We have never grown them ourselves, as it is practically impossible to obtain bulbs. We have seen _L. Roseum_ in blossom, and were not particularly impressed by it.
Had we been describing roses, chrysanthemums, hyacinths, or any other flowers which are highly cultivated, we would have dismissed the natural species with a very brief description, and turned our chief attention to the artificial varieties and hybrids.
But with lilies it is different. As we have seen, there are very many natural species. Indeed, the species almost outnumber the varieties, and these latter are rarely very different from the parent species. As regards double-flowered varieties, we have seen that only four lilies bear them, whereas nine-tenths of the cultivated varieties of roses and chrysanthemums are double.
And when we pass on to consider the hybrid lilies, we are likewise astonished at their paucity. Why are hybrid lilies so uncommon? Let us see if we can fathom the mystery.
One reason is that the majority of lilies never bear seed in England. Many, even in their native climes, bear seed but rarely, the natural method of increase being by bulblets. Another reason with us is the exceeding difficulty of raising lily-seed. They take so long to germinate that most seeds are destroyed before they show any sign of life.
Still, we believe that there is a great future for the hybridisation on lilies. Perhaps you would like to try it yourself. Then proceed as follows.
Let us cross _Lilium Auratum_ with _Lilium Speciosum_. Choose well-grown specimens of each lily. Let the buds develop till they begin to change colour. Then remove every bud except one—the best—from each plant. The remaining bud of the _L. Auratum_ must then be slipped open, and the anthers removed. It may then be allowed to open naturally, but it must be carefully protected from insects of any kind, lest one of these should bring to it a pollen grain from another blossom of its own species. When the _L. Speciosum_ has matured its pollen, cut off the anthers, and rub the pollen upon the style of the _L. Auratum_.
Three things may now happen. The first, the most likely, is that the flower will die, and will not produce seed. The second is that the plant will produce seed, but these, when they have been grown into flowering bulbs, will reproduce unaltered _L. Auratum_. The third—last and least likely possibility—is that the plant will produce seed which, when grown and flowered, will produce blossoms which partake of the characters of its two parents. In other words, these last are genuine hybrids.