OcToBeER, 1908 
Their supreme loveliness is due to a cer- 
tain glaucous or bluish cast which is com- 
parable to the “bloom” on a grape or plum. 
Sometimes this “bloom” is pinkish or pur- 
plish, sometimes it is gray, but always its 
effect is to soften the main color and to give 
that precious quality we call “atmosphere.” 
It is this glaucous cast that makes Darwin 
tulips look so mysterious and appealing, 
especially at twilight or in the early morning, 
when they suggest a soul dawning into 
consciousness. And a practical advantage 
of this peculiar cast is that you can group 
many varieties of these mellow-tinted Dar- 
wins in a single vase without color discord, 
which you cannot do with the ordinary or 
vivid tulips. 
This same cast also explains why the old- 
time English tulip fancier (now painfully 
reduced in numbers) does not like the Dar- 
wins. His whole life has been spent in 
enlarging the flower, rounding the petals, 
sharpening the markings and above all in 
purifying the colors, for in all ages the 
greatest reward must fall to the man -who 
perfects the few, strong, simple colors. 
Against any cloudiness or uncertainty of 
color he has always fought and the tender 
haze which half reveals the gorgeous possi- 
bilities of a Darwin tulip is to him merely 
an obstruction. But the mood of our 
people, I am persuaded, is against technical 
perfection and in favor of these intangible 
and iridescent colors because of their spirit 
and suggestion. 
But while this subtlety of color is the 
joy of the artist, it is also his despair. I 
need hardly say that photography can give 
no hint of these glories. Possibly the 
Lumiére process of color photography will 
be able to catch some of this evanescent 
beauty and Country Lije in America hopes 
to achieve this next May in a colored cover. 
Meanwhile, the selection of varieties becomes 
more than ever a matter of taste and my 
practical advice comes down to a few 
words. 
Darwins require no different culture from 
other late tulips and the best catalogues 
contain the few simple directions that are 
necessary. The best time to buy the bulbs 
is in September and the best time to plant 
them is October. I rarely advise buying 
a few each of many varieties, but in this 
case I do, for the pleasure of having a large 
collection is very great. The best way to 
grow a collection is in rectangular beds of 
unit size in some secluded place where 
the numerous labels will not spoil the lawn 
or garden picture. The great advantage of 
having a few each of fifty or more varieties 
is that it is the best way to select two or 
three varieties for extensive planting which 
will give your garden personality and 
success. 
If, however, you want some strong mass 
effects next year you would better plant 
fifty each of a few varieties, selecting the 
vividest colors. Not all Darwins, by any 
means, are intermediate or glaucous. Many 
of them have strong and simple colors, and 
while I like the other kind better, I am bound 
to say that in ten years most of these 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
All sorts of tulips. The conspicuous flower with 
long stem in thecentre is a Darwin tulip 
delicately shaded varieties will probably be 
ousted by stronger colored sorts, for that 
is the way with flowers. This is an 
additional reason why I urge readers of THE 
GARDEN MAGAZINE to try Darwin tulips 
now while the indescribable colors can still 
be secured. 
Shall we naturalize Darwins? The 
temptation to say “ yes”’ is very great because 
people will try it anyhow since the bulbs 
are cheap enough to be bought by the 
thousand and they will doubtless last several 
years in rather open woodlands, sunny 
meadows, or grassy home orchards. But on 
this point I reserve my decision. The 
supreme test, I believe, is fitness and I am 
afraid that they will not look like wild 
flowers. The spirit of wildness is certainly 
possessed by the native and run-wild tulips 
of Europe and in my opinion the most 
promising list for naturalizing is the one 
recommended in THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
for September, 1908, at page 58. 
Oh, one thing more! There is a right 
and a wrong way to economize on bulbs. 
_Every beginner is tempted to buy second 
size bulbs from little known local dealers, 
because he can get more for the money. 
But he is sure to be disappointed because 
the size of a flower is chiefly determined by 
the size of the bulb; and the heaviest 
and healthiest bulbs can be had only 
from dealers who have a national reputation 
to uphold. Buy fewer bulbs but better ones, 
and remember that you can buy fifty at the 
rate per hundred, thus saving 17 per cent. 
over the rate per dozen. Also, if you want 
to see whether Darwins will naturalize, 500 
is a good unit, because you can get 500 at 
the rate per 1,000. 
House Temperature for Bulbs 
pipe leading authorities on bulb culture 
agree that the best temperatures for vari- 
ous stages of growth are as follows: for roots, 
40 degrees; for the stems and foliage, 50 
degrees; for the best flowers, 60 degrees; 
for the quickest flowers, 70 degrees. This 
range of temperature gives one suffcient 
latitude to grow them under almost any 
conditions in the average house. 
131 
Lifting Power of a Bean 
WAV ee walking along some rows of 
beans that were just fissuring the 
earth by sprouting, my attention was called 
to a clod of earth, perfectly circular in out- 
line, which had been lifted about three 
quarters of an inch above the grade of the 
surrounding soil. Becoming interested, I 
carefully inserted my finger just outside of 
this clod, and hfted the caked earth; I 
found that it was resting upon a round cover 
of tinned iron, such as is used for jelly 
glasses, which had been bodily raised by 
the sprouting bean. The mass of earth 
was about an inch and a quarter thick, and 
nearly three inches in diameter, and weighed 
very close to ten ounces. The stem of the 
young bean, the arch and the cotyledons 
were not in any way bent or crippled, but 
perfectly normal, showing that no injury 
to the plant resulted from the enormous 
strain that it must have had to bear. 
New York. H. W. MERKEL. 
Registration of Plant Names 
HO has not at some time or other been 
the victim of the loose methods now in 
vogue in the naming of garden plants? The 
principle of the botanists that the name 
should be sacred, and that, once given, it 
should never be changed under any con- 
sideration, although it may be relegated as 
a synonym in the light of later discoveries, 
has never thoroughly penetrated into the 
minds of the horticulturists. The only 
factor that at present has any weight is the 
force of public opinion. It has usually been 
found pretty poor policy to wilfully confuse 
nomenclature although the step has been 
taken at various times, when, to satisfy 
some commercial instinct, the risk has been 
considered worth the game. The fact that 
matters are as good as they are is really a 
cause for a good deal of self-congratulation 
among plant raisers and plant growers, but 
horticulture is becoming more and more 
exact in its methods and the question of 
nomenclature is a live issue. 
It is gratifying to know that for two or 
three years past the officials of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture have been considering 
the possibilities of systematizing the nomen- 
clature of garden varieties, and while as yet 
nothing definite is mooted a great deal has 
been accomplished in preliminary investi- 
gations and the necessity of some decisive 
step is pretty well realized. Naturally, a 
Government department can accomplish 
this work in a way that no individual or 
outside organization could ever expect to 
do. The Government can do it impartially 
and perpetually. The probabilities are 
that if the horticulturists themselves show 
a sufficiently keen interest in stimulating the 
movement, we shall very soon have an office 
of plant registry in connection with the 
Department of Agriculture, an office run on 
impartial lines, the work of which will serve, 
in some degree, to protect to the originator 
the fruit of his labors. Let us all do our 
part to help along the good work. L.B. 
