FOREWORDS, 7 



gladioli, ixias, sparaxis, and a host of other beautiful 

 kinds, including the stately Eremuri, shed their floral re- 

 fulgence on the garden and fill the air with dreamy fra- 

 grance? And when russety autumn arrives there are the 

 meadow saffrons, the autumn crocuses and cyclamen, the 

 gorgeous gladioli, and so on, to vie with the richness of 

 the dying autumnal tints. 



As in our gardens, so in our greenhouses, we have a 

 wealth of really beautiful subjects to cheer us in autumn, 

 winter, and spring; indeed, if it were not for the great 

 variety of bulbs, and the easiness with which they lend 

 themselves to being forced into flower, our greenhouses 

 and hot-houses would not be the bright and cheer- 

 ful spots they are in autumn and winter days. 



Bulbs, indeed, are indispensable members of the vege- 

 table kingdom, and it is well that we have not only a large 

 number of genera and species, but also, thanks to home 

 and Dutch growers, such a wonderful number of pretty 

 varieties to suit all conditions of growth and all tastes as 

 regards form and colour. In the gladioli, narcissi, and 

 cottage or May-flowering tulip families we have, indeed, a 

 glorious wealth of colour, mostly the product of enterpris- 

 ing growers in England and Ireland. It is a great satis- 

 faction to know that these families of plants can be grown 

 with such signal success commercially in our own coun- 

 try, and that we have not to depend entirely on foreign 

 supplies for them. 



The Cottage or May -flowering tulips are bulbs of such 

 exquisite loveliness that they deserve a place in every 

 garden. They come into flower in May and June, and 

 help to form a connecting link between the ordinary 

 spring-flowering and the summer-blooming bulbs. We 

 cannot too strongly impress upon our readers the inesti- 

 mable value of these tulips for massing in the borders or 

 naturalising in grass, and everyone should make a point 

 of growing some, at least, of the varieties and species 

 named elsewhere. We might also speak in equally glow- 



