The Tulip. 125 



that the stem should be strong, elastic, and about thirty inches 

 above the surface of the bed. The flower should be large, and 

 composed of six petals ; these should proceed a little horizontally 

 at first, and then turn upwards, forming almost a perfect cup, 

 with a round bottom, rather wider at the top. The three exterior 

 petals should be rather larger than the three interior ones, and 

 broader at the 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 flower at the 

 bottom of the cup should be clear white, or yellow, and the 

 variously rich colored stripes which are the principal ornament 

 of a fine Tulip, should be regular, bold, and distinct on the mar- 

 gin, and terminate in fine broken points, elegantly feathered or 

 pencilled. The centre of each leaf should contain one or more 

 bold blotches or stripes, intermixed with small portions of the 

 original or breeder color, abruptly broken into many irregular, 

 obtuse points. Some florists are of opinion that the central 

 stripes or blotches do not contribute to the beauty and elegance 

 of the Tulip, unless confined to a narrow stripe exactly down 

 the centre, and that it should be free from any remains of the 

 original color. It is certain that such appear very beautiful and 

 delicate ; but the greatest connoisseurs agree that it is best to have 

 an abundance of rich coloring distributed in a regular manner, 

 except at the bottom of the cup, which, it cannot be disputed, 

 should be a clear, bright white or yellow, free from stain or tinge, 

 in order to constitute perfect flowers. 



The Tulip, when raised from seed, differs so materially from 

 the parent plant that we can never expect to procure the same 

 variety but by the viviparous nature of the bulb. It has a solid 

 bulb, and sends the stem from the centre, and is entirely ex- 

 hausted in flowering and forming seed, and no part of the old 

 bulb remains excepting the dry outer husk ; but the stem is 

 attached to the stool of the bulb, to which is also fixed an entire 

 new bulb ; so that, if dissected in the winter, the flower which was 

 destined to charm the admiring eye the following spring, will be 

 perfectly seen in miniature. The offsets are weaker and smaller 

 bulbs, that require from two to four years before they produce 

 flowers ; these should be separated from the large bulb when 

 taken out of the ground ; but the small bulb that is formed under 

 the husky coat, and which is the one that succeeds the flowering 



