232 THE FLOWER-GARDEN. [CHAP. Yin. 



Incomparable Verport, a very finely-shaped 

 flower, white, and feathered with bright shinin^ 

 brown. All these kinds are said to be varieties 

 of one species, Tulipa Gesneriana, a native of 

 Italy; and they all ought to have round cup- 

 shaped flowers, clean at the base, and with all 

 the marks and different colours quite clear and 

 distinct. Besides these florists' tulips, several 

 other species are occasionally grown in gardens : 

 the most common of which are, the little Van 

 Thol tulips, which were named after the Duke 

 Van Thol, and which are scarlet, edged with 

 yellow ; the wild French tulip, which is a pure 

 yellow, and very fragrant ; and the Parrot tulip, 

 which appears to be a variety of the last, and 

 the petals of which are yellow, irregularly 

 striped or spotted with green, scarlet, and blue, 

 and fringed at the margin. Of these, the Van 

 Thol tulips are the earliest; and indeed they are 

 frequently brought forward in frames, so as to 

 be among the first flowers of spring. 



The culture of the tulip, as a florists' flower 

 requires unremitting attention and care ; but, 

 for common garden purposes, the tulip will be 

 found hardier, and less liable to injury from 

 insects, &c, than most other flowers. Where 

 tulips are grown in a regular bed, the ground 

 should be dug out to the depth of twentyinches 

 or two feet. A stratum of fresh earth is laid at 

 the bottom of the pit thus formed, on that a 

 stratum of rotten cow-dung, and on this a 

 stratum of loam mixed with sand. The bed 

 should be three or four feet wide, and its surface 

 should be slightly raised in the middle. A fresh 

 bed should be made every year, or, rather, the 



