The varieties are not all equally easy to grow. _Platyphyllum_, _Macranthum_, and _Rubro-Vittatum_ are as easy, if not easier, to grow than the type. _Wittei_ and _Virginale_ are very difficult to do well with. The two hybrids mentioned in the table will be described later on. All the varieties of _L. Auratum_ make excellent pot-plants. The lily which bears the title of _Speciosum_, or showy, was formerly the most admired member of the genus. Even at the present day this lily is looked upon by many as being the finest. Personally we cannot concur with this opinion. There is a certain falseness about its blossoms and a hardness in their shape which to our minds places it far below _L. Auratum_ for beauty. Yet there can be no question that _Lilium Speciosum_ is a very fine plant. It has a tremendous number of points in its favour which must not be overlooked by the flower-grower. _L. Speciosum_ flowers late in the year, usually at the end of September, a time when showy flowers are not numerous; too late for summer blossoms, but too early for chrysanthemums. Although this lily is supposed to be tender, it is perfectly hardy in England. The blossoms, which are produced very freely, are not so much injured by rain at their flowering time as are most lilies. Deformity of the flowers is not very common, and the peculiar shape of the blossoms renders any slight deformity which may be present of little consequence. Another point in favour of this lily is that instead of degenerating, it increases rapidly, blossoms every year, and gives scarcely any trouble. _L. Speciosum_ is a native of Japan. Both in its native land and elsewhere this lily has been cultivated for years. There is now an immense number of named varieties of this plant; but, unfortunately, there are very many more names than there are distinct varieties. Probably the variety we call _Rubrum_ is the type of the species. The bulbs of _L. Speciosum_ are large with loose scales. The flower spike is not often so evident in the bulb as it is with most lilies. The bulbs vary a good deal in colour from white to deep purple; but the colour of the bulb is no criterion as to the colour of the blossoms. In the variety known as _Kraetzeri_ the bulbs are usually yellow. This lily first sees the light as a thin, lanky shoot. In fact, those who have grown other lilies but not _Speciosum_ would at once pronounce a perfectly healthy shoot of this lily to be “blind.” When we first grew _L. Speciosum_, and saw the feeble-looking shoots appear, we felt certain that they would not blossom. But fortunately we were mistaken in this surmise, for they did blossom, and they blossomed well. The stem of _L. Speciosum_ is thin but very flexible. Indeed, the lily rarely needs a stick, as it bends before the wind. We have never had the stem of one of these lilies broken. The leaves are broader than is usually the case in this genus. They somewhat resemble the leaves of _L. Auratum Platyphyllum_.