Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/478

 472 LILY fragrance ; this is barely hardy near New York, but is admirable for pot culture. L. Japoni- cum is similar in habit, but larger in all re- spects. L. Brownii is also similar to these, but grows 3 or 4 ft. high, and has the pure white of its large flowers streaked on the out- side with purple. The rare giant lily, L. gigan- teum, from Nepaul, has a stem nearly 10 ft. high, with 8 to 20 pendulous, fragrant flowers, which are white outside and tinged with violet within; the root leaves are broad and heart- shaped, and look unlike those of a lily. The Turk's-cap or Martagon lily, L. Martagon, a native of Europe, has long been in cultivation ; the stem is 3 to 5 ft. high, with numerous small violet-purple flowers ; this has produced several varieties, some nearly white ; what is called the scarlet Martagon is L. Chalcedoni- cum, from Palestine, the vermilion-colored, un- spotted flowers of which are exceedingly bril- liant. The well known tiger lily, L. tigrinum, is from China ; it has a cottony stem 4 to 5 ft. high, and numerous orange-red, black-spotted flowers ; it produces bulblets in the axils of the leaves, by means, of which the plant may be readily propagated ; there is a double va- riety of this, more showy than elegant. An- other garden species also bears bulbs, L. bulbi- ferum, from southern Europe ; this is different from the other in having erect, orange, scarce- ly spotted flowers. The introduction of what are now called the Japan lilies about 30 years ago caused great excitement among florists; when they were first brought out they were cultivated as greenhouse plants, but they are perfectly hardy, and being now grown in this country by the acre, the price has been reduced from $30 to $40 a single bulb to half that price by the hundred ; the species is now regarded as L. speciosum, but it appears in most cata- logues as L. lancifolium ; little is known about it in the wild state, but it was found cultiva- ted in several varieties by the Japanese. The stem is froml to 3 ft. high, with lance-ovate leaves, and a few very large flowers, with re- flexed wavy divisions, which are white, pale rose, or purplish ; they have upon the inner sur- face numerous prominent warty projections, which are usually of a much darker color, and give the flower an elegantly fringed appear- ance. Numerous seedling varieties have been produced, differing in color and markings ; the variety monstrosum produces what are appa- rently several stems blended into one flattened mass, the surfaces of which are closely studded with flowers. The golden-banded lily, L. aura- turn^ is also from Japan, and of comparatively recent introduction ; as usually seen, the stem is only about 2 ft. high with two or three flow- ers, but when well cultivated the plant has reached the height of 6 or 7 ft. with nearly 100 blooms ; the flowers are 6 to 10 or 12 in. across, white, with a clear yellow stripe run- ning the whole length of the sepals, which are spotted with purple, and have bristly projec- tions at the base, the odor is peculiar, and so powerful as to be oppressive to some persons. There is a variety with a crimson band instead of a yellow one, and another without any col- ored band. The first bulb of L. auratum sold Golden -banded Lily (Lilium auratum). in this country brought $90 ; much finer bulbs can now be had for 50 cents or less. Consid- erable numbers of these bulbs are produced by our florists, but the principal supply comes from Japan, where the plant grows wild in abun- dance. Many other lilies besides those named are given in works on floriculture and in the catalogues. Lilies are generally grown in our gardens without any special care. To have them in perfection, the soil should be prepared by working and manuring to the depth of 18 in. ; the bulbs are usually set too shallow ; the lar- ger ones should not be less than 6 or 8 in. below the surface, and after the bulbs are once well planted they should rarely be disturbed; while tu- lips, hyacinths, and many other bulbs have their flowering qualities improved by an annual lifting and drying, this is not Bulb of Lily, the case with the lily ; for this reason imported bulbs, which have been out of the ground for some months, often require several years to become well estab- lished. Lilies are propagated in several ways.