90 ANEMONES AND RANUNCULUS. [April. 



Tulips in every respect should have the same care and 

 protection, never neglecting to have the beds with a smooth 

 clean surface, and the stems neatly tied up, although they 

 are not in so much danger as Hyacinths. 



The characters of a good Tulip are the stem strong, 

 elastic, and erect, about two feet high, the flower large and 

 composed of six petals, proceeding a little horizontally at 

 first, and then turning upward, forming a flat-bottomed cup, 

 rather widest at the top ; the three exterior petals should be 

 larger than the three interior ones, and broader at their 

 base ; the edges of the petals entire, free from notch or rug- 

 gedness; the top of each well rounded; the colour of the 

 flower at the bottom of the cup ought to be pure, white, or 

 yellow, and the rich-coloured stripes, which are the prin- 

 cipal ornament, should be pure, bold, regular, and distinct 

 on the margin, and terminate in fine points elegantly pen- 

 ciled. The centre of each petal should have one bold 

 stripe, or blotch, of rich colouring. The ground colours 

 that are most esteemed are white, the purer the finer ; or, 

 on the other hand, the dark grounds, and of course the 

 darker the better; but these vary in estimation according 

 to the prevailing taste of amateurs. 



ANEMONES AND RANUNCULUS. 



Moist weather and frequent showers are highly essential 

 to the perfecting of these flowers, and if these should fail 

 at this season of the year, artificial means must be used to 

 supply the deficiency. Take a watering-pot without the 

 rose, and run the water (river or rain water is best) gently 

 between the rows, taking care not to make holes in the 

 ground. When they have got a good watering at root, 

 take the syringe and give them a gentle sprinkling in fine 

 evenings, observing not to use force for fear of breaking 

 the flower stems. In dry weather the result of a deficiency 

 of water would be, that the stems and flowers of the strong- 

 est roots will be weak and make no progress, and many of 

 them will not bloom ; the foliage of a sickly, yellow appear- 

 ance, from which they would not recover ; and the roots, 

 when taken up, are of little use for farther transplanting. 



A good plan in dry seasons is to cover the ground be- 



