Types of daffodils: on the left, Henry Irving, large trumpet yellow with rather narrow perianth rays. Compare with Empress, bicolor, on the right, which has very massive 



perianth segments. In the centre is the double flowered favorite Sulphur Pheonix 



Better Daffodils For American Gardens — By Sherman r. Duffy, 



AN AMATEUR'S EXPERIENCES WITH SOME OF THE BETTER, NEWER KINDS, 

 AND SOME OLD FAVORITES THAT SHOULD BE IN UP-TO-DATE GARDENS 



Illi- 



IT IS a very difficult matter to tell the 

 exact truth about daffodils. Not that 

 there is anything corruptive to good 

 morals in this alluring spring flower, 

 but somehow or other it leads to exaggera- 

 tion in description in proportion to the state 

 of mind of its observer. Daffodils have 

 an enthralling charm about them. They 

 seize upon one's imagination and take 

 possession. It is related that once upon a 

 time a mother sent her daughter, who was 

 named Proserpine, on an errand telling her 

 to hurry right straight home as fast as she 

 could. But Proserpine saw daffodils glow- 

 ing golden in a meadow along her way, was 

 beguiled into stopping to gather them, and 

 straightway went to Hades and became 

 queen of the underworld. This story is 

 mythological but the daffy daffodilists are 

 following the trail blazed by Proserpine 

 in going to great lengths over daffodils. 

 Daffodil catalogues begin to read like 

 mythology. I have one before me which 

 offers a single bulb of a trumpet variety 

 to America for $250. The myth would be 

 complete if somebody bought it. 



This $250 bulb travels exclusively on its 

 shape. It is not a large flower nor any- 

 thing extraordinary in color, according to 

 the catalogue description which may be 

 relied upon to omit nothing, but it has a 

 most refined shape. American gardeners 

 haven't reached the point where they will 

 give $250 for a refined shape in a daffodil, 

 one of the reasons being that a very, very 

 few of them could afford to do so and a 

 very very few of the few who could do so 



wouldn't because they couldn't see where 

 they would get value received. It is a 

 matter of education. 



There are hundreds of daffodils bearing 

 different names and different prices which 

 are so much alike that only an expert can 

 tell the differences among them. A half 

 of an inch difference in the diameter of the 

 flower may make a difference of many 

 dollars in price. Does it add to the beauty 

 of the flower? That is a question which 

 is open to debate. 



To the daffy daffodilist this half inch 

 is as important a matter as the proverbial 

 half inch on the end of the nose which, 

 theoretically, is the greatest half inch in the 

 world. For example take three daffodils 

 which are almost identical in coloring, 

 Emperor, Glory of Leiden, and Van 

 Waveren's Giant. Emperor is big, Glory 

 of Leiden is bigger, and Van Waveren's 

 Giant is biggest of all. Emperor costs five 

 cents a bulb, less than that when bought by 

 the dozen. Glory of Leiden is fifteen cents 

 the bulb but Van Waveren's Giant is one 

 dollar and a quarter a bulb, and this is the 

 lowest price at which it has been quoted. 



Van Waveren's Giant is Emperor exag- 

 gerated, magnified a diameter. It is a huge 

 daffodil, the largest of them all. To my 

 mind it is not so beautiful as Emperor. Glory 

 of Leiden, the intermediate in this trio, has 

 a character all its own on account of its up- 

 standing flower and widely flaring trumpet. 



Emperor, well flowered, is about three 

 inches in diameter. Van Waveren is five. 

 Glory of Leiden about three and a half. 



44 



The principal factors that go to make up a 

 first class daffodil are beauty and grace of 

 form, size, purity of color. One daffodil 

 may be notable for its fine form and grace- 

 ful beauty but be lacking in size. Another, 

 which is all that can be desired in size, is 

 quite likely to be lacking in gracefulness. 

 And with these two requisites, there may 

 still be something lacking in the way of 

 color. Another factor is the quality of the 

 flower. Some daffodils have much more 

 durability than others. The perianth will 

 last as long as the trumpet in one variety, 

 while in another the perianth divisions 

 wither while the trumpet still is fresh. 



However, when it comes to growing 

 daffodils outdoors as garden flowers the 

 factor that is more important than any of 

 these just mentioned is — Will it grow? 

 Has it a good constitution? Will it remain 

 vigorous and multiply? Will the flowers 

 hold their color? Here is where the 

 difficulty in telling the truth about daffodils 

 comes in. Many of the new and expensive 

 daffodils are not good garden flowers. 

 Many others are excellent subjects. In 

 buying them we have only the word of the 

 originators who have grown them abroad. 

 This article, the writer hopes, will encourage 

 those who have tried some of the newer 

 daffodils to send their experiences to the 

 editor of The Garden Magazine in order 

 that a list of good garden daffodils may be 

 made up. A daffodil may succeed ad- 

 mirably in one locality while in another it is 

 a failure. We must learn the likes and 

 dislikes of the bulbs. 



