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T UL 



THE UNIVERSAL HERBAL; 



T U L 



ers are decayed, and their seed-vessels begin to swell, they 

 should be broken off just at the top of the stalks, because, 

 if permitted to seed, the roots will be greatly injured. When 

 the leaves are decayed, which will be before the late-blowers 

 are out of flower, their roots should be taken up. and spread 

 upon mats in a shady place to dry ; after which they should 

 be cleared from filth, and put in a dry place where vermin 

 cannot come to them, until the season for planting them 

 again ; being very careful to preserve every sort separate, in 

 order to know how to dispose of them at the time for plant- 

 ing, because it is the better way to plant all the roots of 

 each sort together, and not to intermix them, as is commonly 

 practised in most other kinds of flowers; for as there are 

 tew of them which blow at the same time, so when the seve- 

 ral roots of one sort are scattered through a whole border, 

 they make but an indifferent appearance; whereas, when 

 twenty or thirty roots of the same sort are placed together, 

 they will all flower at the same time, and afford a more 

 agreeable spectacle. There are many curious persons, who, 

 in order to preserve their several kinds of Tulips, and other 

 bulbous-rooted flowers, separate, have large flat boxes made, 

 which are divided into several parts by small partitions, each 

 of which is numbered in the same manner as the divisions 

 of the beds ; so that when a catalogue of the roots is made, 

 and the numbers fixed to each sort in the beds, there is 

 nothing more to do in taking up the roots, but to put every 

 kind into the division marked with the same number in the 

 bed. This saves a great deal of trouble in making fresh 

 marks every time the roots are taken up, and effectually 

 answers the purpose of preserving the kinds distinct. The 

 late-blowing Tulips are generally obtained from breeders, 

 which is a term applied to all such flowers as are produced 

 from seeds, which are of one self-colour, and have good bot- 

 toms and chives; these in time break into various beautiful 

 stripes, according to the ground of their former self-colour, 

 but this must be entirely thrown off, otherwise they do not 

 conceive a flower well broken. Of these breeders, there has 

 been a great variety brought into England from Flanders, 

 which is a grand nursery for most sorts of bulbous-rooted 

 flowers ; but there are some curious persons who have 

 lately obtained many valuable breeders from seed sown in 

 England; and doubtless were we as industrious to sow the seeds 

 as the Flemings and French, in a few years we should have 

 as great a variety as is to be found in any part of Europe ; 

 for although it is six or seven years from the sowing before 

 the flowers blow, yet if after the first sowing there be every 

 year a fresh parcel sown, when the seven years are expired, 

 there will be constantly a succession of roots to flower every 

 year, which will reward the expectation, and keep up the 

 spirit of raising ; but it is the length of time at first, which 

 deters most people from this work. The following is the 

 process of propagating these flowers from seeds. Without 

 good seed, little success can be expected. The best is that 

 saved from breeders, which have all the good properties 

 already described. The surest way to obtain good seeds, is 

 to choose a parcel of breeding roots to be set apart for that 

 purpose in a separate bed, fully exposed to the sun : taking 

 care to plant them at least nine inches deep, for if they be 

 planted too shallow, their stems are apt to decay before their 

 seed is perfected. Their flowers should always be exposed 

 to the weather, for if shaded by mats or any other covering, 

 it will prevent their perfecting the seed. A little before or 

 after the middle of July, the seeds will be fit to gather, 

 which may be known by the dryness of their stalks and the 

 opening of the seed-vessels ; they may then be cut off, and 

 the seeds preserved in the pods till the season for sowing, 



placing them in a dry place, otherwise they will be subject 

 to mould, which will render them useless. About the begin- 

 ning of September, is the best season for sowing. Shallow 

 seed-pans or boxes, with holes in the bottoms to let oft* the 

 moisture, should be filled with fresh sandy earth, laying the 

 surface very even. Upon this the seed should be sown as re- 

 gularly as possible, that they may not lie upon each other; 

 then there should be some of the light sandy earth sifted over 

 them, about half an inch thick. Place the boxes or pans where 

 they may receive the morning sun till eleven o'clock until 

 October ; and then remove them into a more open situation, 

 where they may enjoy the sun all day and be sheltered from 

 the north winds through the winter. In the spring, when the 

 plants appear with grassy leaves, replace the boxes in their 

 former situation, and in dry seasons water them while the 

 plants remain green ; but as soon as their tops begin to 

 decay, no more should be given : the boxe"s should be placed 

 in a shady situation during the summer season, but not under 

 the drip of trees. These plants at their first appearance 

 have very narrow grassy leaves like those of Onions, and 

 come up with bending heads in the same manner. Hence 

 ignorant persons pull them up instead of grass whilst they are 

 very young, before their leaves are a little more expanded, 

 which rarely takes place in the first year, because they seldom 

 appear before the middle of March, and commonly decay 

 about the latter end of May or the beginning of June, 

 according as the season is hotter or colder. The weeds and 

 moss should be cleared off from the surface of the earth in 

 the boxes, and a little fresh earth sifted over them soon after 

 their leaves decay, which will be of great service to their 

 roots. At Michaelmas let them be fresh-earthed again, and 

 as the winter comes on, they must be again removed into 

 the sun as before, and treated in the same way until their 

 leaves decay in the spring, when the bulbs should be care- 

 fully taken up, and planted in beds of fresh sandy earth, 

 which should have tiles laid under them, to prevent their 

 roots from shooting downward, which they often do when 

 there is nothing to stop them, and are thereby destroyed. 

 The earth of these beds should be about five inches thick 

 upon the tiles, which will be sufficient for nourishing these 

 roots while they are young. The distance which these young 

 bulbs should be allowed, need not be more than two inches, 

 nor should they be planted above two inches deep ; but 

 toward the end of October it will be proper to cover the beds 

 over with a little fresh earth about an inch deep, which will 

 preserve the roots from the frost, and prevent moss or weeds 

 from growing over them ; but if the winter should be very 

 severe, it will be proper to cover the beds either with mats 

 or pease-haulm, to prevent the frost from penetrating the 

 ground, because these roots are much tenderer while young, 

 than they are after they have acquired strength. In the 

 spring, the surface of the ground should be gently stirred to 

 make it clean, before the plants come up ; and in dry springs 

 they will require frequent waterings, which should be in small 

 quantities. When the leaves are decayed, the weeds should 

 be taken off, and the beds covered with fresh earth, which 

 ought also to be repeated in autumn. When the bulbs have 

 been managed in this way two years, they should, in the 

 summer following, when their leaves decay, the roots being 

 by that time considerably improved in growth.be again taken 

 up and planted into fresh beds, at four inches asunder, where 

 they may remain two years more, during which time they should 

 have the same culture as before; and after that, the bulbs being 

 large enough to blow, they should be taken up, and planted 

 in fresh beds, at the usual distance, and in the same manner as 

 old roots : where, when the flower, such of them as are worthy 





