"I shall like to see her again. But I would rather go home to Molly--much rather!" murmured Roy, his face falling. "Except for staying with you and the others." One day later, passports being still withheld, Roy started, in company with his parents and Denham, on the cold and dismal journey to Verdun. The Colonel secured a large roomy old coach or chariot, which had once belonged to some well-to-do person,--probably a nobleman, since decapitated. With relays of horses, even though the horses in question were somewhat sorry beasts, they made fairly quick advance. (_To be continued._) OUR LILY GARDEN. PRACTICAL AIDS TO THE CULTURE OF LILIES. BY CHARLES PETERS. The life history of the lily is one of perpetual growth. The lily never lies dormant.[1] In the severest frost, or in periods of great drought, this plant is ever developing. As soon as the flower-stem has died down, the bulb begins to form fresh roots and continues to do so until the time comes round again for it to send up its flower spikes. _Lilium Candidum_ throws up a winter crop of leaves during the autumn, but the other lilies perform all their winter labours below ground. [Illustration: _Lilium Monadelphum._] Let us follow the life of the lily through the year and see how each particular season has its special work and dangers. We have planted our bulbs in November. They will do nothing but form roots till about March. During this period most bulbs will stand any frost that we are likely to have, but those of _L. Wallichianum_, _L. Catesbaei_, and one or two others, occasionally die during severe frost. Though cold does not appreciably injure lily-bulbs, it is far otherwise with wet. As we have said before, lilies love rain when the stems are growing, but when the bulbs are making root in winter they do not like much moisture. If the soil is perfectly well drained, we much doubt whether any quantity of rain would cause the bulbs to rot. But in soils where stagnant water can lie about the bulbs, the result of a wet winter is often disastrous. "Our soil is a stiff clayey loam, but we wish to have lilies. What can we do to render our ground a fit place wherein to grow them?" You can do one of two things. Either you can provide that the lilies are well drained by digging deeply and filling in with crocks, stones, etc., and mixing plenty of sharp sand with the soil; or else you can follow the Japanese plan of placing the lily bulbs on their sides. Bulbs with large, open scales, such as those of _L. Brownii_, suffer much more from wet than such compact bulbs as those of _L. Umbellatum_, etc. The second stage in the growth of lilies dates from the appearance of the shoot till the opening of the flower-buds. We have already described the treatment necessary at this stage. It is at this time that you must guard against drought and slugs, and look out for diseases.