i88i.] NOTES. 197 



know the varieties are interminable, but tell me the names of the best 

 thirteen varieties in the whole family/' Here they are in what I con- 

 sider their order of merit : Narcissus maximus, N. Horsfieldii, N. 

 Emperor, N. Empress (for size), N. obvallaris, N. Bulbocodium (for 

 pots), N. poeticus, N. minor, N. princeps, N. incomparabilis, N. odor- 

 us, N. Tazetta (for pots), N. jonquilla (for fragrance). 



For really robust, hardy, and effective kinds, take N. maximus and 

 N. Horsfieldii, both as hardy as the common wild Daffodil, and im- 

 measurably more stately and effective as garden flowers. 



A good spring-flowering greenhouse climber is Clematis indivisa 

 lobata, which for a month at least has been covered with its pure- 

 white star-shaped flowers. It grows rapidly, and is singularly free 

 from insect enemies, and its blossoms come in at a time when choice 

 and long-enduring flowers are valuable. A large dish fringed with Ivy 

 leaves and filled with the flowers of this Clematis and those of the 

 scarlet Pan Anemone (A. fulgens), has been a nine days' wonder to all 

 who have seen it. I know of no other plant which gives such rapid 

 and good return for its culture as this ; and it should find a place in 

 every greenhouse or conservatory, if not there already. 



There are a good many sides to the hardy-plant question, and one 

 well worth looking at is their importance and adaptability for forcing 

 into bloom early in the year. Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocus, Lily of the 

 Valley, Solomon's Seal, Tea Roses, Lilac, Deutzia, Spiraea, Narcissus, 

 Scilla, Helleborus niger. Tree Ppeonias, and many other things equally 

 familiar, are perfectly hardy. Seeing that hardy plants are so adapt- 

 able, the question naturally arises whether we make the most of them 

 in this way. There is a desire for variety abroad, and those who 

 would profit most by it should keep an eye on hardy bulbs and experi- 

 ment on their forcing qualities. One London florist made o£70 last 

 season by forced flowers of Narcissus poeticus alone. " I tried it last 

 season," he told me, "in an accidental way. In the autumn I was 

 planting Black Currants under my Plum-trees, and had to displace 

 some old plantations of Narcissus. When I saw the crop of bulbs dug 

 out, the idea suddenly came into my head to try and force them for 

 early flowers ! The first year they were wellnigh a failure, so far as 

 quantity of flowers went ; but the flowers sold so well that I resolved 

 to master their culture. We mulched the pots with leaf-mould, and as 

 the leaves turned yellow, allowed them to dry off under a north wall ; 

 and the result was that, from the same pots, we this season cut flowers 

 in March by the thousand ! " The moral is, when you experiment in 

 forcing hardy flowers, and fail the first time, don't give up in despair, 

 but try again. The addition of a new flower into the trade is not all 

 couleur de rose ; but if a thing " takes," the man who can supply it, and 

 enjoys somewhat of a monopoly, is sure to reap his reward. 



