Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-04-10
THE FIT'TEST EMBLEM
OUR ALTON LADY TELLS THE
LESION OF EASTER LILIES.
THOUGHTS ON A SWEET SUBJECT.
These Lovely Blossoms Are the
Royal symbol of Resurrection
Something of Their Life ana
Growth How They Are Raised.

ALTON. VA. April 9-(special.) Eggs.
rabbits. and lilies rule al Easter, but 10
the Christian world the lily is the httest
emblem OF the sacred season-the royal
symbol of the resurrection.
Just how long the lily has been the
chosen flower OF tho Church for Easter.
or by whom It was selected for It's holy
mission. / DO not know. but there is a
sweet analogy between the two.
The first flowers which appeared on
earth. sleeping and unfolding in its pre-
| historic shades, were OF the lily family.
and we celebrate In this passion week.
that Christ is risen from the dead, and
| become the first fruits OF them that
slept"
VENERATED EVERYWHERE.
All over the country tho Easter lily
is venerated to-day. The lilies-like Solo
mon in all his glory-"toil not. neither do
| they epin." but there il an interesting
story about tho toll which is given for
Thorn before they are perfected for our
| enjoyment.
The real flower. itself. will greet thou
| Of the Easter service, and be set in a
million homes as an Easter Offering;
! yet how few who look on this bloom Of
| light and purity know aught OF the ugly
| bulb that annually comes to life I'm the
| tropics, is transplanted here and slowly
sending its shoots in foreign earth. rises
into glory and tho resurrection OF newer
life I'm time for our Easter festival.
From the humble trillium, the first Of
the lily species. with It's three sepas
three petals three stamens and three
pistils, to the lily as we know it. what
wonderful gradationsi
The annunciation lily. which Is the true
Easter flower Of tho Catholic and Epis-
cOpal churches, came originally from
Bermuda, but the importation and grow
ing Of bulbs is now large and profitable
business around New York.
LILY FARMING.
In Bermuda lily farming Is as generally
carried on and with the same methods.
as would be corn or tobacco in Virginia
a man who owns five acres plants il TO
lilies: woman who has a patch of ground
about the doorstep grows lilies. They
are the one staple product of the small
Islands. As the English own the
place. little capital is PUT there
by Americans. In truth. the lilies
soil and eongenial climate that money
is not required heavily in their produc-
ton.
The main importation IL in lily bulbs
In the United States bulb-growing has
not succeeded, because flowers raised
from the Bermuda bulbs bloom earlier
and are more perfect. The digging of the
bulbs begin in July. and they are shipped
10 seedsmen here the same month. This
bulb shipment takes the precedence of all
other freight for the West Indian steam
ers during the season. Tho growers. who
are legion about New York and Philadel-
phia, pot their bulbs at once as they
rot on exposure and the pots are placed
away, in an even temperature, until the
grower gets his contracts for the flowers
There is a Oily farm" outside Of Wash
ington-if a long enclosure rooted in by
glass can be called a farmland the lilies
blooming there in fragrant rows are a
lovely sight.
TIE SECRET OF SUCCESS.
The secret about planting the bulbs Is
10 be sure and have them in deep enough.
The roots that grow down noursh the
bulb and the roots that grow up nourish
the lilies. The Bermuda Easter lily can
be forced into prolific bloom. and is for
this reason becoming popular flower for
weddings. In the South. where these
lilies bloom as late as May, they are ex-
quiste for spring weddings The love-
Hest marriage that / ever saw, for beauty
and purity, was a lilly wedding IN
Southern Georgia. Everywhere the white
and radiant lilies were banked against
r background of shining magnolia leaves.
Lilies decked the brides table and
about It were the six bridesmaids. with
great clusters Of lilies In their hands-the
bride. tall and stately blonde the fair
est lily among them all
The quick blooming Of lilies for private
orders has reached high art I'm hOrti-
culture. but lily farmers say that no lily
stands this strain Of forcing. with such
perfection in the flowers. as the annun-
citation.
OF course, the yield Of a bulb depends
on its size. A five-inch bulb produces
from two to five flowers. The best size
10 use az q pot-plant in decorations is
the nne-inch bulb. | was shown a
mammoth bulb Of twelve inches which
was crowned IS twenty-five flowers. and
told that I'm its native soil it was no.
thing unusual for one bulb 10 have upon
IL fifty regaly blooming flowers at one
time.
Young men sending lilies as Easter
offerings usually get the potted plants in
large species.
PLANT RESURRECTION.
a wonderful thing in plant resurrection
is that by drying the plants off after
blooming and giving them rest for awhile
they will start again in a second crop of
flowers as gorgeously beautiful as the
first. Secure of the market, the flowers
are forced or kept back so as 70 bloom
exactly I'm the week designated. The
Egyptian lotus is a species of Gala lily
that grows i'm California. and with the
Japanese lily is used for also for Ea11r.
In Florida, some five or six years ago.
a few Of these lotus bulbs We're planted
and left to themselves. They have
thrived as they never did for that heather
syren, Cleopatra, in their native Nile
mud. Bermuda lilies are also shipped
here in boxes for Easter. These are cut
when the bud is "blind'-l. e., with only
a streak Of light in it, the stems wrapped
with little damp cotton, are run through
holes. and then they are packed in plat
form boxes like eggs.
In Easter lilies the whole business is
transacted in futures" just as our wheat
or cotton-the florists order from the
growers a year ahead, customers order
their Easter lilies months ahead. and the
fashionable churches of Washington
and New York have a standing decoration
fund for Easter lilies that runs from year
to year.
A TRUE TYPE OF IMMORTALITY.
The lily is the true type Of immortal
ity--the new life upspringing from the
dry and deadened husk. Who can 49,
close to us its secret? Who knows what
that secret is? Scientists. from Aristotle