82 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  25,  1901. 
Lilium  Conference  at  Chiswick. 
This  conference  began  at  2.30  and  ended  at  half-past  four  on 
Tuesday,  July  16th,  at  Chiswick,  H.  J.  Elwes,  Esq.,  occupying  the 
chair.  There  was  a  large  attendance  of  variously  distinguished  men, 
and  a  few  ladies.  Mr.  J.  G.  Baker,  F.R.S.,  late  keeper  of  the 
Herbarium  at  Kew,  was  first  to  open  proceedings,  his  subject  being  a 
consideration  of  the  new  Lilies  introduced  from  abroad  since  the 
publication  of  Mr.  Elwes’  Monograph  of  the  genus  twenty  years  ago. 
The  space  at  our  disposal  necessitates  brevity  on  our  part. 
New  Lilies. 
Mr.  Baker  was  received  with  applause,  and  at  once  started  his  story 
in  his  own  homely  way.  He  referred  to  General  Collett,  who  collected 
in  Upper  Burmah,  and  to  Mr.  Boxall,  who  specially  searched  for 
Liliums.  At  that  time,  twenty  years  ago,  there  were  thought  to  be 
four  distinct  species,  though  now  there  are  really  only  three  recognised 
in  that  region.  Central  and  Upper  China  is  very  rich  in  Lilies,  and 
at  the  conference  those  present  were  gratified  at  having  Dr.  Henry 
amongst  them.  This  gentleman  has  collected  more  plants,  and  certainly 
more  Lilies,  in  this  region  than  any  other  person.  In  all  he  has 
collected  something  like  13,700  bulbs,  among  these  being  many  that 
are  new  to  us.  He,  and  many  of  the  French,  German,  and  Italian 
missionaries,  have  done  exceedingly  good  work.  Mr.  Baker  describes 
the  new  species  under  the  classification  adopted  by  himself  many  years 
ago,  and  which  will  be  found  in  Nioholson’s  “  Dictionary  of  Gardening.” 
Sub-genus  Cardiocrinum. — This  first  section  includes  Lilium  cordi- 
folium  (Japan)  and  L.  giganteum  (Himalayas),  both  introduced  to 
culture  within  the  last  twenty  years.  L.  mirabile,  with  the  general 
habit  of  the  two  foregoing,  has  an  inflorescence  of  from  seven  to  fifteen 
flowers  ;  it  grows  to  the  height  of  5  or  6  feet,  and  has  broad  cordate 
leaves.  While  all  other  Lilies  have  centripetal  inflorescences,  this  one 
is  centrifugal,  that  is,  the  flowers  open  from  top  to  bottom,  and  from 
this  abnormality  its  name  was  derived.  L  lium  Glenei  comes  very 
near  L.  cordifolium,  but  differs  in  having  more  numerous  and  smaller 
flowers.  It  was  collected  in  1861,  by  the  man  whose  name  it  bears,  in 
the  Island  of  Sachalin. 
Sub-gentis  Ulirion. — This  is  the  Browni  and  longiflorum  section.  Its 
new  additions  include  L.  sulphureum,  which  was  sent  out  by  Messrs. 
Hugh  Low  &  Co.  under  the  name  of  L.  Walliohianum  superbum.  It  is 
nearly  allied  to  the  Himalayan  L.  Wallichianum,  but  its  flowers  are 
different,  while  it  also  produces  bulbils  in  the  axils  of  the  leaves.  This 
is  now  accepted  as  a  good  species.  It  was  collected  in  1891  by  Mr. 
Boxall,  and  has  been  figured  in  the  “  Botanical  Magazine.” 
L.  primulinum  was  thought  to  be  identical  with  L.  neilgherrense, 
but  differs  in  a  few  minor  details.  It  is  not  so  abundant  as 
L.  sulphureum.  General  H.  Collett  collected  it  in  1888.  Then  there 
is  L.  Bakeriana  (figured  in  the  Journal  of  the  Linnean  Society)  also 
collected  by  Gen.  Collett.  The  species  named  L.  Lowi,  and  which  we 
figured  on  page  55,  is  the  true  Bakerianum  according  to  the  lecturer. 
L.  Lowi  was  originally  collected  in  Upper  Burmah  by  Dr.  Henry,  Mr. 
Hanoock,  and  Gen.  Collett,  but  has  been  found  in  widely  scattered 
localities  since  then,  and  Bakerianum,  if  this  was  first  found,  will  be  the 
name  that  must  stand.  L.  rubellnm  was  received  at  Kew  from  Japan 
in  the  year  1898.  Messrs.  Bunting  of  Chelmsford  first  had  the  stock, 
which  then  passed  to  the  hands  of  Messrs.  Wallace  &  Co.,  who  have 
done  much  to  spread  it  abroad.  Mr.  Baker  commends  it  as  “  deoidedly 
one  of  the  best ;  ”  and  assuredly  it  is  exceedingly  beautiful. 
L.  japonicum  Alexandras,  introduced  from  Japan  by  Messrs.  Wallace, 
and  Veitoh  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  comes  very  near  to  the  true  japonicum, 
formerly  called  Ukeyuri.  It  grows  tall,  and  has  the  habit  of  L.  longi¬ 
florum,  with  flowers  5  inches  to  6  inches  long.  It  is  a  very  fine  Lily. 
L.  leuoanthum  was  found  by  Dr.  Henry  in  the  Tchang  Gorge,  where  he 
found  so  many  of  the  other  new  species.  It  resembles  L.  Browni,  but 
differs  by  having  purer  white  flowers  and  leaves  that  bear  bulbils  in  their 
axils.  L.  longiflorum  formosinum  is  not  so  valuable;  L.  Browni, 
according  to  Baker,  has  five  varieties.  L.  formosum  (which  is 
inconveniently  near  to  L.  1.  formosinum)  was  collected  in  Yunnan  by 
a  certain  reverend  Father.  It  comes  nearest  to  L.  Browni,  but  differs 
in  the  longer  stamens  with  yellow  pollen  and  white  external  perianth. 
Sub-genus  Isolirion. — To  this  group  L.  elegans  Batemanni  alone  has 
been  added.  It  has  large,  clear  apricot-yellow  flowers.  It  was  got 
from  Japan,  but  is,  perhaps,  a  mere  hybrid. 
Sub-genus  Archelirion. — The  handsomest  of  all  new  Lilies — namely, 
L.  Henryi,  honours  this  fine  section.  It  grows  10  feet  high  at  times, 
flowering  late,  bearing  very  distinct  bright  red  flowers.  It  was 
discovered  by  Dr.  Henry  in  1888  in  the  Tchang  Gorge.  There  are  several 
new  varieties  of  L.  auratum  and  L.  speoiosum.  Mr.  Maries  introduced 
from  Japan  L.  a.  tricolor  and  L.  a.  platyphyllum  ;  the  former  has  larger 
flowers  than  the  type,  eleven  to  thirteen  prominent  veins  and  brown 
dots  on  the  segments.  Some  of  the  new  species  are  nearly  allied  to 
L.  oxypetalum,  especially  one  named  L.  Delavayi,  found  by  the  Abbe 
Delavay.  The  flowers  are  solitary  and  funnel-shaped.  L.  yunnanense 
has  been  found  by  Dr.  Henry,  Mr.  Hanoock,  and  Abbe  Delavay.  The 
perianth  is  1^  inch  wide,  the  colour  reddish. 
Sub-genus  Martagon. — There  are  a  good  many  new  species  of  the 
Martagon  group  ;  they  include  L.  Jankae,  L.  Heldreichi,  which  is 
nearly  allied  to  L.  oarniolicum  and  L.  chalcedonicum,  having  bright 
reddish  flowers  2  inches  long,  with  reflexed  segments. 
Seven  other  Old  World  Martagon  species  and  varieties  received 
hurried  references,  but  as  they  were  entirely  new  to  us,  and  but 
imperfeotly  heard,  we  will  not  commit  ourselves  by  attempting  to 
enumerate  and  describe  them.  Before  concluding,  Mr.  Baker  named 
four  or  five  of  the  American  Martagons,  and  these — the  American 
species — he  said  were  exceedingly  difficult  to  olassify.  Thus,  in  all, 
we  have  now  about  thirty-five  distinct  species  not  included  in  Mr. 
Elwes*  Monograph,  showing,  as  Mr.  Baker  said,  that  the  collectors  had 
not  been  idle. 
Mr.  Elwes  pointed  out  how  botany  and  horticulture  are  oo-related  in 
many  respeots,  and  urged  that  the  union  should  be  made  stronger.  He 
remarked,  in  regard  to  the  new  species,  that  though  so  many  were 
known,  only  from  seven  to  ten  have  so  far  been  introduced  to  culti¬ 
vation.  Tibet  and  nearly  all  of  Western  and  Central  China  has  yet  to 
be  searched,  and  opens  up  a  fine  field  to  the  collector.  Collecting, 
however,  is  an  onerous  and  very  dangerous  pursuit,  and  the  perils  and 
operations  were  described  at  length  by  the  chairman.  He  then 
introduced  Dr.  Henry,  a  comparatively  young  man,  whose  purpose  was 
to  describe  the  native  habitats  of  some  of  the  Lilies. 
Lilies  and  their  Habitat. 
Dr.  Henry  at  the  outset  said  that  100  extra  collectors  were  wanted 
for  the  centre  of  China  and  Tibet.  One  hundred  would  by  no  means 
exhaust  the  country,  for  it  presents  an  immense  flora.  The  province 
of  Yunnan,  in  which  he  had  travelled,  has  an  average  elevation  of 
5000  feet,  and  many  of  the  mountains  reach  10,000  feet  up  to 
20,000  feet.  It  is  a  day’s  march  to  the  summit  of  some  of  the 
mountains  and  down  again.  He  described  the  country  as  having 
thousands  and  thousands  of  valleys,  and  thousands  and  thousands  of 
mountain  ranges.  The  eastern  end  of  the  Yangtse  gorges  was  where 
Dr.  Henry  collected.  The  Yangtse  only  drops  70  feet  in  the  last 
1000  miles  of  its  course,  and  so  much  have  Europeans  heard  of  the 
broad  alluvial  expanses  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  that  we  forget 
there  are  mountains  in  China  at  all ;  yet  it  is  the  most  mountainous 
country  in  the  world.  Lilium  calosinum  was  the  first  discovered.  (It 
is  numbered  511  in  Kew  Herbarium).  In  the  habitat  of  this  Lily  the 
thermometer  falls  to  30°  and  323  F.  in  winter,  and  rises  to  100°  in  the 
shade  in  summer. 
Many  beautiful  glens  branch  from  the  Yangtse,  and  in  some  of  these 
L.  Browni  is  found.  L.  leucanthum  was  sent  from  these  regions  by  Dr. 
Henry,  under  the  impression  that  it  was  L.  Browni.  In  a  wild  state 
the  flowers  of  the  last  named  are  distinctly  greenish.  L  rubellam 
grows  at  4000  feet  to  5000  feet  above  sea  level.  The  peasants  in  these 
parts  cultivate  L.  tigrinum,  but  after  much  searching  the  Dr.  never 
found  this  species  wild.  L.  Henryi  has  a  most  restricted  sphere,  and 
has  not  been  met  with  out  of  one  locality.  It  grows  at  the  top  of 
precipitous  grassy  slopes,  2000  feet  above  the  gorges ;  it  is  never  at  the 
bottom  of  the  glens,  but  at  the  top.  Sometimes  it  is  found  on  con¬ 
glomerate,  at  other  times  on  limestone  ;  showing  that,  at  any  rate,  it  is  not 
particular  as  to  the  soil  it  grows  in.  It  is  found  in  exposed  situations, 
L.  Browni  preferring  shade  and  shelter.  Wild,  it  is  never  higher  than 
4  feet,  and  has  generally  one  to  five  flowers.  It  is  subjected  to  a 
considerable  amount  of  cold  in  winter,  the  ground  being  at  times 
covered  with  snow.  L.  giganteum  is  a  speoies  that  is  never  seen  in 
open,  grassy  glades;  it  favours  the  depths  of  high-placed  mountain 
forests.  There  is  a  green  variety.  L.  leucanthum  is  common  in  glades 
more  or  less  sheltered  ;  it  differs  somewhat  from  the  ordinary  Browni. 
L.  Lowi  (L.  Bakeriana,  Baker)  is  found  on  bare,  exposed,  grassy 
mountains,  5000  to  7000  feet  high;  it  is  numbered  10,774  in  Kew 
Herbarium.  L.  Lowi  had  been  described  as  a  white  Lily  with  brown 
markings ;  but  according  to  Dr.  Henry  this  is  not  Lowi,  but  probably 
refers  to  L.  yunnanense.  The  speoies  L.  Bakeriana,  held  by  some  to  be 
distinct  from  Lowi,  grows  under  exactly  the  same  conditions,  which 
probably  goes  to  prove  that  they  are  probably  synonymous.  L.  nepalense 
varies  much  both  in  form  and  colour  ;  it  thrives  at  5000  feet  up  to 
9000  feet.  The  foregoing  comprise  the  species  encountered  by  Dr. 
Henry. 
Cultural  Discourse. 
Mr.  George  Yeld,  M.A.,  York,  furnished  a  few  brief  excerpts  from  a 
paper  he  had  prepared.  Be  it  noted  that  all  of  the  essayists  greatly 
summarised  their  expositions  ;  but  the  full  text  of  each  paper  read  at 
the  conference,  and  some  others  besides,  will  be  published  in  extenso 
in  a  coming  Journal  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Sooiety.  Mr.  Yeld 
oomplained  that  northern  cultivators  have  not  the  favourable  conditions 
for  growing  Liliums  that  southerners  have.  Speak  to  some  north- 
country  men,  and  they  will  retort,  “  Lilies,  did  you  say  P  Ah  !  yes  ; 
but  they  are  ‘  miffy,’  I  cannot  do  anything  with  them.”  Mr.  Yeld’s 
York  town  garden  is  well  sheltered,  and  he  has  new  and  suitable  soil 
for  his  bulbs,  besides  whioh  he  always  affords  them  the  kindest  and 
most  careful  attention.  L.  Martagon  grows  rampant  with  him,  while 
L.  M.  dalmatioum  hardly  maintains  its  place.  The  white  Martagon  also 
does  well;  L.  Hansoni  starts  very  early,  and  is  apt  to  be  nipped  by 
frosts;  while  if  L.  testaceum  is  well  looked  after  it  succeeds  passably. 
There  are  some  splendid  plants  to  be  seen  a  few  yards  from  York 
Minster,  and  there  are  other  flue  clumps  near  St.  Peter’s  School. 
