TwinLakesChef said:Yup . . . I pulled off a couple and "after the fact" figured they wouldn't work because I didn't get any of the "basal plate". It's big enough, I can try again. What does the book do? Keep them from crawling out? 
It's not mandatory that you get part of the basal plate; in fact, you almost never do. The object is to cut or break the scale as close to the basal plate as possible. Even so, most hybrid lilies are quite forgiving regarding this, and scales will still produce bulblets, even though a scale break might not be near the basal plate. You just won't have as great a success as if your scale breaks were closer to the basal plate.
I think most of us experienced people will say that the first time we scaled a lily we didn't even know that proximity to the basal plate was even a factor in scaling. (I didn't even know
what a basal plate was.) But we were still successful.
Moby said:you can use peat or vermiculite.
My first attempt at scaling (circa 1976) was with vermiculite, and even with the little knowledge I had I was successful. For the medium, what you want is something that will not support fungal growth, yet hold enough moisture to keep the scales from desiccating. It will be barely moist. Perlite alone holds either too much or to little moisture. Since perlite does not absorb water, and only holds water on the outside of the aggregate, free water in the liquid state is bound to be in contact with the scales. This will encourage rot. But I have used perlite and peat with good success. If I am very wary of rot with a particular scale(s), I will be sure to use perlite and raw sphagnum moss. Raw sphagnum has better anti fungal properties, yet regulates the proper moisture content well.
It took nine months for a couple of accidentally broken off, tiny
Lilium distichum scales to produce bulblets. These were very special, and considering the long shot I had for success, I used the perlite/raw sphagnum mix.
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An added note:
1) once bulblets appear, excess moisture is tolerated better.
2) to discourage leaf growth, keep the medium drier.
3) to encourage leaf growth, give the scales a little extra water. However, scale bulblets of certain types of lilies may not ever produce leaves until going through a cold period.
