The second or _Szovitzianum_ group produces fewer flowers of very variable colour, but richly spotted with black. The pollen is chocolate colour, and the blossoms are more recurved. The flower buds are also visible as soon as the shoot is above ground, whereas in the former group the buds are enclosed till the lily is two or three feet high. Unless the soil of your garden is exactly suited to it, you will find that _L. Monodelphum_ is by no means an easy flower to grow. But surely its extreme beauty is sufficient inducement to give a considerable amount of trouble to establish this fine plant. And when you have once succeeded in making it at home, it will not give you much further trouble, for it is perfectly hardy and increases moderately when it once gets a fair start. [Illustration: A PRESENT FOR FRIENDS.] Rarely, if ever, does this lily do well during the first and second years after it has been shifted into new surroundings. It will come up right enough the first years, but the whole shoot will suddenly die down about the middle of May. What causes this queer behaviour we really cannot say. _L. Monodelphum_ wants a very heavy loam with a little clay in it. The loam must be of great depth, and should, if possible, rest on a chalky base. A little lime should be added to the soil, but peat should be excluded and sand should only be placed round the bulb. When the flower-buds show, a good thick top-dressing of old stable manure may be applied with advantage. This lily should never be disturbed when once it has done well. It is better to place the bulbs very deep, say eighteen inches or so below the surface, and then the supernatant soil can be thoroughly dug and enriched every winter. As a pot plant, this lily rarely does well, for it is almost impossible to give it sufficient depth of earth in a pot. The nearest ally to _L. Monodelphum_ is the very rare _L. Polyphyllum_. This lily is extremely beautiful, but is so uncommon that but few of our readers are likely to have seen it. We have only once seen it ourselves, and have never been able to obtain a bulb. The bulb of this species is totally different from any other. It is long and thin, being composed of numerous long lance-shaped scales. As far as we know, the bulb is always pure white. In growth this lily resembles the last, but it rarely reaches a greater height than three feet. The flowers are longer but more reflexed than are those of _L. Monodelphum_. They are of a beautiful creamy-white colour, curiously streaked with dark purple markings. It was formerly grown under the name of _Fritillaria Polyphylla_, but that it is truly a lily is unquestionable. It is a native of the Himalayas, and we should think that its culture ought to be similar to that of _L. Giganteum_ from the same region. It is said to be perfectly hardy.