MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 37 
ually increasing the temperature and ght, good flowers may 
be obtained, providing fresh water is added occasionally. 
TULIP 
Although it is well known that tulips are of extremely 
old garden origin, no exact records are in existence. It is 
thought that Tulipa Gesneriana and T. suaveolens are re- 
sponsible for the common types of to-day. To the former 
are ascribed the late tulips, while the early-flowering varieties 
belong to the latter. Their cultivation in Europe dates back 
to 1554, when seed was brought to Austria from Turkey. 
The Turkish tulips were composed of pointed petals of red 
and yellow hues, but these were gradually, by a process of 
selection, changed to broad rounded forms of varying colors. 
Two forms of 7. Gesneriana are of importance in forcing, 
the long-stemmed, self-colored, large-flowered Darwins, and 
the Parrot tulips (7. Gesneriana var. Dracontia). It is 
thought that Parrot tulips are merely hybrids possessing 
deeply and fancifully cut petals, although the same condi- 
tion may have been brought about by continuous selection. 
T. suaveolens differs from the others chiefly in earliness of 
‘bloom and comparative dwarfness. A garden hybrid be- 
tween 7. Gesneriana and T. acuminata—T. retroflexa—is 
of interest, possessing yellow funnel-form flowers with 
twisted, undulated edges. 
Tulips are propagated by means of offsets and cutting of 
the old bulbs. While flowering, new bulbs are formed in- 
side of the outer covering. Consequently the bulbs which 
are dug up from the beds in the spring are not the same that 
were planted in the fall. Thorough ripeness is essential for 
bulb production. 
Pot culture of tulips does not differ from that of the other 
bulbous plants. Several bulbs are placed in a pan, watered, 
stored in frames, and then gradually forced into bloom in 
3-4 weeks. Proper rooting is essential to develop long- 
stemmed, large flowers. 
ASTILBE 
Astilbe japonica, or, as it is pagrem 4 called, Spiraea, 
belongs to the Saxifragaceae, and is a hardy herbaceous 
perennial, with compound foliage and tall, dense spikes of 
white, pink, or purplish flowers. 
The clumps of plants are allowed to freeze outdoors, then 
are potted into a mixture composed of sandy loam and 
manure in ratio of 4 to 1, and Dieta on in the greenhouse 
at a temperature of 50° F. No higher temperature than 
