SPRING GARDEN AND ITS BULBS 49 



the history of the celebrated Black Tulip 

 shows ; and surprising sums are still asked 

 and given for certain Daffodils. There are 

 rumours from those who know of ^40 to ^50 

 for a single seedling raised by famous growers, 

 from which it will take years to raise a suffi- 

 cient stock to place it on the market. And, 

 in any good catalogue, prices ranging from 

 2s. 6d. to i for one small bulb are not 

 unusual. Therefore, when half-a-dozen of 

 beautiful Madame de Graaf or Gloria Mundi at 

 2s. 6d. and 45. 6d. a bulb are needed to fill a 

 good show-pot, the cost becomes considerable. 

 My bulbs thus far have been limited to a 

 few hundreds of the cheapest Tulips, Narcissi, 

 and Spanish Iris. I began with a few Emperor, 

 Empress, and the invaluable Stella rightly 

 named, for a group of its creamy stars shine 

 out delicately above the full green foliage 

 opposite my window, to cheer me as I sit 

 writing. In 1904 I planted a hundred, 

 and the bulbs multiplied in an extraordinary 

 manner, having more than doubled in number 

 by the next year. They were all lifted and 



D 



