336 

 EARLY-FLOWEEINa TULIPS. 



BY WILLIAM DEISTN, 

 Shipley Nursery, Bradford, Yorkshire. 



[HEjS; I tliink, as I often do, how little is known about 

 early tulips, and their value and beauty for decorative 

 purposes, a feeling of shame comes over me that I have 

 not tried more to bring them into notice. In the first 

 place, they are very cheap, and can be purchased at from 

 2d. to 6d. a root. Secondly, they can be so easily grown and in- 

 creased. Simply plant them in November in light sandy soil, and 

 take them up after blooming, and keep them in a dry place until 

 planting time again. The tulip increases readily from small bulbs 

 attached to the old root, and these speedily become blooming roots. 

 Then what lovely colours we have in them, and how soon they bloom, 

 so that in April, when we are glad to see spring flowers, imagine a 

 glorious bed of early tulips, in all their rich and varied colours, not 

 tall, gawky things, but of dwarf, compact growth. The glorious 

 beds of early tulips at South Kensington and the Wellington Road 

 have shown us plainly how easily they can be growu, and I cannot 

 too strongly recommend them to amateur gardeners, both for pot 

 culture and for beds. 



The following are a few of the best and least expensive kinds, 

 and the very best for general purposes. A dozen of each would 

 make a fine collection for decorating the conservatory, and to flower 

 them in pots requires, perhaps, little skill, and is one of the least 

 expensive of pleasures. All that is necessary for this purpose is to 

 pot them in 48-size pots, three in a pot, in any good light soil, and 

 keep them in frames or pits, until they are in flower ; or, if wanted 

 early, a few should be taken at a time into the greenhouse or forcing 

 pit, to hasten the flowers that are quite hardy. They love water 

 when growing, and they must have, from the moment they begin to 

 grow, plenty of light, with air in abundance in mild weather. As 

 there are about two hundred varieties in cultivation, I think the 

 reduction of the list to less than fifty will be of some service to 

 amateurs who wisb to spend their mouey to advantage. But to suit 

 the case of those who would prefer a few of the very best, I have 

 marked such as I consider leading kinds wdth an asterisk, thus *. 

 To render the shorter selection the more complete, I have added to 

 these their respective heights when in flower : — 



EAELY SINGLE TULIPS. 



Alba Regalis, creamy white, fine form. 



Archduke of Austria, rich dark red, with gold margin, very fine. 



Beaute Parfait, white striped with scarlet, dwarf habit, very pretty. 

 *Brutus, dwarf orange crimson, fine, eight inches. 



*Couleur Cardinal, rosy crimson, feathered with fiery red, a distinct and beautiful 

 kind, nine inches. 



