MARCH 81 



special study of the subject, treated them in his Review 

 of the Genus Narcissus as varieties of the common 

 daffodil, N. pseudo-narcissus, and one cannot go far 

 wrong in his guidance. 



At the risk — nay, in the certainty — of being accused 

 of inconsistency, I must pay grateful tribute to the 

 florists who have manipulated the nonpareil {N. 

 incom/pa/rahilis). Bright, graceful, and free as are the 

 wild forms assumed by this fine species in its native 

 Spain and southern France, I feel constrained to admit 

 that they have been tampered with to good efi"ect. If 

 I were restricted to the choice of one variety in this 

 species for garnishing a woodland glade withal or 

 embellishing a hillside, I should ask for good store of 

 the form sold as N. Barri conspicuus. New varieties 

 are put on the market every year, but it will be long, if 

 ever, that a more charming form than this of the 

 nonpareil is produced. 



In what degree Dutch growers are responsible for 

 the various forms of polyanthus narcissus {N. tazetta) 

 I know not. It is by nature a most variable species ; 

 nearly all the varieties thereof produce flowers of 

 delightful beauty and perfume, and they yield them 

 with the utmost profusion without demanding any care 

 in cultivation. 



The rage for new varieties has hfid the deplorable 

 effect of throwing other species of this delectable genus 

 into neglect. It is too true that one may visit one 

 garden after another in April without seeing a single 

 clump of the fragrant jonquil {N. jonquilla), the 

 equally sweet campernelle (N. odorus), the quaint and 



