DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF FLOWERS. 375 
lating manures. This causes the colors to run together, 
and the flower becomes what the’ florist denominates 
“foul,” and they can only be restored to their former 
beauty by planting in a pure loamy soil for a few years. 
A DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPERTIES OF A FINE LATE 
TULIP. 
The stem should be strong, elastic, and erect, and about 
thirty inches above the surface of the bed. 
The flower should be large, and composed of six petals. 
These should form almost a perfect cup, with a round 
bottom, rather wide at the top. 
The three exterior petals should be somewhat larger 
than the three interior ones, and broader at their base. 
All the petals should have perfectly entire edges, free 
from notch or serrature. The top of each should be 
broad and well rounded. The ground color of the flow- 
er, at the bottom of the cup, should be a clear white or 
yellow; and the various rich colored stripes, which are 
the principal ornament of a fine Tulip, should be regular, 
bold, and distinct on the margin, and terminate in fine 
broken points, elegantly feathered or penciled. These 
are the principal points of excellence, in the eyes of a 
florist; yet with amateurs there is some difference of 
opinion. 
The colors which are generally held in greatest estima- 
tion, in-variegated striped sorts, are black, golden-yellow, 
purple, violet, rose, and vermilion, each of which is varied 
in different ways; but such as are striped with three dif- 
ferent colors, in a distinct and unmixed manner, with 
strong regular streaks, and but little or no tinge of the 
breeder, are considered the most perfect. 
The cultivation of the Tulip is mystified by the elabo- 
rate directions generally given for its cultivation. I have 
succeeded, for many years, in producing very fine flowers 
