From the last paragraph it follows that our opinion upon the cultivation of this lily is not worth much. But we can tell you what not to do and what we intend to do next year. Do not grow this lily in peat. We imagined that the same treatment as we gave the other swamp lilies would suit this one; but it did not. We believe that it will do best if treated as we advised for _L. Washingtonianum_ or _L. Monodelphum_. Still, we cannot grow the lily ourselves, and we are not the only people who have difficulty with it. If you want to know how to cultivate this lily, you must discover the way yourself. If you look at _L. Humboldti_ through the wrong end of a telescope, you will get a very fair idea of _Lilium Columbianum_, the last of this group of lilies. It will not, however, be a perfect resemblance, for the flowers of the smaller species are more revolute and not nearly so richly spotted. The bulb of this lily is ovoidal in shape. Indeed, it is the only lily found in America which possesses an egg-shaped bulb. This lily is not difficult to cultivate, a rich peaty soil with plenty of ditch mud suiting it admirably. It flowers in the middle of June, and is altogether a most satisfactory and beautiful plant. (_To be continued._) SELF-CULTURE FOR GIRLS. PART VI. In the preceding chapters we have dealt with the subject of reading in general, and have mentioned many books of the olden world that must not be ignored, besides some histories, with historical fiction side by side, which may serve as stepping-stones down through the centuries to the present day, or up through the centuries to the dawn of history, whichever way you prefer to take your journey. As to whether you should read history backwards or forwards, much depends on your present stock of knowledge. If circumstances have unfortunately left you ignorant, even of the history of your own country, you would be scarcely fitted to begin a Greek history, but should choose, in the first place, an English history, or historical primer, that you can understand. The majority of girls who read this page will, however, possess a fair knowledge of English history, and may at once begin their study of ancient civilisations, which will help them in no small degree to understand the present. Or they may, with advantage, consult Professor Freeman’s _General Sketch of History_, with maps, published at 3s. 6d. by Macmillan. The constant aim of this admirable little book is to show the connection in history, and it is the best introductory book for the general reader. No cultivated person can live in an easy conviction that modern civilisation is all that needs attention, and that “the old heathen” is a suitable description of sages and philosophers of yore. We must not omit to say that the advanced student in history will need some good history of the Renaissance—Walter Pater’s or John Addington Symonds’—to enlighten her as to the great awakening of the human intellect in the fifteenth century.