1870.] EARLY-FLOWERING BEDDING TULIPS. 261 



upon the dark velvet covering of the stand were exquisite. Would it 

 not be well if horticultural societies could be induced to offer good 

 prizes to ladies for productions of this character 1 Certainly they require 

 rather more labour than is necessary for the dressing of epergnes, or 

 the putting together of a bouquet. Alex. Dean. 



EARLY -FLOWERING BEDDING TULIPS. 



I would fain hope many of the readers of the ' Gardener ' have a 

 kindly regard for these beautiful and attractive flowers. All the most 

 gorgeous hues of the floral kingdom concentrate here, and aid to make 

 a display worthy to be a constituent part in the poetic fancies of Eastern 

 climes. So multiplied are the varieties annually offered for sale, that 

 they may be said to afford almost every shade of colour and diversity 

 of appearance ; and, in addition, many of the most useful kinds for 

 bedding purposes are sold somewhat cheaply, and therefore can be pro- 

 cured at a comparatively small outlay. 



It has been advanced, as an objection to their cultivation, that the 

 blooming season is too short in duration, and therefore does not suffi- 

 ciently repay any extra outlay of trouble and patience about them. 

 To this it can be replied, that the blooming season is by no means an 

 evanescent one when the bulbs are planted in good holding soil. 

 When they occupy poor impoverished ground, or when they have been 

 allowed to remain on the border without being lifted and replanted at 

 the proper season, they often induce disappointment ; but when they 

 become elevated into the position of " favourites," and receive treat- 

 ment corresponding to the esteem in which they are held, they doubly 

 repay the investment. I have now in my garden a border of them in 

 fine bloom, notwithstanding the retarding influences of a rigorous and 

 trying season ; they are planted in light rich soil, and many a passer- 

 by is moved to admiration, perhaps to envy. 



Let me pass in review some of these flowers (would that I could 

 present them with their rich, handsome, and varicoloured cups, 

 " flaunting in the eye of day," robed in gorgeously-tinted apparel as 

 veritable peers among spring flowers !) and to do that I will group 

 them in colours, choosing the best in each. 



Of self-white flowers, I must stand by the fine old white Pottebak- 

 ker ; of large size, stout, and finely formed, it can scarcely be equalled, 

 much less excelled, either for pots or beds. I pass by such varieties 

 as Pax alba, Alba regalis, Grande Blanche Royale, and others, as not to 

 be compared with this. 



