October, 190 5 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



119 



Due van Tholl varieties, of various colors, 

 can be used. They are less striking, how- 

 ever, than the others named. 



Beside the regular bedding tulips, there 

 is a later flowering section, in some respects 

 superior. They come into bloom at a time 

 when the wealth of commoner spring bulbs 

 is past, some lasting until early June. They 

 have long stems, are admirably adapted for 

 cutting, and the bulbs keep from year to year 

 better than those of the ordinary bedding 

 sorts. These tulips are especially adapted 

 for use in the front of shrubberies, or 

 in clumps, in beds of hardy herbaceous 

 plants. The following varieties can be 

 relied upon to produce some of the most 

 glorious flowers in the whole bulb family: 

 Bouton d'Or, Gesncriana, Spathulata, Bi- 

 zarres, Bybloems, Darwins (in many beau- 

 tiful named kinds), Picotee and Golden 

 Crown. 



Among what are commonly termed the 

 ''species tulips," Didieri, Retroflexa and 

 Yitellina are splendid. Greigi, with ver- 

 milion orange flowers with black centres and 

 variegated foliage, is rather high priced, but 

 a striking object. There are at least a dozen 



other easily procured species that are worth 

 the attention of the connoisseur. 



DAFFODILS AND OTHER NARCISSI 



The cultural instructions given by Mr. 

 R. B. Whyte in "The Cyclopedia of American 

 Horticulture" can hardly be improved upon, 

 and a condensed account of them is here 

 given. Narcissi do well in any soil except 

 the two extremes of sand and clay, but good 

 drainage is essential. Prepare the ground 

 thoroughly, for the bulbs are to remain un- 

 disturbed for five or six years, until the bulbs 

 get so thick that they crowd up to the sur- 

 face. Set the bulbs four to six inches apart 

 and cover them four or five inches deep. 

 Set those that increase slowly, like the trum- 

 pet daffodils, four inches apart. Leave six 

 inches between the more vigorous species, 

 such as N. poeticus and incomparabilis. 



As soon as the surface of the soil is frozen, 

 cover it four to six inches deep with strawy 

 manure, and in the early spring rake this off 

 before the shoots come up. When the flow- 

 ers come, do not let any go to seed. Cut the 

 stalks, not the leaves, or the bulbs cannot 

 ripen well and the flowers next year will be 



inferior. If you want the best cut flowers 

 for indoor decoration, cut them as soon as 

 the bud opens. The flower will last much 

 longer than if exposed to the sun after open- 

 ing. You can mail such buds to a friend 

 and they will travel safer, and open perfectly. 



The varieties every beginner should have 

 (and they are the kinds that the "old- 

 timers" do not want to live without) are 

 mentioned on pages 125 and 126. 



The true daffodils, or trumpet kinds, are 

 the most beautiful of all the narcissi, but un- 

 fortunately, in this country they do not have 

 the vigor or adaptibility of the other groups of 

 narcissus. Most of them die out after two or 

 three years, but many of them are so cheap 

 that anyone can afford to replant them. 



If you own a bit of meadow, wood, the bank 

 of a stream, or even a shrubbery, you can 

 create a floral picture of surpassing loveli- 

 ness by naturalizing the poet's narcissus. 

 The bulbs cost from $5 to $10 a thousand, 

 and are easily put in after a rain has softened 

 the ground. There is a special tool for 

 planting bulbs in the grass, or you can make 

 one by sharpening a pipe of gaspipe to a 

 cutting edge. Attach a handle to the piece 



148. Tulips cannot be relied upon for a second year in formal beds, but after the tirst season they can be put in borders and will thrive indefinitely. 



they brighten up these evergreens before the latter have lost their heavy look 



See how 



