92 5Tf)e e&ar'oeit's Stor-j?. 



nearly six hundred forms in a public garden," he 

 says, " I know something of the variability of 

 daffodils, and also of the taste of those who see 

 them. Often and again will one visitor condemn 

 a particular form which the very next will stop 

 to admire. Some will even tell you that there is 

 none or but little difference between John Hors- 

 field and empress ; whereas the differences are 

 very marked in size, height, color of trumpet and 

 of foliage, and in the date of blossoming. Taste 

 is a shifting index, and there is room for all the 

 varieties we now possess and more." Mr. Bur- 

 bidge also imparts the information that those 

 Narcissi possessing thick, fleshy, prong- like roots 

 will grow anywhere, even in manured soils ; but 

 those having thin, short bunches of fine, wiry 

 fibers will not do so, and must be grown in sand 

 or gravel and pure fresh meadow-loam only. 



Hybrids in the genus Narcissus are very 

 readily made, and undoubtedly any species of 

 the genus, under favorable conditions, will form 

 a hybrid with any other species of it ; and sev- 

 eral of these kinds which are considered by bot- 

 anists as species, seem to be hybrids; that is, 

 they can be imitated by crossing two other spe- 

 cies of the genus. The best-known instance of 

 this is the so-called species Narcissus incom- 

 parabilis. A cross between N. pseudo-narcts- 



