TULIPA 



Ci(I(iratioii.~'nie\n'Oi\\u-t\cn\ot Iarii:e. perfe.-t liowrrs 

 depends nitirely u|.un a I:ir,i2:e supply of tibnms roots. 

 Sizo ut: ))Till.s is not nearly si> iiiii)o.i-laiit : a lar,:::i' hulb 

 cannot oft's^t a <lL-tit.-iencv of roois. 



For outiloor (.■ultivatioii the Imlbs sln.uld he set in 

 Septenilin- to Noxrrnher in Now Wn'k. Tliev sln.uld he 

 phmted before biird fri-i-zini; w.-alber eonies. The soil 

 shonUl be a sandy Kiani, woU worked to a depth of at 

 least 12 inches, and enrl(died with leat'-niohl and \yoU- 

 rotted eow mamire. Frcsli manure of any kind shouhl 

 never be used near l»ull>s of any s.n-t. ( )it lioavirr soils 

 Tulips can he suecrssfuUy raisod if exi ra. care is ^dveii 

 to iuyure perfect draiuai^-e. Draina^^e is important under 

 all conditions. The bulbs will novt.-r prove satisfactory 

 in low, wet situations, and if tin-re is dan,L;-er froni 

 staudin? water it is best to raise the beds several inches 

 above the surrounding i;-rouuLl. 



Plant the bulbs 4 inches deep (to the l)ottoni of the 

 bulbs) and from 4 to j inches apart, depen.ling upon the 

 size of the plants. A iiamlful of sand under each bulb 

 is recommended in s^iis that do not already possess a 

 preponderance of this material. The cushion of sand 

 allows the water to drain away rapidly and at the same 

 time insures the presence of " an easi'ly penetrable me- 

 dium for the youn-' roots. Care should be exercised to 

 place all the bulbs at the same depth, as otherwise they 

 will not all Idoom at the same tinu'. ^Yhen the ground 

 begins to freeze, cover the beds to a <lepth id' several 

 niches with leaves, dry forest litter ur uther light ma- 

 terial. After danger of heavy frosts is j.-ast iu spring 

 the beds should be uncovered, and if the work of prep- 

 aration and planting has lieen well done the Tulips will 

 require little or no further care. In England many of 

 the beds of choice and delicate varieties of Tidips are 

 protected when in flower from heavy rains and hot sun 

 by means of light cloth screens, and are thus kept in 

 good condition for some time. 



For pot culture, a mixture of fine garden loam, two 

 parts to one of well-rotted manure (cow manure com- 

 posted for two years is best}, mixed with enough clean 

 saud to make the mass easily friable, is most suitabh'. 

 If no loam is obtainable and a heavier-garden soil must 

 he used, one part of the latter will be sutlicient. in 

 which case the addition of an equal proportion of leaf- 

 mold will be advantageous. From 3 to 5 bulbs, accord- 

 ing to size, to a 5-inch pot are elTective. Fill t1ie pets 

 lightly and press the bulbs into the soil, thus liringin.-' 

 the base in close contact with the soil particles. Cover 

 the bulbs to the tip and press the soil ftrndy all around. 

 Water once freely and cover the pots entirely with soil, 

 leaves or litter, so that tliey will be out of reach of 

 frost, or place them in a dark cold (not freezint,^) cellar 

 or room until the bulbs have become well rooted, which 

 under ordinary conditions will require live or six weeks. 

 When the pots have become well tilled with roots — rne 

 more the better — they are ready to be brought into the 

 house. For the first few days at least the tempera- 

 ture should be moderate and even, and the atmosphere 

 not too dry. Water freely but not to excess. Some of 

 the varieties — especiall}'" the white thin-petaled ones- 

 are said to resent over-watering very C{uickly. If raised 

 in living rooms greater care is necessary, as the atmos- 

 phere of a living room is drier than that of a gre<-n- 

 house. On cold nigiits the plants should be removed 

 from exposed places where they are liable to freeze, and 

 when the flowers appear they should not be allowed to 

 stand in the direct rays of the son shining through a 

 wimlow. ]Many of the handsomest flowers are thus 

 easily burned and wilted. Practically all of the early 

 single varieties are adapted to pot culture, especially 

 the Due van Thols when well rooted; otherwise tln-y are 

 extremely unsatisfactory. For a succession. ]iot every 

 week or 10 days from September to December or ]iot 

 early and bring into the house at fortnightly intervals. 

 In potting avoid caking soil beneath the l.)ulbs. 



Many of the early single varieties are adafited to 

 water culture. Porthis purposeuse ordinary "hyacinth " 

 glasses and select only well-formed, solid, perfect bulbs 

 of fair size. Use rain water, and put in a little char- 

 coal to keep it pure. The bulbs must be placed so 

 that the base is just in contact with the water— not 

 immersed in it. Place them in a dark closet for 10 days 

 or a fortnight until the bulbs have become well rooted, 



TULIPA 



]867 



then give them identy of li-ht ami air. Avoid gasli-dit 

 as much as possible, and in cold Weather protect them 

 from free/dii;::. 



/'/vv;(0/r//;r-;^-TuIips may be increased by the side 

 olbsets, but these are not a,s constant as new bnll)S 

 produced within the outer tunics by means of cut- 

 tini,^ the old bulbs. Fig. 2502 shows a sen ion .d' a 

 buib with new inner bulb and outer offset in jdace. 

 The new bnib is comi'letely iiHdose<l in a sac which 

 afterwarrls lieeomes the outer i\ry, membranous tunic. 

 The pubesn.nre, if ;,iiy, muy l.>e found on the inside 



2592. Three leafy bu!b-scales from young bulb, exhibit- 

 ing the homology of leaves and bulb-scales (X J4). 

 At the right an old Tulip bulb, showing formation 

 of new bulb within the old, and flower stem at- 

 tached directly to root-crown. 



of this sac even in the earliest stages of growth. 

 The new bulb is attached to tlie tiase of the flower- 

 stem, immediately above the root-crown from which the 

 former pr-tceeds directly upward. Each new liulb-tunic 

 (including the outer sac) is provided with a growing 

 tip, which often extentls above ground into a leaf, each 

 one coming up within the otln^r. P'^Ilc. ^592 shows the 

 separated leafy buHi-scales. and indicates the homology 

 of tunics and leaves. Sports amon;^ the offsets are at 

 present mainly (b.quMided upon for the jiroduction of new 

 varieties. These have been found susceptible to the 

 ''lireaking " process, though perhaps slower to res]iond 

 than the seedlings. Seed production is now practiced 

 only in exceptional cases. The production of hybrid- 

 ized varieties l>y crossing the old forms with some of 

 the newly intnxluced species is very iikel}' a probalhlity 

 of tlje near future. 



The Ori(/inal Titf/p.—The origin of the garden Tulip 

 seems to be lost beyond recovery. It is often said that 

 our garden Tulips are derived from TuJipa Gesueriaiia, 

 but this is an explanation which does not explain. It 

 merely means that in 175."b the year which is usually but 

 arlutrarily taken as the l>eginningof systematic botany, 

 Linnaeus grouped all the garden Tulips he knew under 

 the name of Ti'/l/xt Orsn'^'ria h<i . But the Tulips of tliat 

 day had Iteen cidtivated for two centuries by Europeans, 

 and previously for an indefinite period by the Turks, 

 from whom, of course, we have no exact rec<n-ds. Fig. 

 2')'X\. r)ne might study wild Tulips in their native 

 jdaccs and compare them with descriptions witlmut 

 Indng certain of the original form which the Turks 

 l)rought from tlie wild, simply because of the lack 

 of records at the beginning. It is necessary to liave 

 some scientific name for the garden Tulips. The most 

 one dare say is that the garden Tulips are chiefly refer- 

 able to T. G('S}}i-rta}}(i an<l T. siiaveoh'iis , with the dis- 

 tinct understanding that these names do not represent 

 an original wild stock. 



Tnlipa snavfoh'nti requires (explanation. This name, 

 wliich dates from 1707, stamls for a kind of Tulip dis^ 

 covere*! growing wild in southern Europe long befnj-e 

 fliaf date. There is no I'roof that itwas native : tlie pro) ta- 

 biljty is that it Iiad escaped from, gardens and run wild. 

 \}\ 1709, it was distinguished from the other Tulips then 

 known by the fragra.nce of the flowers, the earliness of 

 l)loom. slightly greater size and ]iubescent scape. From 

 tlie early records it appears that there wi-re fragraiit, 

 early-blooming flowers among the first Tulips received 



