Omaha daily bee., 1909-10-23
HERE is A GOVERNMENT LILY
New Type Developed by the Agricul-
tural Department.
OUTPUT OF THE PLANT BUREAU
It f. n Cross Of the Philippine and
the Bermuda Lily and a. Relieved
90 ne Useful for Forcing
fer Easter.

WASHINGTON, oct. n.-The plant ex-
perts Of the Department OF Agriculture
are turning their attention to things Of
beauty as we'll as usefulness, and several
new flowers have been evolved by them.
Next season in all probability some novel
varieties Of lilies which were originated
in the departments greenhouses in Wash
ington will be placed upon the market
by growers. as we'll as a new summer
blooming dahlia.
The growing Of lilies in the United
States" said Prof. b. T. Galloway, in
charge Of the bureau OF plant industry,
'1s rapidly becoming an important indus
try. Large quantities Of bulbs have In
years past been imported from Bermuda,
Japan and other countries, and the de-
mand for the Towering plants seems to
be on the increase.
Various lines OF work have been under
taken and carried out by our expert. Mr..
oliver, chiefly for the purpose OF securing
new types OF lilies by hybridizing and
crossing and to demonstrate the practical
bility Of growing lilies in this country
directly from seed"
One of the most promising Of the
hybrids haA resulted from crossing the
Philippine lily and the ermud lily. The
Philippine lily takes two months to come
into bloom from the period Of planting
the bulb, while the Bermuda and its
various relations require in the neighbor-
hood of five months. 1t was thought that
there would be a great saving IL the time
taken to force q good Easter lily could
be reduced from one to two months.
Cross fl a Success.
With a view to bringing this about
the ,hybridization Of the Philippine and
the Bermuda lily has been effected. The
result of the cross is a flower larger than
the familiar Easter lily. but not quite as
broad as and = little shorter than the
Philippine lily.
Up to this time Americans have had to
rely for a very sparse supply of Philippine
lilies upon the Philippine islands, and they
arrive early in the spring. when they can
not be used for forcing. But by growing
them in California they can be obtained in
the fall in good time for forcing into flower
during the winter The plants so far grown
In California, says Mr.. oliver, do not show
signs of the lily disease.
A second line OF work in connection with
the production OF lilies has been under way
in the department for the last four years.
This embraces the selection Of plants which
show freedom from disease as manifested
by spotted leaves and distorted flowers.
Three varieties nave been selected, all Of
which are well known in this country.
When these plants come into bloom the
flowers are cross-fertilized with certain
purposes in view. The seeds from these
plants are sent to California and
about the end OF the summer. They are
planted out in the field in the following
spring and In a year the growth made by
the seedlings is so great that hundreds OF
plants have been recently produced bear
ing in the neighborhood of thirty flowers
to q stem.
Result Are Encouraging.
Disease among the plants has not been
as prevalent as In bermuda and Japan,
which have hitherto been the sources OF
supply of bulbs used in this country. So
far as the work has gone the results have
been very encouraging, especially Ia south
ern California, so that the department plant
specialists express themselves as reason
ably certain that the entire supply OF bulbs
will in time be produced within the borders
OF the United States.
There is" said Prof. Galloway, "a large
tract OF country with soil suitable for lily
growing In the southwestern portion Of
California from Santa Barbara down and
extending inward for several miles. The
bulbs can be harvested by the beginning
OF August
Some Of those produced during the last
season from 2 and ~S-year-old plants are
, very large ana satisfactory. Among some
bulbs recently received by US was one which
measured nearly fifteen inches in circum-
ference and others closely Appropriated
this great size.
1T would seem that the method Of re-
production by seed, saving desirable types
from the seedlings and prOpagating those
only by division and not from scales. is the
. true solution OF the problem confronting
the Easter lily industry in the United
States"
In connection with the work on the inn
provement Of florists flowers a new sum
mer blooming dahliA has been developed
by Mr.. oliver and. it is believed. will fill
t a long felt want in supplying flowers of
brilliant colors several weeks before the
; ordinary types Of dahlias are available.
: The seed bearing parent OF the new race
; is a species discovered three years ago in
!, Mexico at an elevation OF 1900 feet by
Federico Chisholm. The plants were for
[ warded to the bureau Of plant industry and
have been crossed with the ordinary species
and as the result OF these crosses more
than twenty new forms have been de-
I Yeloped.