English Bulbs The bulb catalogues arrive;, and it is high
time to plant one sort of bulb at any rate ; the lily's planting month is August. In one British island, St. ,Helena, which has been enduring great depression, it is hoped that the flower may help to salve the situation. It is the home of Our,: longifiorurn ; and this beautiful flower, with that odd plant known, unbotanic- ally, as New Zealand Flax, is one of the very. few articles of export. In the rapidly expanding industry of bulb-growing in England, the lily plays perhaps too small a part.. The sorts procurable from English growers , are comparatively few, though the soil and climate are suitable enough. One of the most glorious things I have seen in a garden this year was a bed of orange lilies, massed under a shady wall. In regard ' to other bulbs, especially daffodils and tulips, the English
bulbs are among the best ; and if the variety is not exhaustive the best sorts are procurable. The railways have been very helpful in promoting the industry. Special visits to the bulb farms near Spalding and near Evesham have been organised of late ;. and now that a special committee for giving confirma- tion about English-grown flowers exists under, the Ministry of Agriculture no one has any _good reason for going abroad for his bulbs. The Spalding Bulb-growers' Association especially has done yeoman work.
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