The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX, No. 1016, June 17, 1899Various
General
The Girl's Own Paper, Vol. XX, No. 1016, June 17, 1899
Various
Children's literature -- Periodicals
_L. Medeoloides_ is very imperfectly known. The bulb consists of a
large number of small oat-shaped scales very loosely packed together.
The leaves are in whorls. The blossoms are frequently upright, and for
this reason the plant is often included among the _Isolirions_.
Except as a curiosity, this lily is certainly not worth growing. It is
very difficult to manage, and the bulbs almost invariably rot in the
winter.
[Illustration: A LILY-GROWER.]
_Lilium Avenaceum_ is another Japanese species which very closely
resembles the last; but the flowers invariably bend downwards, and
are very slightly spotted. Like the last, it is not worth growing
except as a curiosity.
Resembling _L. Pomponium_ in many points, but of far smaller
dimensions, and with much more brilliant blossoms is the little
_Lilium Tenuifolium_. This little lily inhabits Siberia and differs
from most of the species in that the bulb is not truly perennial. Some
authorities state that the bulb is annual, but this we do not believe
to be correct. It is more likely a triennial species.
This lily must be grown from seed. Fortunately the plant produces
seed in abundance, and the seeds germinate freely, often producing a
flowering bulb in two years.
In this plant the leaves are extremely thin. The blossoms are about an
inch across, of the colour of red sealing-wax. Rarely are more than
three blossoms present on each stem. It is a pretty little flower, and
makes a good pot-plant.
_Lilium Callosum_, the callous-bracted lily, is something like a
magnified version of the last. The leaves are broader and less numerous
than in _L. Tenuifolium_. The flowers about an inch and a quarter
across, of a vivid scarlet or orange. The bracts are thick and horny, a
characteristic which has given the plant its name.
The callous lily likes a rich peaty soil, but it is very accommodating
and will grow in most good soils. It is perfectly hardy, and is of
little difficulty to cultivate.
We now come to a lily which will always be famous, not so much for
its intrinsic beauty—though, to be sure, it is a beautiful plant—but
because it is the flower which has generally been considered to be the
“lily of the fields,” the only plant mentioned by name by our Saviour.
The lily to which we refer is the scarlet _Martagon_, lily of the
fields, lily of Chalcedony, or _Lilium Chalcedonicum_.
It is doubtful whether we shall ever know for certain which flower was
referred to by Christ as “the lily of the fields.” Why the scarlet
_Martagon_ should have borne the honour for so long is difficult to
see. As far as we have been able to discover, this lily does not grow
in Palestine, and though of course we cannot be certain that it did not
inhabit the Holy Land in the time of Christ, it is very unlikely that
it did, for the lily of Chalcedony knows how to take care of itself,
and it is unlikely that it would have become exterminated.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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