SEPrEMBER 177 



shrivelled outer petals of the older variety make it 

 compare very unfavourably with its rival. 



And now an important hint with regard to tulips 

 raised under glass. Everyone who grows them has 

 stamped with rage to see their beautiful blossoms 

 withering away while yet hidden by the leaves. 

 Tulips do not like this unnatural method of grow- 

 ing in greenhouses, and they turn sulky in 

 consequence. But if, when taken from the plunge, 

 they are placed in a subdued light under the stage 

 till they begin to grow lanky, their mischievous 

 habit will be thwarted, and the gardener will 

 rejoice. 



Scilla sibirica may be grown like the crocuses, 

 closely planted in a seed-pan, but many more squills 

 than crocuses will be required to make a good show, 

 as the bulbs are smaller. These lovely little true- 

 blue things continue to throw up spike after spike 

 of bloom, so that, although there may be no great 

 show at any one time, the pan will be decorative 

 for weeks. Some bright green wood moss may 

 carpet it, but the best use of these flowers will be 

 indicated in a subsequent paragraph. 



I have kept to the last the list of narcissi, these 

 joys of mid-winter, which please me both indoors 

 and out better than any other hardy bulbs. It is 

 very important to make a good selection of them. 

 The polyanthus narcissus, which are the least 

 charming, cannot be dispensed with any more than 

 the others. Some of the finest, though not the 

 best from my point of view, are Bazelman Major 

 and Grand Monarque, but the former is an un- 

 certain bloomer, and the latter shares with it, 



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