52 
JAPAN LILIES. 
height of from five to six feet, and, should there be three or four 
stems, the foot-stalks of the flowers will extend in a lateral direc¬ 
tion and form a large head. The soil most suited to them is a 
mixture of turfy loam and peat, with a proportion of about a 
third of thoroughly rotten manure. This compost should be 
used in as rough a state as possible, with a proper regard to its 
being well mixed, leaving all the roots, sticks, and similar matters 
in it, and a good drainage being placed in the bottom of the pot. 
The soil may be pressed firmly round the bulb, leaving its crown 
about two inches below the surface. A light airy shelf in the 
greenhouse, or the front of a cold pit, will be the best situation 
for the growing plant, until it has become too large for its sta¬ 
tion, and a removal either to some sheltered place out of doors 
or where sufficient room can be afforded in the greenhouse, be¬ 
comes necessary. About this time the base of the stems will be 
found to emit roots just above the soil in which it is growing, 
and, if some earth be drawn around them, small bulbs will be 
formed, which afford a ready means of increasing the stock. A 
liberal supply of water should be given daily while the plants 
are growing, and an occasional soaking of liquid manure will 
add to the general vigour. This treatment may be continued till 
the end of the blooming season, when a sunny situation out of 
doors should be selected for the ripening of the season’s growth, 
and a gradual reduction of the supply of water take place, 
until, by the end of autumn, the soil in the pots is left dry, 
and the roots in a dormant and fit state to pass through the 
winter. 
Those which are grown entirely out of doors —and the whole 
of them I have found to be perfectly hardy—should be planted 
in soil similar to that recommended for potting, and must have 
attention to sticking and watering in dry weather, though the 
trouble they occasion is scarcely worth mention, until the winter, 
when a thick layer of fresh leaves should be thrown over the 
beds, not so much for the sake of keeping off the frost, as to 
preserve them in an equable temperature, lest they make an 
early growth, and then suffer from adverse weather. 
Hortulanus. 
