CHAPTER XII. 



HOW TO FORM A COLLECTION OF DAFFODILS. 



It is by no means an easy task out of the almost endless 

 varieties now in cultivation to make a good selection, 

 and the beginner certainly needs guidance. 



(l) Regard should be had to the relative time of 

 flowering of the different kinds, so as to secure a long 

 flowering season ; (2) the collection should be repre- 

 sentative of all the more beautiful classes ; (3) where 

 several varieties which flower together are rather similar, 

 the inferior should be dispensed with ; (4) a first-rate 

 collection should have a considerable proportion of the 

 beautiful white and sulphur Daffodils, and of the white 

 Leedsii Narcissi, and also a good number of the red- 

 cupped varieties. All this cannot be effected at once 

 without considerable expense and without considerable 

 knowledge. But with well-chosen lists to select from 

 it may be accomplished gradually, and the expense kept 

 within reasonable limits. 



It is a great but very common mistake to spend money 

 in buying poor varieties because they are cheap. Good 

 things take no more space and give, as a rule, no more 

 trouble than poor ones ; and with the Narcissus, as with 

 most other things, "the best are the cheapest" in the 

 long run. Many of the best are costly, but some most 

 excellent kinds may be bought at a very reasonable 

 price. I would suggest that about half the initial 

 outlay should be invested in varieties which are both 

 cheap and, at the same time, of high quality : these will 



