Show I 1 pa V i aj fryy EASTER EASTEP LILY GROWING 70 BECOME AN ANIE AMERICAN INDUSTRY GUY ELI IOTT the general policy of at the department of agriculture has been to endeavor to produce at homo home such plants as aro are grown abroad and shipped into the iha united states this Is just as truo true with regard to luxuries as to necessities and especially apropos Is its reference to tho the bermuda or D aster lily for some years efforts have been made to cultivate successfully tho the laster easter illy in tho the south eastern castern states but it has been found that tho the climate of that section Is not as favorable for tho the illy bulbs as it Is in tho the bermudas and japan experiments havo have demonstrated that bulbs of the easter illy can bo be carried over a season aserson in cold storage with a result that they are benefited very materially as it subjects them to a condition approaching that existing in japan tho the native country of the species where tho the bulbs aro are lica vily covered with enow during tho the period this discovery has opened new possibilities in tho the cultivation of the illy bulbs have been planted in some parts of tho the south early in tho the fall with tho the result that they sprouted considerably before cool weather heather set in when 3 weather such us the south gets lit t coille period 5 of tho does jooa come OUR tills growth iri 18 killed anil and tho plant dioro or less injured during dm ing tho period before coining into bloom tho the plants ren derea sickly during tho the winter often suffer stiffer severely from lark lack or of moisture resulting in poorly developed bulbs on the blue bermuda islands lily growing on the bermuda islands la Is an exceedingly profitable industry practically all tho laud land available for the production of bulbs Is utilized for this purpose and while tho the rotation of crops together with the most ap proved methods of 0 selection and cultivation ti would undoubtedly ho be eventually a good policy for tho the growers to pursue yet except la in tho the caso case of the more progressive growers there Is little likelihood of tilis this being bujno as it would materially decrease athly revenue from illy farming for tho being this will readily bo be understood when it Is stated that an air aero will bring from 1000 1090 to 2000 somo some growers ddn 0 alho ahe islands who thoroughly appreciate tho the importance of careful methods are using small bulbs in preference to scales and are arc selecting and fertilizing carefully but they are heavily handicapped by tho the many small growers who cultivate their crops according to old methods and in these cases thero is no selection with a view to producing and perpetuating good types manure is used the methods of propagation are very faulty and they havo have not been changed since the beginning of the industry in tho the islands for instance in the growing of the bulbs for amerlean american markets the smaller sizes are planted in n tho the fall and ju in july or bt bi foro coro the bulbs have thoroughly ripened in the process of handling many of the Im immature maturo scales drop from the bulbs these are not thrown away as they ought to ic be but are carefully saved and planted with will a view to raising small bulbs these bulbs ultimately form a largo part of 0 the general crop As a result of all these conditions condition the bulbs marketed by bermuda havo become impregnated Impregnate il with disease so ao that at the present time it is almost impossible to secure a bulb or plant which does docs not show some ol of disease the american method investigations made by the department of agriculture have shown that by the use of seeds instead of scales larger bulbs can be secured in a much shorter time than can bo be produced by the scale method moreover it has been demonstrated that in this way plants can be 10 grown which aro are entirely free from dis disease caso and most mast important ol of all that tho the seedlings give an opportunity to select better types than exist at tho the present time tho the very best ol of these seedlings somo some of which will undoubtedly show superiority in several ways over the parents can bo be retained for seeds and by lic keeping up tho the system of selection thoro there will develop in a very few years strains from seed which will bo be proven of great value george NY W oliver the plant propagator of tho the department of 0 agriculture has been working wor liIng on this particular line for a number of years with every ery indication of 0 success in some instances ho be has obtained blooming plants in from 7 to 9 months from germin germination atlon of tho the seed while in recent trials as many as twelve magnificent ent blossoms have been cut from it a plant within fourteen months after tho the plant has shown itself above ground in order to further this class of work ork tho department of agriculture has bilm obtained plots ot of land in C alifornia all fornia anil ana oregon where it Is believed the raster easter illy can bo be grown as profitably ably if not more so than it is in olther cither bermuda 1111 ida or japan A polut point greatly in ili favor of raising the ho enster illy to constitute tho crop or of marketable bulbs is that from ono to two years time almo is saved in tho the operation over tho scalo scale method tho the results of tho the work of tho the department of agriculture in obtaining blooming plants in so short a time almo after planting the alio seed would probably seem ilke a fairy talo to tho the participants ol of the ho lily illy conference held in london in 1001 ono of tho the papers read at that time states that many species of lit hum must havo have from ten to twelve j 7 ir N 4 k IM 3 Y t YN IF k v 5 SECRETARY WILSON AIND A LILY GROWN AT THE department OF agriculture FROM SEED years to develop a flowering bulb from the tha seed A noted scientist who was believed to bo be an authority on illy growing stated that in ili three or four years at most flowering bulbs will bo be produced from seed beed IC the young plants aro arci properly treated while tho experiments or the department of agriculture have shown that somo some seedlings aro are longer than others in coming into bloom yet whon when those do flower they reward all the cultivators labor by producing it a great amount of flow ers era instances being known of plants with from ten to fourteen flowers at ono one time hybrid philippine lily the bureau of 0 plant industry ol of tho the department of agriculture last year took up ill tho the problem of shortening tho the time of growing as any shortening in tho the time of growth represents so much gain to tho the cultivator with this in ill view tho the department imported a species apelles ot of illy from tho philippines which was known to bear flowers in from two to three months after planting of tho the bulb this lily illy lins has boon been tuo the common illy and tho r T it lias been it a hybrid 1 bearing as many flowers as tho the old bermuda illy with no difference in appearance pearn pe arance neo from this plant except that tho the hybrid will develop in four or five months representing a shortening in time of from one to throe three months the experiments of tho the department are not yet completed the results attained so far warrant tho the bellef belief that the now hybrid easter lily can lo be produced clien cheaper per than tho the old variety blooms not less than from six to eight mouths actor planting ot of tho the bulb |