LILY. A class of superb flowering bulbs, or perennial plants, the most of them either hardy or surviving the winter in the North, under a good protection of mulch. There are many species, including the white lily, L. candidum; Marta gon, L. martagon; tiger, L. tigrinum; orange, L. aurantium, and the bulbous, sorts, L. bulbife rum. The sorts named are all hardy and com mon. The Japan lilies contain some magnifi cent specimens, as for instance, L. auratum, the splendid gold banded lily. These may be left out over winter under a protection of mulch, and will make a profusion of magnificent bloom. The half hardy sorts require to be taken up in the fall and kept over winter in half moist sand. The hardy sorts should be taken up every three or four years and replanted. For pot culture of the tender sorts, they should be removed from the pot only when they require repotting. That is when the bulbs become too close. The best soil is equal parts of peat, strong loam and fine sand. They should have pots of large size and
the bulbs should be deep enough to alkw the stem fibers to grow freely. They should never be repotted except when the bulbs are dormant, then they may be turned out of the old pots, and the drainage, potsherds, if any, carefully removed, so as to avoid injuring the fibrous roots, or shaking off the earth. Repot in a larger pot in proper soil, being sure the drainage is good. The varieties are propagated from seed and the small offsets. The lily hyacinth is Scilla Lillia hyacinthus; the lily of the valley, convallaria majalis; the lily pink, Aphyllanthes, and the lilly thorn, a catesbea. The day lily is a Hemerocallis. Amaryllus, a splendid and extensive genus of plants, mostly hothouse, are sometimes but incorrectly called lilies, the same may be said of the calla sometimes called Ethiopean lily.