194 Remarks on the cultivation of the Tulip. 



is XVI., Catafalque, Holmes's King, Triumph Royale, Poly- 

 phemus, Beinfait, or Abercrombie. But notwithstanding the 

 prospect of success is so remote, many persons may be in- 

 duced to try the cultivation of the tulip from seed; it may be 

 done in the following manner: — 



Having procured some good seed, saved from breeders 

 having the bottom of the petals of a pure white, and all the 

 other qualities of a first rate flower, as it regards size, form, 

 &.C., prepare a bed of good sandy loam, raised about two 

 inches above the walk; in October, place the seed on the top 

 of the bed, in rows an inch apart, and the same distance apart 

 in the rows; cover the seed about half an inch deep with soil, 

 passing it through a sieve. The bed should be protected 

 against frost, with leaves, sea-weed, or other light substance. 

 In the spring the covering should be removed; the plants will 

 appear above ground in April; at first they very much resem- 

 ble onions, and come up in the same manner, with their heads 

 bending. The first year the root (or bulb) will attain the 

 size of a pea. The two next seasons it will increase con- 

 siderably. The plants should always be kept free from weeds. 

 As soon as the leaves decay, which will be in June, clear 

 them off from the top of the bed, and cover it with about 

 half an inch of fresh good light soil; about the middle of Sep- 

 tember, repeat this top-dressing, and, as winter comes on, 

 cover them up as before stated, and treat them in the same 

 manner, by top-dressing in June and September, until after 

 the third vegetation, when the bulb should be taken up in June 

 or July, and replanted in good fresh soil early in September, 

 about three inches deep, and three inches apart; continue to 

 treat them in this manner until they bloom, which they will do, 

 some of them in the fifth, and others in the sixth and seventh 

 year from the time the seed was sown. Such of the plants 

 as have well shaped petals, a good cup, and all the other pro- 

 perties necessary to constitute a first rate flower, when brok- 

 en, should be retained, and treated as the other huge bulbs; 

 planting them every year in new soil, until they fully develop 

 their colors. Those with pointed petals, and other deformities, 

 should be thrown away. Immediately after the bloom, the seed 

 vessels should be cut off, in order to give strength to the bulb. 

 As the offsets of the tulip always reproduce a plant similar to 

 that of the parent, they are always rejected during the years 

 which precede their complete development. 



Purchasers of tulips often select extra large bulbs, and thus 



