TULIPA 



THE BULB BOOK 



TULIPA 



high {ReJ. Bot. t. 349 ; Bot. Mag. t. 

 3547). 



T. capensis. — Flowers greenish - 

 purple, with an obscure purplish 

 deeply-cleft corona, borne in umbels 

 of six to eight on stems li to 2 ft. 

 high in June {Bot. Mag. t. 806, as T. 

 alliacen). 



T, natalensis. — This is closely 

 related to 1\ alliacea, but has 

 greenish-white fragrant flowers. 



T. Simmleri. — This has ovoid bulbs, 

 strap-shaped bluntish leaves, and 

 small rosy flowers. 



T. violacea. — Flowers violet-purple, 

 with a ligulate corona. From eight 

 to twenty flowers are borne in an 

 umbel about March and April on 

 stems 1 to 2 ft. high {Bot. Mag. t. 

 3555). 



TULIPA (said to be from the 

 Turkish word tulhend, a turban ; in 

 reference to the shape of the flowers ; 

 or derived from the Persian name, 

 thouhihan). Nat. Ord. Liliacese. — A 

 genus of beautiful herbaceous plants, 

 having tunicated bro^\'Ti - skinned 

 bulbs, broadish grey-green leaves, 

 and erect scapes usually ending in 

 one, but sometimes two or three to 

 seven bell-shaped or cup-like flowers, 

 having six distinct and highly 

 coloured petals. 



With the possible exception of the 

 Daffodil, there is no bulbous plant 

 grown in so many hundreds of 

 thousands as the Tulip. It has been 

 cultivated for generations, and at the 

 present day is probably more popular 

 than ever. This is the case not only 

 in the British Islands, and on the 

 Continent, but also in America, 

 whither hundreds of thousands of 

 bulbs are now exported annually 

 from Europe. The kinds gro\vn so 

 largely are all seedling generations of 

 the progeny of 7'. Gesneriatw., which 

 was introduced from the Levant in 



1577, and two years later was brought 

 from Constantinople to Augsburg by 

 Conrad Gesner. Some years previous 

 (in 1554) Busbecq, the Flemish 

 diplomatist, admired the Tulips in 

 the Turkish gardens, and it was no 

 doubt through his agency they first 

 became kno^\ n in Western Europe. 



The garden varieties are almost 

 innumerable, and many square miles 

 are devoted to their culture in 

 Holland. There is no reason, how- 

 ever, why Tulips should not be 

 grown commercially in parts of 

 England and Ireland in hundreds 

 of thousands, and experience has 

 proved that excellent bulbs can be 

 secured by attention to cultural 

 details. 



The soil of Guernsey, and probably 

 that of Jersey also, is specially 

 adapted for the cultivation of Tulips, 

 Daflbdils, Gladiolus, etc., in enormous 

 quantities, and many growers are 

 already aware of this fact. 



It must be a poor soil indeed, in 

 which Tulips will not grow. Any 

 garden soil that has been deeply 

 dug, and contains a fair amount of 

 humus (well-decayed manure or leaf- 

 mould), wiU yield good results. The 

 great point is to avoid stagnant 

 moisture, and this can easily be done 

 by deep cultivation. On the whole 

 a rich sandy loam may be looked 

 upon as the ideal one for Tulips. 



For open-air culture, the best time 

 to plant the bulbs is at the end of 

 August or September and during 

 October and November, each bulb 

 being placed about 6 ins. deep in the 

 soil, and about the same distance 

 apart. To secure a uniform • depth 

 of planting a bluntish dibber may 

 be used, the proper depth at which it 

 is to be pushed into the soil being 

 marked on it. 



As there are early, mid-season, and 

 late-flowering varieties, and as each 



437 



