LECTURE ON THE DAFFODIL. 



5 



stand apart as a section of amaryllis marked by unmistakeable 

 characters. In respect of cultivation there are two matters of con- 

 siderable importance to be mentioned. One is that the species of 

 hippeastrum, all of them derived from the tropical zone of the 

 Western Hemisphere, interbreed most freely, and hence the florist 

 may find endless delight in raising new varieties, and the student of 

 the origin of species may turn to them for the solution of problems, 

 or to encounter fresh ones that he will never be able to answer. And 

 another matter of importance is that these noble flowers are really 

 difficult to manage, and consequently many fail before they learn the 

 way to complete success. They rarely thrive in a peat soil, and they 

 never thrive unless they are perfectly drained and watered judiciously. 

 In common with many tropical plants, they can be brought into 

 flower at almost any time ; nevertheless, the spring is the best time 

 to flower them, because they need a clear solar light to develop 

 their splendid colours, and the subsequent summer heat favours the 

 ripening of the bulbs. 



THE DAFFODIL. 



(Lecture delivered by Mr. Shirley Hibberd at the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society.) 



The collective term Daffodil, which, in rural districts easily ex- 

 panded into Daffadowndilly, was a corruption of Asphodel, the 

 flower the ancient Greeks devoted t o the dead. The old French 

 form of the word was Affrodille, and the initial D attached itself 

 as a proper remainder of the preposition in the French fleur 

 $ affrodille 



Daffodils are often referred to as Lilies, and one of our old 

 English names for the large yellow trumpet section is Lent Lilies, 

 which refers of course to their seasons of flowering. The poets 

 have hailed them as among the most delightful flowers of the 

 spring, prefiguring in their golden splendour the sunshine of the 



