THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



103 



always on the job. Its large and brilliant flowers light up 

 the gTOunds as those of no other early flowering bulbs can 

 do, and they serve admirably for bouquets indoors. Tulips 

 may be had in all colors except blue, with flowers either single 

 or double. In general, the single varieties are best and, for- 

 tunately, the cheaper sorts are the most easily grown. When 

 one can get fifty tulips for half a dollar there does not seem 

 to be any very good excuse for allowing the borders to go with- 

 out flowers until the middle of spring. If the plants are set in 

 beds, one may have two entirely different crops of flowers 

 from the same area by sowing the tulip beds, while yet the tulips 

 are blooming, with seeds of petunia, portulaca, poppy or annual 

 phlox, which will give brilliant masses of color all summer. The 

 tulips may be left in the ground after they have died down, 

 and the next spring will come up stronger and brighter than 

 ever. In recent years a new race of late tulips, called Darwin 

 tulips, have come into the market. These have stems a foot 

 or more long with flowers of many delicate shades. They are 

 as easily grown as the commoner sorts, but as yet are rather 

 expensive, some varieties selling for as much as flfteen dollars 

 a hundred. The narcissi are fully equal to tulips as satis- 

 factory garden flowers. - They multiply rapidly and a single 

 bulb soon develops into a clump. None of the narcissi are 

 difficult to cultivate, though the single varieties will doubtless 

 give greater satisfaction than the double ones. The poet's 

 narcissus is a favorite with many, and the Emperor and Em- 

 press are magnificent varieties. Among smaller bulbs the 

 glory of the snow^ {Chidnodoxa gigantca) with fine clusters 

 of lavender-blue flowers is well worth a trial, and a curious 

 little plant from Syria, Puschkinia libaiiotica, with white- and 

 blue-striped flowers, will make an interesting addition to the 

 bulb bed. Any catalogue will list many other kinds of bulbs 

 with which the young gardener can find amusement in ex- 

 perimenting, but the ones here mentioned are least likely 



