In connection with the shoots of lilies, there is an important point to notice, which is often overlooked and leads to misconception, unless it is fully appreciated. Lily shoots present extraordinary differences. The shoot of _L. Umbellatum_ or _L. Candidum_, when it first appears, is like an exceedingly thick head of asparagus. From this many people imagine that if a lily shoot is not thick and solid, it is not going to produce a flower. This opinion is quite wrong. Some lilies, especially _L. Speciosum_, never start with a thick shoot, but show above ground as a thin lanky growth. _L. Auratum_ begins as a thin shoot, but it rapidly gains in size and strength if circumstances are favourable. As in every other particular, _L. Auratum_ is exceedingly variable in the height to which the stem grows. We have had in our garden bulbs from the same source, planted at the same time, in the same soil and position. They have all flowered well, yet some are only thirty inches high, while others tower to the height of nine feet! The golden-rayed lily does not show its flower-buds until the stem is almost fully grown. The buds are borne on long stalks, each furnished with a single bract. From one to forty buds are produced on each stem. The leaves of this species are long and linear in the type, but in the variety _Platyphyllum_ they are very broad. There are rarely more than thirty or forty leaves, which are of a deep glossy green. We have followed the lily to the stage when its buds become apparent. The next chapter in its history is too often one of mishaps. The strain on the plant at this stage must be enormous, and it is no wonder that such a large number of plants die at this time. The buds develop quickly until they become the size of a large capsicum. Then they change colour, and if the weather is dry, they open in about a week. Rain at the flowering time is the greatest enemy to this lily. What a magnificent object is the _L. Auratum_ when in full blossom! How beautiful is the wide open perianth! And what a size! Ten inches across, at the least, and fully a foot when measured from the tips of the petals! How elegantly do the goffered segments curl round at their tips! The brilliant stripe of golden yellow running down each segment, which has given the flower its name, is exceedingly characteristic; and the brownish purple spots, curiously elevated and in places raised into a distinct spine, relieve the pure white of the background. [Illustration: THE GOLDEN-RAYED LILY. (_From photo by Valentine and Sons, Dundee._)] Proceeding from the centre of the flower are the seven greenish threads which constitute the floral organs. Each is armed with a deep brown extremity, the pistil with a trefoil, and the six stamens with crescents!