90 ?Ft)e 



Sulphur hoop-petticoat daffodil (Narcissus cor- 

 bularia citrina), for instance as if the name 

 were not enough to sell it bears this descrip- 

 tion : " It is a bold and shapely flower of a soft 

 sulphur tint, ' the color having a luminous qual- 

 ity, the flower being like a little lamp of pale-yel- 

 low light.' " Observe that two modern Parkin- 

 sons are called upon to describe it, so that, if one 

 fails to hook the reader, the other will be sure to 

 land him. 



William Baylor Hartland, of Cork, Ireland, 

 should be regarded as Herrick's and Words- 

 worth's successor. His illustrated '"Original' 

 Little Book of Daffodils" is a very epithala- 

 mium of the flower of the poets. If we only 

 had his climate and the Gulf Stream to help us 

 raise his Narcissi! Like most flowers, the daf- 

 fodil is thankful for careful culture. It dislikes 

 manure, preferring good loam and a liberal 

 sprinkling of sand. Climate, however, is every- 

 thing with it. It likes to usher in the season 

 gradually, not hurry it as our spring wild flow- 

 ers do. Mild winters, gradual warmth, and 

 abundance of moisture during the early season 

 suit it best. For many kinds our springs are too 

 sudden, and the transition from frozen ground to 

 almost tropical suns is too rapid. In England, 

 from February, when daffodils begin to flower, 



