. Acting on the advice 
received from the horticultural press he took the 
whole of the bulbs up in the autumn, and after 
drying them and cleaning them in a vinery they 
were put into a bag a few at a time and well shaken 
up with sulphur. After this they were replanted in 
fresh positions. By some oversight a few bulbs 
were left hanging for several weeks in a stoke-hole 
and were planted later ; the others not having been 
out of the ground more than forty-eight hours. 
Contrary to the much talked of idea that a Lily bulb 
ought net to be out of the ground for many hours 
these bulbs which had been neglected did the best, 
and two years afterwards they produced as many as 
fifteen flowers on a stem. 
He related a curious experience which he had 
with L. Parryi. He and several more gentlemen 
bought some bulbs of this Lily which was known as 
the Bog Lily. Each one proceeded to imitate as 
they thought best the natural conditions. He made 
elaborate arrangements with pipes, &c , to make a 
miniature bog, but owing to some derangement in 
the affair the feed-pipe became stopped, and in 
consequence of the amount of drainage which had 
been given to carry off the surplus water the compost 
soon became very dry. This accident saved his 
bulbs, for while those of his friends perished through 
excessive moisture, his flourished, and one year his 
six bulbs produced nine dozen blooms. L. rubellum, 
he found, grew best in scrub and in loose stony 
earth. 
Diseases of Lilies, by Mr. G. Massee. 
Mr. Massee, as he has often done before, used much 
satire at the expense of the gardener. He has an 
amusing and fascinating way of making himself 
understood, and a man more devoted to the fungus 
family is not to be found. At this conference he 
waxed enthusiastic over the fungoid diseases of 
Lilies, and even before such an assembly of Lily 
fanciers he spoke out and told them that he thought 
the fungi much more beautiful than the Lilies. Of 
course this is a matter of opinion, but with the aid 
of carefully prepared slides, a good lantern and a 
free and easy delivery, we have known Mr. Massee 
to hold his audience spell bound from beginning to 
end. The subject seems to be written before him, 
for although he has no notes he is never at a loss for 
words, and the pace he goes would cause consterna¬ 
tion amongst the sharpest of shorthand reporters. 
He informed his hearers that there were about 
fifty fungi which delighted to feed on Lilies, but 
fortunately for British growers there is only about 
one or two which are found to cause trouble in this 
country. The one which causes most trouble is a 
species of Botrytis. Mr. Massee seemed proud of 
this fungus, as it holds on to life with a wonderful 
persistency and can either live as a saprophyte or as 
a parasite. It can exist for centuries as the former, 
living on the humus in the soil; but as Mr. Massee 
pointed out, the fungus has a degree of discrimina¬ 
tion and if a Lily bulb happens to be put in its 
vicinity it soon finds that this provides its food in a 
more concentrated form and consequently begins to 
live on it immediately and forms a mycelium round 
the bulb. During the first year it forms sclerotia, 
and in the second spores, which quickly spread all 
over the plant. The least movement in the air is 
sufficient to lift these tiny bodies, even the imper¬ 
ceptible movement which is caused by the slightest 
change of temperature. 
After briefly describing the method of growth of 
this disease he, perhaps somewhat reluctantly, spoke 
of the best methods of checking it. " The safest way 
to protect the bulb,” he said, "is to surround it 
with silver sand with which a small quantity of 
sulphur has been mixed." This prevents the grow¬ 
ing points of the mycelium from reaching the bulb, 
as they can only grow when in a nourishing medium. 
Of course this precaution would be useless if the 
bulb was already diseased, for as Mr. Massee has 
pointed out times innumerable, prevention is the 
only method as cure is impossible when once the 
fungus has entered the tissues, and no amount of 
spraying will kill it then, as the only method of 
destroying it effectually is to burn both the fungus 
and the host-plant. 
When the spores settle on the leaves, &c., if they 
are wet, they germinate immediately and are inside 
destroying the tissues in a very few hours. When 
it breaks through to the surface again the work of 
devastation has already been accomplished and this 
is the last stage of the disease and not the first as is 
so often erroneously imagined. 
Kainit was recommended by Mr. Massee as a sure 
destroyer of all fungi, whenever it came in contact 
with them. But as he pointed out, the gardener is 
often too great a personage to dabble with such 
simple remedies. If they were more complicated 
he would do his best to carry them out. 
After a well deserved vote of thanks to Mr. Elwes 
the conference broke up. The papers which were 
read and those which were unread for want of time, 
will be published in extenso in the Journal of the Royal 
Horticultural Society. 
-— 
SOCIETIES. 
BECKENHAM HORTICULTURAL. — July 10th. 
The tenth summer show was held in the recreation 
grounds on Wednesday, July 10th. A principal 
factor in the success—constant and increasing—of 
the Beckenham Show is the suitable situation, and 
