BULBOUS FLOWERS 97 



quite southernly parts of the country they will be quite happy in 

 the ground all winter. Plant in the middle of April, putting the bulbs 

 six inches deep, and a little sand for them to rest upon in the hole, to 

 reduce risk of rotting off to a minimum. Lift the bulbs in November, 

 and store in a dry cellar, or some place free from frost. 



Triteleia Tiniflora is an attractive flower, with quantities of white 

 star-shaped blossoms in April. It does well in light soil in raised 

 positions, and associates admirably with the Scillas. 



Tulips. No flower of the early year is brighter than the Tulip, 

 and if the late kinds, the Gesners and others, are planted, the colour 

 pictures are prolonged to the threshold of June. The bulbs should be 

 planted about four inches deep and half a foot away from each other, 

 and they receive considerable benefit if the surface be mulched with cocoa- 

 nut fibre refuse and well-decayed manure. Plant in October or in early 

 November, and it is better to lift the bulb after flowering, i.e. when the 

 leafage has died down, and store in a cool place until following autumn ; 

 but as this lifting and replanting considerably increase the labours of 

 the garden, they may be carried out once in three years, not left for a 

 longer period than this. Pot-culture is described in another chapter. 

 There are many beautiful early varieties, usually known as " Dutch," 

 and these commence the Tulip season. Plant them in beds, borders, or 

 any spot that is wanted to look bright and pretty in the spring. The 

 most effective are as follows : Mons. Tresor, golden yellow ; Ophir d'Or, 

 height six inches, fine yellow globe-shaped flowers; Maes, a brilliant 

 scarlet colour, excellent for beds, height eight inches, very effective ; La 

 Matelas, seven inches high, silvery pink and white ; Proserpine, very 

 popular, nine inches, bright rose ; Keizerskroon, a well-known showy 

 Tulip, ten inches, red and yellow ; Rosa Mundi, blush white, seven inches 

 to nine inches ; Couleur de Cardinal, one of the best of all the single early 

 or mid-season Tulips, colour crimson scarlet, very useful for the garden, 

 edge of beds, &c. ; Pottebakker, white ; Pink Beauty, rose, passing to 

 white ; Van de Mer, purple ; and Queen of the Netherlands, pink. 

 These are all single. 



Of the double varieties choose or select from Vuurbaak, rose scarlet, 

 nine inches high ; William III., orange scarlet ; Imperator Rubrorum, 

 scarlet; Voltaire, crimson, each ten inches high; and Rose Blanche, 

 pure white. 



The late Tulips are important, as they include many of the hand- 

 somest garden flowers in existence. The Gesners Tulip (T.gesneriana}, 

 parent of the bybloemens, bizarres, and other types precious to the exhi- 

 bitor, but which are less effective in the garden than the pure self, is a 

 flower that should be everywhere. It has a tall scape or stem about a 

 foot high, more in some positions, and this bears a goblet-shaped flower 

 of crimson colouring, with blue-black suffusion at the base inside. A 

 colony or group of this bulb is a brilliant sight, especially in midday 

 when the sun opens the glowing goblet to catch every ray. Spathulata 

 is a beautiful form of it. The late Tulips are self-coloured for the 

 most part, and therefore more effective than streaked or spotted flowers. 

 This, of course, any one can understand. T. elegans is a beautiful Tulip, 



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