T U L 



TUL 



growth ; some proper strong tubs of larger di- 

 mensions than the pots containing the plants 

 f liould be prepared in proper time, in which to 

 shift ihem. 



These tubs are made by the coopers proper 

 for this purpose, somewhat in the garden-pot 

 form, a little wider at top than at bottom, from 

 a foot and half to two and a half deep ; the 

 width in proportion ; constructed of the strong- 

 est thick staves and bottoms, and well hooped 

 with iron, and with two iron handles at top, by 

 which to remove them ; these handles being 

 strong and generally hooked, especially in very 

 large tubs, in order to receive a pole in each oc- 

 casionally, that the tub and plant together may 

 be more readily moved : the bottom of the tubs 

 have auger holes bored in different parts, at re- 

 gular distances, by which to discharge the su- 

 perfluous moisture after watering, &c. 



In tubbing large-grown plants, they should 

 be removed from their present pots, with the 

 balls of earth about the roots entire ; and having 

 earthed the bottom parts of the tubs, the plant 

 should be set in with its whole ball of earth, 

 filling up properly around, and an inch or two 

 over the top of the ball with more fresh mould, 

 and then watering. See Shifting Plants and 

 Potting. 



TULIPA, a genus furnishing plants of the 

 bulbous-rooted, flowery perennial kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Hexandria 

 Monogynia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Coronmice. 



The characters are : that there is no calyx : 

 the corolla bell-shaped : petals six, ovate-ob- 

 long, concave, erect : the stamina have six awl- 

 shaped filaments, very short : anthers quadran- 

 gular, oblong, erect, distant : the pistillum is a 

 large germ, oblong, from three-cornered round : 

 style none : stigma three-lobed, triangular : 

 angles protuberant, bifid, permanent : the peri- 

 carpium is a three-sided capsule, three-celled, 

 three-valved : valves ciliate at the edge, ovate : 

 the seeds numerous, flat, incumbent in a double 

 row, semicircular, separated by similar flocks. 



The species cultivated are: 1. T. Gcsneriana, 

 Common Garden Tulip ; 2. T. sylvestris, Wild 

 or Yellow Tulip. 



The first has the stem nearly upright or bend- 

 ing a little, taller and stronger than in the second, 

 from a foot to eighteen inches in height : the 

 leaves three, four, or five, embracing, doubled, 

 lanceolate, acute, nerved, glaucous ; the lowest 

 near the bulb two inches and a half wide, the 

 others gradually narrower : the flower large, 

 erect, in a wild state most commonly red with 

 a black base : petals ovate, blunt, smooth : the 

 anthers commonly very dark-coloured or black ; 



the stigma thrce-lobed, each lobe bifid, bent 

 back, and the edge curled back : the cap?ule 

 superior, of a triangular prismatic form, three- 

 grooved, transversely striated: the valves having 

 a partition in the middle, and ciliate at the su- 

 tures with white silky vibrissas turned inwards : 

 the seeds obovate, narrowed towards the navel, 

 flat on both sides, margined, rufescent, fastened 

 horizontally in a double row to the central mar- 

 gin of the partitions. Before the fruit is fully 

 ripe, the vibrissa; in this genus are glued to- 

 gether into three thin membranes, which being 

 interposed between the columns of seeds, make 

 the unripe capsules six-celled. It is a native of 

 many parts of the Levant. 



It is distinguished from the other, according 

 toMartyn, by "its pubescent scape, spread- 

 ing sweet-smelling corolla, the earliness of its 

 flowering, and the smallness of its size." 



In respect to the varieties, the editor of Mil- 

 ler's Dictionary observes, that " the old authors 

 divided Tulips into Prcscoces or Early-blowers, 

 and Serotince or Late-blowers, with an inter- 

 mediate division of Duhice Medice, Doubtful or 

 Middle-blowers, which flowered between the 

 two others, and for the most part rather be- 

 longed to the late-blowers. Modern florists," he 

 says, "have almost neglected the early-blowers." 

 The first sort, according to Miller, " are not 

 near so fair, nor do they rise half so high as the 

 late ones ; they are chiefly valued for appearing 

 early in the spring : some of them will flower 

 the middle of March in mild seasons, if planted 

 in a warm border near a wall or other shelter, 

 and others will succeed them, so that they will 

 keep flowering until the general season for these 

 flowers is come, which is towards theend of April. 



" The several varieties of these early-blowing 

 Tulips rise to different heights in their stems, 

 and scarcely any two of them are equal. The 

 Duke Van Toll, which is one of the first that 

 appears in the spring, is generally very short- 

 stalked, and the others in proportion to their 

 earliness are shorter than those which succeed 

 them ; and the late-blowers are all considerably 

 longer in their stems than any of the early- 

 blowers. 



** The late-blowing Tulips producing much 

 finer flowers than the early ones, have engrossed 

 almost the whole attention of the florists. It 

 would be to little purpose to enumerate all the 

 varieties, since there is scarcely any end of their 

 numbers, and what some value at a considerable 

 rate, others reject ; and as there are annually 

 many new flowers obtained from breeders, those 

 which are old, if they have not very good pro- 

 perties to recommend them, are thrown out and 

 despised," 



