84 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
July  25,  1901. 
L.  Hun.bcldti  ss  a  rule  succeeds  frtm  impoited  bulbs;  L.  H.  magni- 
ficnm,  in  a  heavily  sheltered  place,  is  doiDg  well  for  the  third  summer  ; 
L.  superbum  succeeds;  L.  caDadense  does  not ;  while  the  cost  cf 
polypbyllnm  and  snlphureum  was  great,  but  their  progress  small. 
L.  colchicum  is  one  of  the  finest  cf  Lilies,  and  succeeds  in  rich  soil, 
partially  shaded.  Mr.  Yelo’s  best  bulbs  were  raised  from  seedp,  some 
of  these  now  furnishing  thirteen  and  fourteen  flowers.  The  disadvantage 
is,  however,  that  one  has  to  wait  ten  or  eleven  years  before  the  seedling  s 
reach  a  flowering  stage.  L.  gigantecm  is  liable  to  rot  in  spring.  The 
lecturer  told  an  amusing  Etory  of  how  he  had  saved  a  handsome 
specimen  of  this  Lilinm  from  destrnctirn  during  a  violent  thundi  r- 
storm  by  holding  an  umbrella  ever  it  !  Many  Lilies  do  well  when  tl  e  v 
have  to  contend  with  the  roots  of  trees,  grasses,  or  herbaceous  plan- s. 
These  seem  to  absorb  the  excess  of  moisture.  In  concluding  1  is 
observations,  the  essayist  enjoined  cultivators  to  get  fresh  soil  from 
time  to  time;  never  remove  Lilies  so  long  as  they  are  doing  well,  and 
be  careful  to  guard  against  diseases  and  insect  pests. 
Lilies  in  Pots. 
•  This  was  the  subject  of  a  paper  provided  by  Mr.  R.  Wallace  of 
Colchester.  Some  Liliep,  explained  the  essayist,  can  stand  considerable 
heat,  others  rebel  against  it.  Well-selected  bulbs  potted  in  early 
autumn,  and  their  pots  plunged  in  ashes  in  cold  frames,  to  be  taken  into 
heat  as  desired,  will  provide  Lilies  by  the  end  cf  May.  Of  good  forcir  g 
kinds,  Mr.  Wallace  recommended,  amoDgst  ctheip,  L.  umbellatum  and 
its  varieties  erectum,  Cloth  cf  Gold,  and  incc  mparabilis.  Lilium  elegai  s 
(syn.  Thunbergianum)  has  many  good  varieties,  particularly  worthy 
being  Golden  Queen.  These  easily  forced  dwarf  Lilies  associate  well 
with  Japanese  Maples,  Furkias,  snd  other  foliage  plants.  L.  excelsum 
can  be  had  in  flower  by  the  middle  of  May.  They  suffer  in  foliage  if 
subjected  at  any  time  to  too  bard  frost.  L.  Hansor  i  has  been  proved  to 
be  first-class,  and  is  effective  on  account  cf  its  tall  habit.  Growers  of 
L.  rubellum  must  not  be  discouraged  with  its  appeararce  when  first  it 
appears  above  ground  ;  it  is  then  very  weakly  locking.  Mr.  Wallace 
spoke  in  tones  of  great  praise  of  L.  Henryi  for  pot-forcing  purposes 
If  started  early  it  can  be  had  in  flower  by  May.  Remove  it  from  heat 
when  the  flower  buds  show  colour.  The  colour  is  much  better  developed 
under  glass.  L.  giganteum  when  well  “done”  is  very  striking.  Too 
much  heat  and  excess  of  moisture  cause  the  stems  to  split.  L.  Browni 
should  he  treated  in  a  similar  manner  to  L.  japonicum.  Jhe  flowers 
take  on  a  splendid  external  colouring  if  they  are  exposed  to  the  full  bud. 
L.  Browni  should  not  be  hard  forced,  else  in  great  heat  they  lose  all 
colour.  It  can  be  had  early  in  June.  L.  longifolium,  L.  candidnm,  and 
L.  1.  eximium  (syn.  L.  Harrisi)  are  all  popular  favourites  of  course. 
L.  Martagon  alba  and  L.  Szovitsianum  for  pots  are  also  good. 
For  cool  culture  the  following  have  been  proved  ; — L.  auratum, 
which  must  be  allowed  to  open  its  flowers  slowly,  but  steadily. 
L.  specicsum,  with  its  varieties  album  and  rubrum,  together  with 
L.  pardalinum,  Grayi,  eupeibum,  are  also  to  be  added  to  the  list. 
L.  Krameri,  tigrinum,  and  splendens  can  all  be  had  in  flower  earlier  by 
ojool  house  treatment. 
Mr.  Wallace  urged  that  more  specimen  Lilies  might  be  grown.  Ten 
or  a  dozen  large  bulbs  will  grow,  and  continue  to  increase,  if  placed  in 
a  large  pot  or  tub,  and  the  massive  effeot  when  in  bloom  can  be  well 
imagined.  Shade  from  strong  sun  is  generally  necessary,  and  two 
syringings  per  day  is  advisable.  When  potting,  it  is  better  to  use  an 
over-size  than  an  under-size ;  there  is  then  space  for  top-dressing,  and 
from  no  cause  should  the  top  or  stem  roots  be  left  exposed  or  dried. 
Fumigate  regularly  to  extirpate  insect  pests,  and  water  carefully  at  all 
times.  Cow  manure  water,  with  soot  and  lime  water,  are  respectively 
very  beneficial.  A  good  compost  for  pot  Lilies  consists  of  two-thirds 
fibrous  loam,  and  one-third  of  leaf  soil  and  sand. 
When  Mr.  Wallacehad  concluded, and  the  chairman’s  hintshad  passed, 
Mr.  Jenkins  of  Hampton  Hill,  a  well-known  hardy  plantsman,  furnished 
a  few  pertinent  references  on  Lilium  culture.  He  advised  that 
L.  longiflorum  should  be  planted  12  inches  deep  ;  and  he  referred  to  the 
vigorous  plants  of  L.  chalcedonicum  to  be  seen  growing  on  magnesium 
limestone  in  Gloucestershire,  while  in  the  same  county,  on  heavy  soil, 
it  does  not  at  all  succeed.  L.  pardalinum  and  L.  canadense  favour 
peaty  soils  ;  for  these,  with  speciosum  and  giganteum,  he  advocated  the 
freer  use  of  rotten  dung. 
White  Lily  Disease. 
This  was  the  subject  upon  which  Captain  Savile  Reid  made  some 
exceedingly  interesting  observations.  He  has  a  fine  garden  in  Kent, 
and  in  a  well-selected  bed  he  grew  the  White  Lily,  also  called  St. 
Joseph’s  or  the  Painter’s  Lily  (L.  candidum),  most  successfully  for 
three  or  four  summers;  then  came  a  foul  disease.  Lime  and  soot 
waterings  were  ineffectually  tried  ;  but,  acting  on  advice  obtained  from 
one  of  the  gardening  journals,  he  lifted  250  of  his  bulbs  and  laid  them 
out  to  dry  for  a  few  hours,  then  placed  them  in  a  linen  bag  with  flowers 
of  sulphur.  The  whole  process  took  forty-eight  hours,  after  whioh 
they  were  planted.  But  there  were  an  unfortunate  (P)  twelve  that 
somehow  or  other  were  left,  and  remained  hanging  in  a  dry  shed  for 
fully  a  month.  There  was  a  corner  to  place  them  in,  however,  and  so, 
instead  of  being  thrown  away,  they  were  planted,  and  lo!  they  came  up 
the  freest  and  the  strongest. 
Capt.  Reid  then  mentioned  his  success  with  L.  Parryi,  which  he  and 
some  other  gentlemen  bought  in  a  batch  from  Mr.  Carl  Purdy,  the  Lily 
expert  of  California.  Each  had  six  bulbp,  and  Capt.  Reid’s  half  dozen 
were  planted  in  a  depression,  thought  to  be  a  semi-bog.  The  pipe 
whioh  fed  the  place  with  water  became  choked,  and  the  “  bog  ”  was 
left  entirely  dry.  The  good  captain  feared  he  must  surely  lose  his 
precious  bulbs;  but,  though  they  had  been  bought  on  the  recom¬ 
mendation  that  they  were  samples  of  a  bog-loving  species,  his  plants 
throve  splendidly,  while  the  bulbs  of  his  neighbours  maintained  only 
a  feeble  struggle.  Mr.  Elwes  said  that  Lilies  frequently  succeeded 
under  totally  different  conditions  when  cultivated  as  compared  with 
their  wild  state.  He  had  the  distinction  of  being  amongst  the  first  to 
visit  L.  Parryi  in  Southern  California  after  its  discovery.  He  referred 
to  the  fact  that  many  Lilies  will  not  succeed  unless  when  they  have  to 
struggle  for  their  nourishment  with  the  roots  of  herbaceous  plants,, 
grasses,  or  shrubs.  Again,  after  some  Lilies  having  produced  good 
seeds,  die  off ;  others  refuse  to  flower  at  any  cost.  In  1874  he  had1 
L.  concolor  sent  to  him,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  (nearly 
thirty  years)  he  had  tried  to  flower  it,  and  treated  it  in  every  thinkable 
manner,  without  success.  It  was  observed  that  the  proper  season  for 
the  germination  of  Lilium  seeds  appears  to  be  at  the  period  when  Lilium 
leaves  are  in  their  autumnal  condition. 
Mr.  Massee  on  Lily  Fungus. 
Mr.  George  Massee,  the  distinguished  fungologist  from  Kew,. 
delivered  a  few  extempore  remarks.  Forty  to  fifty  funguses  are  known 
to  attack  the  genus  Lilium,  though  the  most  dangerous  and  persistent 
one  is  Botrytis  cinerea,  of  Prof.  Marshall  Ward.  The  spores  are  in 
the  soil,  and  they  may  grow  for  years,  living  on  what  organic  matter 
they  can  obtain.  Once  a  Lily  bulb  is  placed  in  the  soil,  however,  the- 
spoies  settle  upon  it  without  delay.  Sclerotia  are  formed,  from  whioh 
in  a  year’s  time  a  “  mould  ”  or  fungus-web  grows,  and  by  processes 
of  vegetative  or  sexual  union  the  mycelium  gives  rise  to  other  active 
spores,  which  burst  and  spread  the  fungoid  web  in  all  directions.  So 
when  once  a  Lily  is  attacked  it  is  impossible  to  kill  the  disease  without 
also  killing  the  host  plant.  There  is  a  preventive — a  very  simple  one, 
and  very  reliable  too,  which  is,  to  plant  your  bulbs  amongst  silver  sand, 
at  the  same  time  mixing  a  small  proportion  of  flowers  of  sulphur,  and 
you  practically  seal  them  against  attack.  It  is  the  tip  of  the  mycelium 
that  grows,  but  it  cannot  penetrate  the  sand,  because  there  no  humic 
matter  is,  and  so  no  nourishment.  Mr.  Massee  satirically  observed 
that  such  preventives  are  too  simple  for  the  working  gardener’s  notice, 
they  are  not  worth  his  troubling  about,  therefore  in  his  wisdom  he 
never  applies  them.  Kainit  or  Strassburg  fertiliser  will  kill  the  mycelium 
of  any  fungus  known.  These  words  are  Mr.  Massee’s,  and  we  have 
given  them  italics  to  emphasise  their  significance.  He  recommended 
growers  to  remove  the  surface  soil  from  around  the  Lilies  and  place  in 
new  soil,  “  mixed  with  a  very  little  of  this  kainit,”  and  you  may  be 
assured  of  having  killed  the  fungus.  Preventive  methods  only,  are 
valuable. 
On  Mr.  Massee  concluding,  Rev.  W.  Wilks,  M.A.,  proposed  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  Mr.  H.  J.  Elwes,  seconded  by  Dr.  Masters,  which  was  duly 
and  unanimously  accorded.  The  various  papers  and  contributions  will 
be  published  in  extenso  in  the  Society’s  Journal. 
Show  Carnations  and  Picotees. 
Now  in  full  beauty  of  blossoming  is  the  complete  and  important 
collection  of  Mr.  F.  A.  Wellesley,  at  Honeypots,  Woking.  This 
gentleman  slatted  the  culture  ol  these  choice  and  dainty  flowers  a 
lew  years  back  in  a  modest  way  with  a  few  kinds,  more  or  less  pretty 
in  their  way,  and  has  by  a  gradual  procei-s  become  so  imbued  with 
the  charm  of  Carnations  that  neither  time,  labour,  or  money  are 
spared  in  jroducirg  each  variety  in  its  perfect  phase.  Great  care,  for 
instance,  has  teen  taken  in  regard  to  selection  of  choice  stocks  in  the 
case  of  the  bizarre  and  other  Carnations  and  the  white-ground  Picotees, 
until  each  famous  variety  is  not  only  grown  in  number,  but  the  blooms 
are  especially  true  in  character.  Mr.  Wellesley,  with  the  true  instinct 
of  a  florist,  loves  these  “class”  flowers  most,  although  ample  room  in 
his  regard  is  left  for  the  yellow-ground  Picotees,  the  Fancy  Carnations,, 
and  the  self-coloured  ones.  All  are  well  done,  and  it  will  not  be  too 
much  to  say  that  by  the  time  these  notes  are  in  print  visitors  to  the 
leading  Carnation  exhibitions  will  think  so,  along  with  the  writer. 
About  3000  plants  are  grown.  The  varieties  are  not  selected  so  much 
to  obtain  a  large  Dumber  of  them,  as  they  are  to  include  only  the 
best  ;  therefore  a  considerable  number  of  plants  of  each  sort  are 
cultivated.  The  plants  are  placed  in  first-rate  order  in  their  respective 
divi.-ions,  so  that  it  becomes  an  easy  matter  to  judge  the  comparative 
merits  of  the  flowers. 
In  scarlet  bizarre  Carnations  the  best  are  Robert  Houlgrave, 
Admiral  Curzon,  and  Robert  Lord  ;  the  last  very  fine  indeed.  The 
best  scarlet  flakes  (one  colour  on  a  white  ground)  are  Sportsman  and 
Guardsman.  John  Wormald,  a  very  choice  variety,  is  not  less  fine, 
but  generally  too  early  in  bloom  to  please  an  exhibitor.  Tbe  crimson 
bizarres  are  especially  strong.  We  doubt  if  a  finer  will  be  seen  this 
