54 BOOK OF THE COTTAGE GARDEN 



the foliage for daffodils being gathered from bold clumps 

 of the commoner kinds planted especially for the purpose. 

 Most of the other plants grown are mentioned in the 

 accompanying lists, and no difficulty should be experi- 

 enced in acting upon the suggestion afforded by this 

 excellent piece of cottage gardening. 



Bulbous and Tuberous Plants for Cutting 



Narcissi, — Of these the commoner and cheaper kinds 

 should be grown in quantity. A cool, well-drained soil 

 suits them best, and if a position slightly shaded from 

 midday sun can be provided, so much the better. All 

 the best hardy varieties may be planted in beds running 

 north and south, and somewhere in the vicinity a patch 

 of the cheapest sorts should be grown to provide a 

 supply of foliage. Flowering bulbs are not improved by 

 having their leaves removed, and as Narcissi never look 

 so well as when arranged with their own foliage, the 

 above simple expedient is worth practising. Among the 

 best for yielding a supply of cut flowers are the old 

 Poet's Narcissus, which blooms somewhat late, and 

 ornatus, an earlier variety of the same group. For 

 delicate form and colouring the Leedsii star Narcissi are 

 unsurpassed, and of these we would choose Minnie 

 Hume, Katherine Spurrell, and Duchess of Westminster. 

 In the Barrii section, Conspicuus is charming, and 

 among the forms of Incomparabilis, all true star narcissi, 

 the best for the purpose are Queen Bess, very early, 

 Frank Miles, Stella superba, and C. J. Backhouse. Out 

 of the three remaining groups, the golden, bi-color and 

 sulphur-coloured Daffodils, Golden Spur, Horsfieldi, 

 and W. P. Milner, are all inexpensive and valuable for 

 cutting. As a rule, the double forms of Narcissi are less 

 adapted for arrangement in vases ; the same may be said 

 of the coarser trumpet kinds, and in a greater degree of 



