TULIP. 267 



be down to five dollars ; consequently it will not soon find 

 its way into this country. 



The Dutch were the first to classify their bulbs, which 

 was done in the following order : Primo Bouquet, white 

 and brown stripes ; Bouquet Bagnettes, not so tall as 

 the former, but the cups are as well formed, with white 

 ground and brown stripes ; Incomparable Verports, the 

 cups cherry and rose, on a white ground ; Bybloemens, 

 nearly white ground, with stripes of various colors; 

 Bizarres, the ground yellow, with irregular stripes 01 

 different colors. The English florists class theirs in 

 four varieties, something after the Dutch manner. All 

 the classifications are arbitrary and perplexing to the 

 amateur, and it would be superfluous to insert them. 

 There is another circumstance attached to these flowers, 

 still more perplexing, and that is, the ta*te required to 

 judge of what is termed a good Tulip, being artifi-cial, 

 requiring time and familiarity with them to acquire 

 what is termed a good judgment to speak of their merit 

 or demerit. When this circumstance is taken into view, 

 we need not wonder that a stranger is so much attract- 

 ed at first sight with the common red and yellow striped 

 varieties. 



The Tulip is raised from seed, and increased by offsets ; 

 by seed new varieties are obtained, but the process is slow 

 and uncertain. To raise from seed, will take seven years 

 to bring them to flower, and probably as many more io 

 break their colors, and then you may not produce one as 

 good as that you saved the seed from. To propagate by 

 offsets is the only way of increasing the same kind ; they 

 will multiply fast. Beds for Tulips should command an 



