THE 

 EARLY TULIP. 



'ARDEN tulijjs liave become 

 so freely hybridised that it is 

 no easy matter to determine 

 to \\'hicli ])artieular sjieeies 

 the}' severally beloiio'. Pi'ac- 

 tically it is of little eonse- 

 (jner.ce, and ])r()l>alily in tl'.e 

 ,£;'enas Tnhjja, as at present 

 defined, we have n(it more 

 than half a dozen species, 

 althouf^h in Ihe books we 

 may find a register of forty 

 or lifty. For garden jnnpnscs 

 we have a series nf distinct 

 tyjies that ma}' lie recognised 

 as specilie. They are 7'. 

 pricco.Vy the head of tlicearh- 

 tnlips ; T. (/e.\iieriii nil, the 

 head of tlie late tnlijis ; T. tt/nirrnleiix, the hea<l of the Van 

 Tliol tulips; and T. Iiircira, the jiarrot or ridiculous tulip, 

 a dehghtful alisurdity, rich in colour, as varinus as folly, 

 and as ug-h' as anj' hater of florists' llowers can desire. 

 Others that remain for the curious collector, such as T. 

 H/jlvi'.sl rU, the British woodland tuli]i, T. cIii^uiiki, a very 



