PART XI.

The Temple.

MY DEAR DOROTHY,—As you are one of the members of the committee for the bazaar in aid of the Nursing Home for Old People, I may be able to give you a few useful hints to avoid certain illegalities which beset the path of the unwary promoters of such charitable entertainments.

The great feature of a big bazaar should consist in having as many side shows as possible, so that people may be able, by the expenditure of a shilling or two, to escape from the importunities of the stall-holders into a concert-room, waxwork show, or other attraction, and not be driven out of the bazaar altogether.

If you want to have anything in the nature of a farce, operetta or comedietta played in the building, you ought to inquire if the hall which you are going to hire for the bazaar has a licence for stage-plays. If it has not such a licence, the performers and those responsible for the entertainment will render themselves liable to a fine, unless the proper licence is secured.

Fish-ponds, bran-pies, lucky tubs, and similar contrivances, are doubtless, strictly speaking, illegal, but are always tolerated at bazaars, where people do not expect to get the value of their money; but it is advisable to draw the line at roulette tables or anything in the nature of a real gamble or a lottery.

On the last day of the bazaar, it is often the custom to sell off the undisposed-of stock of the stalls by auction. The person who holds the auction should be a person having an auctioneer’s licence to sell by auction, otherwise trouble may ensue, as the auctioneers have recently made a determined stand against unqualified persons acting as auctioneers.

I think that these are the principal errors into which people who get up bazaars are liable to fall; but perhaps I ought to enlarge a little more upon stage-plays and the necessity for having a licence for their performance.

It is almost impossible to give any kind of a variety concert without unwittingly performing what is the legal equivalent of a stage-play; any song with dramatic action is a stage-play, and so are duologues and monologues, as distinguished from recitations.

Some people have an idea that so long as they do not take any money at the doors, they are quite safe and within the law in giving a performance in the cause of charity, but such is not the case. When money or other reward is taken or charged, directly or indirectly, or when the purchase of any article is made a condition for admission, the performers and the owner or occupier of the building render themselves liable to a fine.

This may sound very alarming, and would, no doubt, considerably startle those good ladies who lend their houses for performances for charitable objects in the season; but every time they do so, and anything in the nature of a stage-play is performed, they may be prosecuted and fined, although personally they take no benefit from such performances. The fact that they frequently do so with impunity does not affect the law on the matter, which is perfectly clear. Why it has not been altered before now, I am unable to say; hardly a day passes without its being broken, exemplifying the old proverb that “one man may steal a horse from a stable, and another may not look over the hedge.”

I know of a case where a gentleman who had turned part of his house into the Theatre Royal back drawing-room, and who permitted a performance of a play to be given on two occasions, to which admission was by ticket only, which could be obtained beforehand on payment of a fixed sum, in aid of the funds of a charity, was convicted and fined under the Act. The gentleman appealed against the conviction, but without success; the conviction was confirmed by the Court of the Queen’s Bench. So be warned, my dear Dorothy, and do not allow your friends to disregard my advice, and be assured that it is much better to avoid these risky entertainments altogether.

Your affectionate cousin, BOB BRIEFLESS.

OUR LILY GARDEN.

PRACTICAL AIDS TO THE CULTURE OF LILIES.

BY CHARLES PETERS.

We will conclude our remarks on the noble family of lilies by some notes and tables, which will be found of great value to those who wish to cultivate these beautiful flowers.

We told you in the first part of this book that we kept a note-book—a kind of diary—in which we kept a record of our work among the lilies. We advise everyone who intends to grow these plants to follow our example, and get a large manuscript book to put down the “proceedings” of her lilies. The following points should be noted. (1.) The name of the species and variety. (2.) The name of the person from whom you obtained the bulb. (3.) The day on which the bulb was planted, with a note as to the condition of the weather at the time. (4.) The circumference of the bulb, and a brief description of it, stating whether the flower-spike had begun to grow, or the new roots had appeared, or if any scales were mouldy or diseased. (5.) The soil in which the lily was planted. (6.) The date of the appearance of the shoot. (7.) The date of flowering. (8.) A brief description of the full-grown plant and its individual members. (9.) The condition of the bulb when exhumed.

Here is an example of the record of a bulb of _L. Auratum_.

“_Lilium Auratum_, var. _Platyphyllum_, bought from Mr. ——. Potted on the 3rd of November, 1897; a warm, dry day. Bulb seven inches in circumference; new roots just appearing. A sound, heavy bulb. One mouldy scale removed. Washed in lime-water; sprinkled with charcoal and potted in an eight-inch pot in a mixture of fine peat (one part), rich leaf-mould (two parts), a large handful of sand and a few small lumps of clay. Shoot appeared March 17th, 1898; grew rapidly. No disease. Flowered September 4th, 1898; five blossoms, all perfect, largest eleven and a half inches across. No rain when in flower. Lasted in blossom till September 20th, 1898. Bulb when exhumed quite healthy, showing two crowns nine and a quarter inches in diameter. Exhumed and replanted October 21st, 1898.”

If you have a record like this of every lily, you possess a most valuable book on the culture of lilies; and, as we said at first, the cultivation of these plants is little understood.

A thoroughly authentic, practical record will help you more to become proficient in the art of lily-growing than any amount of impracticable theory.

Now some words to those who are growing lilies in pots. As we have seen, most species grow well in pots. All do well except the following, which are unsuitable for pot culture. The reason why they are suitable is also given.

_L. Cordifolium_ (too straggling).

All the _Isolirions_, because they are not sufficiently ornamental for pot culture.

_L. Humboldti._ This lily does not do well in pots; why we do not know.

_L. Martagon_, _L. Pomponium_, _L. Pyrenaicum_, _L. Chalcedonicum_, _L. Monodelphum_, _L. Testaceum_.

The last six lilies are unsuitable for pot culture because they require to become established before they will condescend to flower.

Most lilies grown in pots can be kept in the open air or in a room, or anywhere you please, but the following require protection of some sort:—

Half-hardy species. These should not be put out in frosty weather; otherwise they may be grown out of doors. If you have planted them in the ground at a sufficient depth, they will stand all but a very severe winter. _L. Giganteum_, _L. Cordifolium_, _L. Formosanum_, _L. Wallichianum_, _L. Washingtonianum_, _L. Catesbæi_, _L. Polyphyllum_, _L. Roseum_, _L. Hookeri_, _L. Oxypetalum_, _L. Alexandræ_.

The following usually need a greenhouse to grow them well:—_L. Philippinense_, _L. Neilgherrense_, _L. Nepaulense_, _L. Lowi_.

Would you like to have lilies in pots in your room? You can have them even if you do not possess a greenhouse. You can grow the lilies in the ground and transfer them to pots just before they begin to flower. For this purpose plant the bulbs in the open ground in rather lighter soil than you would if the lilies were to flower in the open. Place the bulbs about four inches deep. You need not remove the plant until the flower-buds are nearly fully developed. Then take up the lily with the surrounding earth, place it in a big pot, drench it with water, and leave it in a cool, shady place for three days. Then give it a good dose of liquid manure. You may then take it into your room, and it will flower as though nothing had troubled the tranquillity of its existence.

Not all lilies are suitable for this treatment; only those species which will grow in light soils should be used for this purpose. _L. Longiflorum_, _L. Auratum_, _L. Speciosum_, and _L. Rubellum_ are most suitable for this form of culture.

About the beginning of November all your lilies in pots will have flowered and died down. What are you to do with them now?

Shake the bulbs out of the pots; examine them; remove any off-shoots; do _not_ cut off the roots; wash them in lime-water and re-pot without delay.

Lilies do not rest during the winter. The pots should be kept in a place which is not too wet. The pots must not be kept too dry, but an occasional watering should be administered.

We append a list of the lilies, giving the exact composition of the soil in which we have grown them best, both in the open air and in pots. An asterisk is affixed to the most desirable species.

Grown in a mixture of one part peat, two parts leaf-mould, and a good sprinkling of sand:

*1. _L. Longiflorum._ 2. _L. Formosanum._ *3. _L. Auratum._ *4. _L. Speciosum._ *5. _L. Krameri._ 6. _L. Rubellum._ 7. _L. Henryi._ 8. _L. Medeoloides._

Grown in a mixture of equal parts of peat and leaf-mould, with plenty of sand:

*9. _L. Leichtlini._ 10. _L. Maximowiczi._ 11. _L. Catesbæi._ 12. _L. Wallacei._ *13. _L. Canadense._ *14. _L. Parvum._ *15. _L. Maritimum._ *16. _L. Superbum._ *17. _L. Roezlii._ *18. _L. Pardalinum._ 19. _L. Californicum._

Grown in equal parts of rich loam and leaf-mould, enriched with the contents of an old hot-bed, but with no peat and very little sand:

*20. _L. Candidum._ 21. _L. Washingtonianum._ *22. _L. Humboldti._ *23. _L. Pomponium._ *24. _L. Martagon._ *25. _L. Pyrenaicum._ 26. _L. Callosum._ 27. _L. Carniolicum._ *28. _L. Chalcedonicum._ *29. _L. Monodelphum._

Grown in soil like the last, but with a fair admixture of peat:

*30. _L. Giganteum._ 31. _L. Cordifolium._ *32. _L. Wallichianum._ *33. _L. Parryi._ *34. _L. Japonicum Odorum._ *35. _L. Brownii._ *36. _L. Tigrinum._ 37. _L. Bulbiferum._ *38. _L. Batmanniæ._ 39. _L. Elegans._ *40. _L. Croceum._ 41. _L. Davuricum._ *42. _L. Columbianum._ 43. _L. Tenuifolium._ 44. _L. Concolor._ 45. _L. Hansoni._

The following species have never been grown by us:—

*46. _L. Philippinense._ *47. _L. Neilgherrense._ *48. _L. Nepaulense._ *49. _L. Lowi._ *50. _L. Polyphyllum._ 51. _L. Davidii._ 52. _L. Oxypetalum._ 53. _L. Roseum._ 54. _L. Hookeri._ 55. _L. Avenaceum._

During the greater part of the year you can have lilies in flower in your garden. If you possess a greenhouse you can have lilies in flower throughout the year.

Naturally the lilies flower in the open ground from April till October. If you wish to have lilies in your garden in November you can do so, but mind you, if the weather is unfavourable the blossoms will not be worth much.

The lilies which will flower in the open ground in November are _L. Speciosum_ and _L. Auratum_. For very late flowering the bulbs should be planted in May. Last Lord Mayor’s day we gathered a small bunch of _L. Speciosum_, and one very fair example of _L. Auratum_. The tiger lilies were also in blossom at that date.

But this late crop of lilies is worth very little; and, unless you have a greenhouse, we advise you to be contented with six months of lily flowers.

In a greenhouse it is easy to have lilies throughout the year. _L. Longiflorum_ will flower from April to January, and _L. Speciosum_ will flower from August to February if the bulbs are potted at intervals, and _very_ gently forced when necessary. In the month of March you can have _L. Rubellum_ in flower.

Doubtless some of our readers will wish to grow lilies for show purposes. Indeed, for this purpose few flowers are more satisfactory, for lilies are extremely showy, they last very well in flower, and are by no means impatient of removal.

As a matter of fact, growing lilies for show purposes can be conducted on two separate systems; either you can grow show plants or show flowers.

For the former purpose the stem, the leaves, the shape of the inflorescence, and the number, shape, size and colour of the blossoms must be above the average. For “show flowers” all your attention must be concentrated upon one single blossom.

For growing show plants choose a very big bulb. In our former articles we warned you against these mammoth bulbs, because they are so often unsatisfactory. But for show plants you must choose these big bulbs; but do not imagine that from every “mammoth bulb” you will get a fine spike. You will rarely get more than one really excellent plant out of six bulbs.

For prize plants pot the bulbs in large pots and keep them in a cold, dark place for a fortnight. When the shoots appear, grow them on as quickly as you can, but give no artificial heat. Keep the plants in a place where they are not likely to be injured by the wind, and where there is plenty of shade. As the flowering time arrives give plenty of liquid manure.

Of all manures, “Ichthumic guano” is the most satisfactory for show lilies.

You must turn your pots round every day, so as to keep the stems straight. Lilies always bend towards the sun, and unless the pots are carefully turned round every day the stems become twisted or bowed.

For growing prize blossoms choose a small bulb. Grow it as you did for a prize plant, but when the buds begin to turn colour, remove every one except one—the finest. Cut the flower with as long a stem as possible, and send it to the exhibition while it is opening, and before the pollen has become free.

Grow your show plants as carefully as you will, you will often find that many uncared-for plants in the garden beat the pampered one in the form and delicacy of their blossoms!

Like all other flowers, the lilies possess many more names than they desire, and in many cases even the slightest variation from the type has been labelled with a new name. You must therefore beware of paying high prices for cheap lilies with a new name—a fate which will damp the ardour of most amateurs.

Our work among the lilies is done. If our admiration for them has been great, it has never been excessive. The lilies are the loveliest of all flowers, and the study of them is wrought with delight.

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

“UPS AND DOWNS.”

A TRUE STORY OF NEW YORK LIFE.

BY N. O. LORIMER.