234 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[April 13, 1912. 



FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 



THE TULIP. 



During recent years both early and late varie- 

 ties of Tulips have been freely cultivated in all 

 classes of gardens, not only as beautiful features 

 in the flower garden but for decorating the green- 

 house and conservatory during the spring months. 

 A few iemarks from an old Tulip fancier may 

 be useful. 



Seedlings 



In olden times considerable pains was taken to 

 prepare the beds for these aristocrats of the 

 Tulip world ; but, like the more-hardy self- 

 coloured varieties, they are capable of succeed- 

 ing well in ordinary garden soil, 

 from these show Tulips are almost invariably 

 in the self-coloured state when they first 

 flower. After an uncertain period they 

 break into flame or feather. The show Tulips 

 are certainly not so hardy as the others, and 

 in cold, wet districts they require protection 



The best time for planting depends to some ex- i n spring from frosts. The usual way is to have 

 tent on the district. Last season I began planting hoops over the beds, and throw mats over them ; 

 "m November 9, as the day was fine and the ground 

 in good condition, but in certain wet and cold 

 districts the end of November, or even early in 

 December, might be better. Some years ago 1 

 discussed this point with the late Mr. Samuel 

 Barlow, of Stakehill, near Manchester and he 

 had come to the conclusion that for his district 



but glass lights, when they can be spared, are 

 better ; and the lights can be used to protect 

 the blossoms also. The lights have to be raised 

 on wooden supports about 4 feet above the sur- 

 face of the bed, and some scrim canvas may be 

 nailed round the sides and ends to break the 

 force of the wind. Heavy rains and winds greatly 



late in November was the best time, as the injure the blossoms. 



roots were ready to push out at once. Apropos 

 of this Mr. Joseph Jacob, writing recently in a 

 contemporary, stated that he " planted a large 

 number of Tulip bulbs the week before Christmas. 

 The soil was more like lumpy, sticky mortar " ; 

 but he adds " I have never had a better dis- 

 play of bloom than I had from these bulbs 

 the following spring. M Much, of course, 

 depends on how the bulbs have been kept. 

 I advise early purchase of the bulbs, for the 

 trade may be obliged to keep their bulbs in large 

 quantities in ordinary houses until they be- 

 come mouldy, owing to decay setting in. The 

 old florists stored them in cabinets, and in a dry 

 room. I tstore them in bags in a dry room or in 

 flower pots. 



The introduction of what are termed Cottage 

 and Darwin Tulips has been the means of popu- 

 larising this flower, as they are certainly of a 

 more vigorous constitution than the old bizarres 

 and bybloemens. In my early gardening years, in 

 the 'fifties, the Tulip had begun to decline in 

 public favour. Mr. Groom, of Clapham Rise, 

 printed a catalogue in 1854, in which three varie- 

 ties were priced at 100 guineas and others as high 

 as 50, 20, and 10 guineas. Mr. Groom planted 

 200,000 bulbs of these show Tulips. They were 

 planted in beds, seven bulbs in a row; but all 

 these choice bulbs had to be sold by auction in 

 1855, and the highest price obtained was £6 to 

 £7 (sterling for a row of seven, with the offsets. 

 A time of depression set in, but the cult of the 

 show Tulip was kept alive by the annual ex- 

 hibitions at Manchester. 



For a brilliant display in the hardy flower 

 garden, the show Tulips cannot compete with 

 the Cottage and the Darwins. The masses 

 of colour, where hundreds are planted in 

 beds, one colour in a bed, are unsurpassed 

 and unsurpassable; but these can only be 

 obtained in large gardens or public parks. 

 The owner of a small garden who does all, or 

 nearly all, the work himself, obtains his pleasure 

 by a close examination of his flowers, and, if he 

 possesses a trained eye, by observing the beau- 



Pot Culture. — All classes of Tulips may be 

 p;rown in flower pots, and may be flowered satis- 

 factorily. The main point is to allow the bulbs 

 to root freely before they are placed either in the 

 greenhouse or forcing house. Three bulbs should 

 be planted in 6-inch flower pots, placing the 

 crown of the bulb just below the surface of the 

 soil. The compost I have found most suitable is 

 three parts good decayed loam, one part decayed 

 manure, and one part leaf -mould, with a good 

 sprinkling of white sand. As soon as they are 

 potted, plunge the pots well over the rims in 



\% 



TAB X 



> 



Fig. 104. — plot's elm. 



Reproduced from Plot's Natural History of Oxfordshire. 



cocoa-nut fibre refuse or leaf-mould, and let them 

 remain out-of-doors until roots are well formed. I 

 do not force them early, but let them remain until 

 early in the year, when they are taken into 

 the greenhouse or heated pit and placed near the 

 roof-glass. Most of the failures in forcing 

 Tulips is caused by not allowing the bulbs to 

 form roots before placing them in heat. J. 

 Douglas. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM GOLDEN KING. 



Among the many new varieties of Chrysanthe- 



ties of the flamed and feathered bizarres and by- mums noted last autumn no variety impressed 



bloemens with the clear, pure yellow and white 

 bases to the cups, so different from the bluey- 

 sooty bases of the others. One cannot be ex- 

 pected to realise and admire the inherent beauty 

 of a flamed and feathered Tulip at a glance. It 

 requires close and careful study, such as was 

 formerly bestowed upon them by the patient 

 hand-loom weavers of Lancashire. 



There are three classes of show Tulips, 

 Bizarres, Bybloemens and Roses. Among the 

 Rose class some have scarlet markings. These 

 three classes are again divided into flamed 

 and feathered sections. A feathered flower 

 has the colour finely pencilled around the 

 margin, whereas the flamed type has a flame of 

 colour in the centre of each petal in addition. 



me more favourably than Golden King, a really 

 fine acquisition to the Incurved section. As ex- 

 hibited by Messrs. W. Wells & Co. on Novem- 

 ber 21 last, it had all the good qualities neces- 

 sary to make a first-class exhibition flower. It 

 somewhat reminded me of the old variety Globe 

 d'Or, this as much owing to the touch of bronze 

 in the outer petals as to the shape of the flower, 

 but it is altogether larger and heavier than this 

 good old sort, much richer in colour, and more 

 pointed in the petals. An entry in my note-book 

 gives America as the country in which the 

 variety originated. It has received a First- 

 class Certificate from the National Chrysanthe- 

 mum Society and an Award of Merit from the 

 R.H.S. T. Stevenson. 



BRITISH ELMS. 



(Concluded from p. 217.) 



The Real Plot's Elm. 



Miller's sixth and last Elm is his Ulmua 

 minor ; and it is founded on 4< Ulmus minor folio- 

 angusto-glabro." No reference is given to the 

 original description and author; and it is to Mr. 

 Druce that we are indebted for ascertaining this 

 interesting fact. Mr. Druce points out that the 

 original reference is to be found in Plots 

 Natural History of Oxfordshire, p. 158, and 

 t. x., fig. 1, facing p. 212 (1677). Plot states that 

 the leaves of this Elm are narrow and have "a 

 peculiar kind of pointed ending." His illustra 

 tion (reproduced in fig. 104) shows this character. 

 It is on this Elm that Mr. Druce, acting under 

 some misapprehension, founds his U. Plotii. 

 Specimens of the latter plant (reproduced in fig. 

 105) sent out by Mr. Druce lack the character 

 mentioned by Plot. The only Elm I have been 

 able to trace which agrees with the real Plot's Elm 

 is a specimen (reproduced in fig. 106) by Lindley, 

 from the garden of the Horticultural Society, 

 preserved in Herb. Univ. Cantab., and named 

 by him " U. campestris viminalis." The name 

 U. campestris var. viminalis appears in Loudon's 

 Arboret., iii, p. 1,376 (1856). Loudon states that 

 " it was raised in 1817, by Mr. Masters M ; but if 

 the tree is a <c sport " or a hybrid, it may have 

 been " raised M on other occasions also. The Kim 



has a very curious leaf, and is placed by Loudon 

 among the "ornamental or curious" varieties, 

 where one would expect to find nurseryman's 

 " sports.' ' Readers may judge for themselves 

 by a study of the three figures whether or not the 

 real Plot's Elm agrees more with U. Plotii 

 Druce or U. campestris var. viminalis Loudon. 

 Plot's Elm (U. angusto-folio-glabro) does not 

 appear to have been taken up by the early 

 botanists : I could find no specimen of it in the 

 British Museum; and the only reference to it in 

 literature which I have come across is one by 

 Ray in his Historia Plant arum, ii, p. 1.426 

 (1688), where it is placed as a variety of V. folio- 

 glabro Goodyer (= U. nitens Moench). Until 

 more is known about it, it can scarcely be 

 admitted as a member of the British flora ; and it 

 is accordingly omitted from the key at the end 

 of this article. 



The Cornish Elm (U. stricta Lindl.). 



The remaining Elms to be here mentioned were 

 not described, so far as I am aware, t>y any of 

 the early English herbalists or botanists, but 

 occur in Loudon's Arboretum, iii. (1838). 



The Cornish Elm may be distinguished at a 

 glance by its pyramidal shape, its fastigiate 

 branches, and its narrow leaves which are bent 

 inwards on the midrib. It was named U. stricta 

 by Lindley in his Synopsis, p. 227 (1829), and I T . 

 campestris var. cornubiensis by Loudon Arboret.. 

 iii, p. 1,376 (1838). Loudon followed earlier 

 authorities (e.g., Aiton and Hudson) in regard- 

 ing the Cornish Elm as allied to the SmalUe ed 

 Elm, which was what Loudon meant by his t- 

 campestris. Doubtless, the local distribution of 

 the Cornish Elm accounts for its not being 

 noticed by the early writers, for the tree is only 

 abundant in western Cornwall. As an isolated 

 and more or less rare tree, however, it occurs 

 elsewhere, as in Devonshire, Dorset, Hampshire, 

 Middlesex, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdon- 

 shire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and aortft. 

 amptonshire. In Cornwall, it usually occurs w 

 hedgerows. 



The Jersey 



Elm (U. stricta var. sahsi** 81 * 



Moss). . 



The Jersey Elm is verv closely related to 

 Cornish Elm, from which it is to be distmgui^ 

 by its much broader and flatter leaves, ana ^ 

 its branches ascending at not quite so acu 

 angle. It is the U. campestris v*r. ^ rnie ^ 

 Loudon Arboret., iii, p. v 376 (183°)- 

 Loudon's U. campestris is the Small-leaved > 

 and as the Jersey Elm is much more a 



