July 18, 1907. 



The Weekly Florists' Review*. 



TUUP THOMAS MOORE. 



There are several reasons why the 

 yellow tulip, Thomas Moore, is an ex- 

 cellent one for planting in a long bor- 

 der like the one shown in the accompany- 

 ing illustration, and not the least of 

 these is that it is held in Holland in 

 such large quantities that the price is 

 low. It may be had at the bulb fields 

 for as little as $7.50 or even $6.50 per 

 thousand, according to the quantity 

 taken. Of course the price on this side 

 is quite a little higher, for it includes 

 the contribution to the national revenues, 

 as well as freight and handling charges, 

 but even at that it may be had here for 

 from $11 to $12.50, according to how 

 far they are from the seaport when 

 purchased. 



Thomas Moore is a tall tulip, carrying 

 its flower about sixteen inches from the 

 ground. The form of the flower is ex- 

 cellent and the color is sometimes de- 

 scribed as apricot yellow. It is quite 

 early and distinct. Most of the fall 

 bulb lists say a word in its favor and 

 some recommend it for forcing. 



THE LATEST TULIPS. 



Tulipa Sprengeri is probably the lat- 

 est blooming of all tulips, as Kauf- 

 manniana is the first, says F. W. Van 

 Fleet. Its habitat does not appear to 

 be known, but the first bulbs were col- 

 lected about 1893, near the Himalayan 

 mountains. The foliage is peculiar, long, 

 narrow, bright green in color, looking 

 more like that of a camassia than of a 

 tulip. The flowers are borne on stems 

 nearly two feet high, and come in late 

 May or June, after the last of the cot- 

 tage tulips. The color is uniform scar- 

 let inside, with gray markings outside 

 at the base. The size is large and the 

 form a graceful cup-shape. Two or 

 more blooms often appear to be pro- 

 duced from the same bulb. This cool 

 season has so delayed the blooms of this 

 fine novelty that they were in good con- 

 dition June 18, though well exposed to 

 sun. There appears value in Sprengeri 

 as a cut flower, as it comes at a season 

 when bright, bulbous blooms are scarce 

 and has much individual beauty. 



FLORISTS' TULIPS. 



Florists', or, as they are sometimes 

 called, English tulips, are divided into 

 three classes, which are technically known 

 as roses, bybloemens and bizarres. Eoses 

 are white ground tulips, which are 

 marked with some shade of red or rose. 

 Byblcemens, or bybs as they are fa- 

 miliarly called, are also white ground 

 tulips, 'but the marking is some shade 

 of deep maroon or purple. Bizarres 

 have yellow grounds, and the flowers are 

 marked with brown, orange, scarlet or 

 black. 



These classes are still further divided 



breeder 's 



mother tulips. 



which is the stage of the .flower when 

 it is of one uniform color; (2) feath- 

 ered flowers, which are flowers in which 

 the marking is confined to the edges of 

 the petals; (3) flamed flowers, where 

 the flower has a central marking or 

 beam in addition to the feather. 



It may not be generally known that 

 when a seedling tulip flowers for the 

 first time it is always of one uniform 

 color and that, after a certain longer or 

 shorter time, the flower breaks; that 

 is, it becomes variegated. In florists ' 

 nomenclature, it is then said to be 

 rectified. No one knows why this hap- 

 pens, or when it will happen, and, what- is 

 more curious still, is that a flower may 

 exist in all three states. For example, 

 there is Sir Joseph Paxton, which we 

 have as a breeder, a flamed bizarre, and 

 a feathered bizarre. Anyone ignorant 

 of tulip peculiarities would never imag- 

 ine for a minute that they were the 

 same variety. 



It is a remarkable fact, to which a 

 writer in an English contemporary calls 

 attention, that although many breeders 

 have been raised within the last twenty 

 years, there is not one that has given a 

 good, lasting flower when it has broken. 

 The consequence is that the old sorts 



its cunning and that successful ' ' break- 

 ing" is a lost art? 



It is said that the interest in this 

 old-fashioned type is slowly gaining 

 ground. 



NARCISSI FOR OUTDOORS. 



Best of Spriog Flowers. 



That narcissi are the most graceful 

 and beautiful of all hardy spring bulbous 

 flowers admits of no doubt. The striking 

 advance in their culture in America of 

 late years attests the esteem in which 

 they are now held, but I venture to 

 assert, without fear of contradiction, 

 that a decade hence the sales of these 

 bulbs will have at least quadrupled. 

 Their extreme hardiness, ease of culture, 

 lovely shades of coloring, the fact that 

 they in nearly all cases improve under 

 cultivation, and their moderate cost, will 

 all tend to popularize them. I do not 

 propose to discuss forcing varieties, in 

 which little change is to be noted from 

 year to year. A few old stand-bys, such 

 as N. princeps, single and double Von 

 Sion, poeticus ornatus. Golden Spur, Em- 

 press, Henry Irving, and one or two 

 others, complete the list. Nearly all are 

 of the trumpet section, and outside of 

 poeticus, which is one of the best sellers, 



Early Tulip Thomas Moore. 



have still to be relied upon. Is it that 

 the great flowers, such as Sir Joseph 

 Paxton, Robert Guest, Dr. Hardy, Annie 

 McGregor, Mabel, Masterpiece, Modesty, 

 S. Barlow and the rest are merely the 

 survival of the fittest among many thou- 

 sands, and that where one is raised from 

 seed now a hundred were then? Or, is 

 it that the hand of the florist has last 



there is a strange lack of variety, the 

 incomparabilis and Leedsii types being 

 little seen, although more beautiful than 

 most of the trumpet forms. I think, 

 however, a reaction in favor of the choice 

 cupped daffodils is bound to come. 



Golden Trumpet Daffodils. 



The largest purchases for forcing are 



