488 



THE LILIES OF THE FIELD. 



flowers are fringed, often strangely twisted, and their 

 mingled colors are very brilliant. The bizarres form an 

 interesting class, blooming in May, after the blooming 

 season for other sorts is over. 



A number of distinct tulip species, which bloom later 

 than the single early varieties will be found desirable, 

 a. they are thoroughly distinct and fine in color. One 

 of the earliest of 

 these is Tu I i p a 

 Greigi, which has 

 large orange-scarlet 

 flowers with black 

 and yellow centers. 

 The foliage is hand- 

 somely marked with 

 chestnut- brown. 

 Persica is an attrac- 

 tive yellow tulip 

 with a delightful 

 fragrance. Oculus- 

 solis is crimson with 

 black center. 



The Crown-im- 

 PERi.^L is another 

 spring -blooming 

 bulb now so old 

 that we begin to for- 

 get it. Fritillaria 

 impcrialis is its 

 imposing title in 

 full, though I have 

 heard it called 

 "Cromperal" by 

 an old lady whose 

 love for flowers 

 was greater than 

 her knowledge of 

 plant nomenclature. 

 It was introduced 

 into England nearly 

 three ■ centuries ago, 

 its native home be- 

 ing Persia. Crown- 

 imperials are very 

 stately lily-like 

 plants, having a 

 pendent crown of 

 bell or cup-shaped 

 flowers. The colors 

 are various shades 

 of yellow and red, 

 some being striped 



or splashed. The bulbs require a rich soil, and should 

 be planted about four inches deep. They are perfectly 

 hardy, but it is advisable to take them up and replant 

 them about every four years. Another variety is Fritil 

 laria Mcleagris, the ordinary fritillaria or guinea-hen 

 flower. It is dwarf in growth, having large flowers 

 marked in harlequin fashion, suggestive of the fowl 

 named and quite oddly attractive. 



The Crown-!mp 



The bright-faced uttle Crocus is one of the earliest 

 of spring flowers. When planted thickly, the bulbs 

 make a mass of bloom — white, red and yellow — and 

 they are especially pretty in a window-box. They 

 should be planted three inches deep, in sandy soil, and 

 not more than three inches apart. Unlike the tulip and 

 hyacinth, they should not be disturbed after blooming, 

 but left for several 

 years. For the 

 house, they should 

 be planted in a sim- 

 ilar soil ; and as 

 they are readily in- 

 jured by damp at 

 the roots, the drain- 

 age should be well 

 looked after. 



One of the great 

 advantages in the 

 use of tulips or hya- 

 cinths is the fact 

 that they may be re- 

 moved after flower- 

 ing to make room 

 for summer bed- 

 ding-plants, and 

 planted again when 

 these, in turn, are 

 removed in autumn. 

 This plan keeps the 

 beds gay the greater 

 part of the year, 

 while the change in 

 plants adds greatly 

 to the charm of a 

 small garden, 



In some localities 

 tulips cannot be 

 planted in lawn- 

 beds, because 

 ground - mice con- 

 sider t h e bulbs a 

 great delicacy. They 

 run along mole-tun- 

 nels and hollow out 

 all the center of the 

 bulbs with their 

 sharp white teeth, 

 leaving only the stiff, 

 less toothsome en- 

 velopes. When tu- 

 lip, tuberose and 

 tigridia bulbs are at a premium the mice will sometimes 

 nibble at hyacinths, but these are not relished by the cun- 

 ning epicures when other food is obtainable. Some gar- 

 deners sink tile sections about clumps of tulip-bulbs for 

 the confusion of mice, but unless the sections are deep 

 this plan "gangs aft agley," for moles will burrow and 

 mice will run beneath them. Traps and poisoned grains 

 of corn are often used to exterminate the mice. 



