The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1896-06-06
aERMUpA lIlY.


S. m~.-tnaaF an ~
Fopular 10 rhAa Country.
bermuda is the place beyond an others
to consider the lilies how they erow."
Whether they are indigenous to the soil
or not, they are certainly acclimated,
and under the sunny skies and gracious
air Of that island, 'where falls not hail
nor any snow they respond to rather
Indifferent culture in a mannerf to make
the northern man grow mad with envy.
With us d row of stately stalks is
a precious possession; they are the
~aristocrats of our garden. In Bermuda
they are a crop like potatoes or onions,
and whole fields lie like drifted snow.
With their masses Of white bloom. These
fields are not, indeed. very large. being
for the most part mere dimples IN the
coral ridge, Of which the islands are
formed, averaging not more than half
an acre in area. But in these little de-
pressions the thin soil becomes richer
by the washings from the slopes, and
the bulbs flourish accordingly. They
nre planted in rows and cultivated much
like potatoes, the weeds being keptdown
with a crude instrument. called by cour-
tesy a hoe. It looks as if it belongedto
the stone age. 1t is interesting to note
with what precision the bulbs advertise
the condition of the soil, the plants be-
coming pale and shrunken as soon as
they begin to climb the slope.
At first the commercial value Of this
crop lay entirely in the bulbs, which
marc rb;rrod ~
quantities. But in these later a a
new industry has sprung up; the bios
SONS themselves are successfully Dsrt
everywhere. The United States gets
the most of them, though vast guan-
titles are Sent to England, and even tine
Australian Easter is Frightened BY
them.
1t must have been American spirit
which suggested this new enterprise.
OF course, the Bermudan, with char
acteristic English conservatism, strong
ly opposed it on the ground that it was
q rank innovation and would ruin the
bulb trade. As became the descendants
Of the old Saxon Witenagemote, they
held an assembly and drew up what
Uncle Remus would call a "peramblc
wild some wharfo'es in it, setting forth
the dangers of such course and remon-
strating with their erring brothers.
Meanwhile, the bulb men talked, the
bud men kept on packing, and Easter
affairs all over the country were gloii-
fed with the beauty OF Bermuda lilies.
These buds are packed while they
are still quite green, and are packed in
c~ube-shaped boxes holding about two
dozen stalks each. Some Of these boxes
are furnished with frames similar to
those used in packing eggs, SO that
each stalk is kept separate. There is
little advantage in this, however, and
for the most part the buds are snugfy
packed with a sprinkling Of d kind 81
sea weed closely resembling the course
moss Of our boys. The sea weed is kept
in water and Is wrung out us tits used,
and keeps the buds damp. Before pack
ing each case Is lined with d large sheet
81 paper, the ends OF which are long
enough to fold over the b~udssafter the
box Is full. IA printed slip OF directions
- Invariably packed inside each case.
the first line Of which reminds 4 Of
the Celtic signboard warning travellers
that this ford IS dangerous-when this
board il out Of sight For these direc-
tons instruct the receiver to put the
box before opening into a dark.
cool place for a time and then open il
very carefully. AS the box must be
opened before the advice is available,
its value Is slightly impaircd.-Wash-
Star.