NARCISSUS 



NASTURTIUM 



1061 



and from 4 to 6 inches apart. Those that increase slowly, 

 as the Trumpet varieties, should be 4 inches, and the 

 more vigorous Poeticus and Incomparabilis sorts should 

 be at least 6 inches apart, as they increase so rapidly 

 that in five or six years they will occupy the whole 

 space. No variety should be disturbed till the bulbs 

 are so crowded that they force themselves to the 

 surface. 



In the northern states and Canada plant in Septem- 

 ber, as soon as the bulbs arrive from Europe, or during 

 the month of October, not later; after the end of Octo- 

 ber the bulbs cannot make roots enough before winter 

 to produce good flowers the following spring. As soon 

 as- the surface of the soil is frozen, cover with strawy 

 stable manure 4 to 6 inches deep, which should be 

 raked off and removed as early in the spring as possi- 

 ble. After flowering, the foliage should be allowed to 

 die naturally each spring; if cut off when green the 

 bulbs do not ripen properly, and the flowers next sea- 

 son are inferior in quality ; no seed pods should be 

 allowed to form. When cutting for house decoration, 

 cut as soon as the flower bud opens; the flowers last 

 much longer than if exposed to the sun after opening. If 

 specimens are to be mailed to a friend, cut before the 

 bud opens; they will travel much safer, and will open 

 out perfectly when put into water. 



All the Poeticus varieties are perfectly hardy, and 

 profuse bloomers, except Alba plena odorata, which 

 cannot stand the hot suns of our average climate, and 

 which blooms freely only in a cool, wet season. Most 

 years the flowers are formed, but the spathe does not 

 open. .ZV. poeticus, with white perianth and reddish 

 purple crown, is the sweetest perfumed and freest 

 bloomer of all Narcissi, and should be in every garden. 

 Its season is the last half of May. Poeticus ornatus, 

 not so sweet perfumed, but a larger and showier 

 flower, has a perianth of the purest white and an orange 

 crown, in bloom the first half of May. Another very 

 handsome form is biflorus, white, with pale yellow 

 crown, flowers always in pairs, season about the same. 

 The type Burbidgei and its numerous varieties are all 

 desirable, but the above three kinds are the best of the 

 short-crowned section. 



The medium-crowned Narcissi, including N. incom- 

 parabilis and the hybrids Barri, Leedsi, Humei, Nel- 

 soni, etc., is the largest of the three sections, many 

 dealers offering over one hundred varieties. They are 

 all, with the possible exception of JV. Humei varieties, 

 quite hardy and very desirable garden flowers, many of 

 them increasing as rapidly as .ZV. poeticus. The pre- 

 vailing color is yellow in varying shades; sometimes 

 the perianth is white, though never so pure a color as 

 JV. poeticus. They vary in size from the dainty little 

 .ZV. Leedsi elegans, white, with a pale yellow crown, to 

 the Giant Sir Watkin, golden yellow, with a darker 

 crown, a magnificent flower that should be in every 

 collection. Other very satisfactory sorts are Stella, 

 Cynosure, Sunray, Circe and Golden Gem. The best 

 doubles in this section are double Incomparabilis, a 

 very free bloomer, and Sulphur Phoanix, the most beau- 

 tiful of all double Narcissi. 



The large-crowned or Trumpet Narcissi are the most 

 elegant and beautiful of all spring flowers . Unfortu- 

 nately they have not the vigor or adaptability of the 

 other sections, and most of them die out after two or 

 three years' struggling against the unfavorable condi- 

 tions of our climate ; but many of them are so low in 

 price now that they are well worth a place in the bor- 

 der even if they have to be replanted every two or three 

 years. They are divided into three groups : (1) Yel- 

 low-flowered, in which the perianth and trumpet are 

 both yellow, though sometimes of different shades. In 

 this group Obvallaris and Emperor (a large flower) 

 are quite hardy, while Golden Spur, Henry Irving, 

 Trumpet major, Trumpet maximus, Shirley Hibbard, 

 Countess of Annesley and Von Sion, all splendid 

 flowers, bloom well the first spring, indifferently the 

 second, and generally die after the third year, except 

 under very favorable conditions. (2) The Bicolor 

 group, in which the perianth is white or pale primrose 

 and the trumpet deep yellow; among the whites Hors- 

 fieldii, Grandis and Empress are quite hardy and very 

 beautiful. The best of the primrose perianths is the 



well-known Princeps, so cheap that it should be largely 

 planted in every garden for cut-flowers. N. bicolor, 

 Pseudo-Narcissus Scotticus and Michael Foster are not 

 quite hardy. (3) The white-flowered, in which both 

 perianth and trumpet are white, though generally with a 

 tinge of sulfur. None of this group are quite hardy. 

 Most of them are too expensive to plant for one season's 

 bloom, but Moschatus, Moschatus albicans and Pallidus 

 prcecox are low enough in price to be worth trying. The 

 well-known double Von Sion, so extensively forced by 

 florists, is not quite hardy in the Canadian garden. It 

 blooms well the first year, and sometimes the second 

 year, but in the third or fourth year it turns green in 

 color and gradually dies out. 



None of the Polyanthus Narcissus, Jonquils, or Hoop- 

 Petticoat Daffodils (N. Bulbocodium) are hardy enough 

 to be worth planting in the colder parts of the northern 

 states or Canada, unless in very favorable locations. 



POT CULTURE. All varieties of the Narcissus are 

 suitable for pot culture. Those of the Poeticus section 

 require careful handling for success, but all the other 

 kinds are of the easiest culture. Especially desirable 

 for their beauty and delicious odor are the Jonquils, 

 single and double, Odorus mgulosus and the Polyan- 

 thus or bunch-flowered Narcissus, the best known of 

 of which are the Paper White and the so-called Chinese 

 Sacred Lily. 



The large-flowered sorts may be planted three in a 

 5-inch pot, and the smaller bulba, as Jonquils and Bul- 

 bocodiums, five in a 5-inch pot. Set the bulbs with the 

 neck at the surface. The soil and treatment given 

 hyacinths will ensure success. If enough are planted 

 to bring fresh pots forward every two weeks, a contin- 

 uous succession of bloom can be maintained from 

 December to May. R. 3. WHYTE. 



NAKTHECIUM (an anagram of Anthericum, from 

 the Greek Antherikos, supposed to have been the As- 

 phodel). Liliacece. BOG-ASPHODEL. About 4 species of 

 perennial rhizomatous herbs, with linear, equitant basal 

 [vs., wiry, erect, simple stem, and terminal racemes 

 of yellow fls. Natives of Eu., E. Asia, Atlantic States 

 and Calif. Stem 10 in.-2 ft. high : Ivs. 3-8 in. long, 2 

 lines or less wide: fls. on bracted pedicels; bractlets 

 linear ; perianth of 6 narrowly lanceolate segments, 

 reflexed or spreading in fl., soon erect, persistent; sta- 

 mens 6; anthers 2-celled; stigmas small, terminal and 

 slightly lobed: seeds numerous, ascending, with a long 

 bristle-like tail at each end. 



Califdrnicum, Baker. Stem 1-2 ft. high: basal Ivs. 

 l%-2 lines broad; cauline Ivs. 2-3 in number, short: 

 raceme 3-5 in. long, loose : fls. 30-40, yellowish green: 

 capsules of paper-like texture, slender at top, 3-valved, 

 when ripe a bright salmon color. Swamps, Calif. Intro- 

 duced by dealers in native plants in 1888 or 1889. 



M. B. COULSTON. 



NASEBEEEY. See Sapodilla. 



NASTURTIUM (classical Latin name of some cress, 

 from nasus, nose, and tortus, distortion; referring to 

 the effect of its pungency upon the nostrils). Crucif- 

 erce. This genus includes the familiar Water Cress, 

 .ZV. officinale. It is too well known to need much de- 

 scription, and is of easy culture. (See Cress.) Water 

 Cress is a hardy, aquatic, perennial plant, which grows 

 in pure running water, and has a delightful peppery 

 taste. It is much used for garnishing and for salads. 

 The stems are spreading and take root at the lower 

 joints. The Ivs. are usually lyrately or pinnately parted 

 and eared at the base: Ifts. 3-11, more or less rounded 

 and wavy: fls. small, white. An allied plant is the 

 Common Winter Cress or Yellow Rocket (Barbarea 

 vulgaris), but this is a dry land plant, with yellow fls. 

 In the tropics .ZV. Indicum is a desirable cress. This is 

 an erect annual, with yellow fls. It is said to have been 

 cult, in Europe, but Pailleux and Bois say it is useless 

 outside the tropics. Nasturtium is a genus of 20 or 

 more widely scattered species. They are herbs of vari- 

 ous habit and duration, terrestrial or aquatic, glabrous 

 or pubescent: Ivs. entire or variously lobed or pinnati- 

 sect: fls. usually yellow; petals scarcely clawed, some- 

 times lacking; stamens 1-6: pods short or long; seeds,', 

 usually in 1 series. \v. M. 



