THE BLUE BOOK OF BULBS 



VUURBAAK. 2. Fiery scarlet, tinged orange when open; large 

 flower. Very showy for beds and fine for forcing. Height 

 11 in. 10 bulbs, 50 cts.; 100 bulbs, $4; 1,000 bulbs, $35. 



WASHINGTON. 5. Bronzy buff, with conspicuous black an- 

 thers; a tall, late variety, in color much like the bronze Breeders. 

 Very effective planted with Bleu Celeste. Height 15 in. 10 

 bulbs, 90 cts.; 100 bulbs, $8. 



YELLOW ROSE. 5. Beautiful, deep vellow flower; large and 

 very fragrant. Most valuable for bedding and cutting. Blooms 

 very late. Height 14 in. 10 bulbs, 40 cts.; 100 bulbs, $3; 

 1,000 bulbs, $24. 



May-Flowering or Cottage Tulips 



After the disastrous collapse of the Tulip craze in Holland, 

 the highly prized bulbs rapidly made their way into the gardens 

 of England and France, where they soon gained a widespread 

 favor. By the close of the eighteenth century the public taste 

 had drifted away from the Tulips, and the bulbs came very 

 commonly into the hands of the cottagers and the less wealthy 

 landowners. In their lowlier surroundings these Tulips have 

 survived until the present increased interest in the late Tulips 

 has made them sought after with painstaking diligence. Many 

 of them, through neglect or uncongenial situation, had so dwindled 

 in size as to be but tiny caricatures of their former splendor. 

 Through proper cultivation they have regained their size and 

 vigor, and together with hundreds of new seedlings have been 

 re-introduced into the gardens and country places where once 

 they were despised. The circumstance of their existence (or 

 persistence, to speak more worthily of them) has given them the 

 name by which they are now known. 



Among them are some of the most exquisitely beautiful flowers 

 of all the royal race of Tulips. From glittering reds to glistening 

 yellows, dainty pinks and chaste whites, they run riot across the 

 painter's palette. For planting in borders of perennials, or for 

 cozy groupings among shrubbery, where the roots of the bushes 

 are not too antagonistic, the^^ are unsurpassed; v/hile their habit 

 of growth, some on stiff, sturdy stalks, others on gracefully 

 drooping stems, lends itself charmingly to almost any device 

 for brightening up the borders in mid-May. 



Culture. Cottage Tulips should be planted 5 to 6 inches 

 deep. The distance between the bulbs should be not less than 5 



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