August 31, 1912. 



THE GARDENSRS' MAGAZINE. 



667 



SOME NEW DAFFODILS. 



Of the making of books there is no 

 said Solomon J some hundreds of 



The same remark applies to the 



Each 



years B.C. 



making of daffodils in these days, 

 year scores of beautiful new seedlings 

 make their appearance at the spring shows, 

 and these are only the ''select'* of thou- 

 sands which are not quite as good. And 

 yet the possibilities of further development 

 seem to be greater tlian ever. 



In the matter of size w^e seem to bo only 

 ill the first stages, to judge by the huge 

 Ajax forms wlii<h wvre exhibited by the 

 Uev. G. H. Eiiglelieart this year. Some of 

 hi^ l)looms were nearly 5in. across, 

 and had stems of SJin. in length. 



This is a development that I am sorry, 

 personally^ to see. One of the great 



charms of the daffodil is its grace, but these 

 ungainly giants, though very wonderfulj 

 are anything but graceful. I hope the day 

 is very far off when we shall buy daffodils 

 by the square inch! 



A more remarkable development, how- 

 ever, may be expected in the colouring of 



daffodils. One was almost startled to see 

 in some exquisite little white seedlings, 

 shown by Mr. Engleheart at Birmingham, 

 distinct traces of imligo" blue in the centre 

 of the eye. They were only traces, it is 

 true, but even a blue shadow is something 

 quite new in a daffodil, and we may yet live 

 to see the Bhie Daffodil, of a recent novel, 

 an accomplished fact; though, I fear, that 

 we shall take some time to get used to it 

 if it ever comes. 



Yes, indeed, there is no end— to the 

 quantity — of new daffodils but there are 

 only a few .1 was going to say increas- 

 ingly few—that will stay." The number 

 of really great flowers is very limited, and 

 only time will prove which these are. 



It is much to 1)e hoped that seedling 

 raisers will turn their attention to improv- 

 ing the constitution of their new varieties. 

 Many of the delicately-formed and 

 coloured varieties are, alas ! delicate in 

 constitution also, and we do not want the 

 daffodil, which is essentially a hardy out- 

 door plant, to become a tender greenhouse 

 subject. 



The season of 1912 was one of the most 

 trying on record. The continued drought 

 and heat of last summer, and the repeti- 

 tion, in most parts of the country, of simi- 

 lar conditions during the flowering season, 

 had tluur effect, and the new daffodils of 

 til is year made their appearance under 

 ,i;reat disadvantages. This makes it diffi- 

 cult to icvicw tliem justly, and I am sure 

 tliat tlicie ar e itiany that are not mentioned 

 m tlic>o nott^s that are well worth notice, 

 •uit wliicli wer*^ jiot seen at their l;est. 



Mr. A. M. Wilson exhibite<l sonu^ of the 

 finest of the new varieties, 

 of these 



l>ilis of uis <i\vn lai.snii^. with a j)ot^ticus- 

 wliite pei-ianth 3^,in. across, and ilat <*up 

 ^"i. ni <lianieter, soft cauai-v-vellow with a 

 siiarply-defined broad band "of ])rilliant red 

 ("olonring j-ouiul the edge. 



<^'i-(esus, wbicli obtaiiH'd a F.C.C., 

 another, and a i-eally great daffodil. It is 

 a giant incompaiabilis with a quite circular 

 perianth of great su))8tance, a delightful 

 shade of j^alest primrose ; the cuj), very 

 ':H ge and expanded, is of rich dee]) red ; a 

 >^trikiu(r|y handsome variety, raised by Mr. 

 't, C. "Williams. 



A flfHver of amither type which gained an 

 A.M. is IVflrstal, raised bv Mi- Kiui'st 

 ^ i"sfioI(l. and shown by .Afr.'WilM)?!. This 

 a liiiu,. in(M>m])arabilis with ]>ui'e white 

 l>''" "anth s(^gments, ^ery solid, and having 



'«>ug, straight cup of ricli clear vellow ; a 



n<nver of fine build and balance. " 



Avalon is <uie 

 ; a most strikimi wliitr im oinna ra- 

 Ills <i\vn laisuifi. with 



IS 



Neptune, raised by Mr. Copelan<l. and 

 shown bv Messrs, Cartwri<xht and (Jotxlwin 

 on the same occasion, is a Hower of much 

 the same type, whi<'h ran Pe<lestal very 

 close. 



On the same <]ate Mi'. Wilson again se- 

 cured an A.M. for Kiliicranki»\ a nohh' |)ah' 

 bicolor of refined character and ol im- 



measuring 4in. across tlie ivory-coloured 

 ])ciianth. with a fierv-<*rinisou ci-own well 



-* • - 



over an incii in diameti'r. 



1 believe that Kiihollitc. shown hy M]-. 

 Wilson, is tin- first oi the new hriliiantly- 

 coloured Poet a z varieties to iie Inaioured 

 ith on Awar<l ot Merit. It is a strikin^lv 

 b(>autitul IhiwtM'. iycarin*^ se\eral •rood-sized 



proved Weardale Perfection colouring ami blooms oii a stem, tlie perianth thr<»w- 



NAECISSUS HELIOS. 



An exceptionally Wutifid Inconiparabilis variety. Tlie perianth .segments rich yellow, 

 and the finelv frilled cup is deep orange. In t joduecd hy Mr. liouriK', who received an 



A.M. for it at the E.H.S. Meeting. April 10, 1912. 



form. This again just beat a very fine 

 ilower of rather tlu^ same type— Onshuight 

 sliown hy Me8.srs. Cartwright and Good- 

 . win. 



Kobespierre- -a <laffo(lil to remember — 

 also gaiiH'd an A.M. It was raised by Mr. 



nig 



up tlu* ricli all-re<l ey** in vivid con- 

 ti ast. Another fine IVx^taz \ ariety is S< ar- 

 let < ■em. 



|{e*l Macaw and Sealing Wax are two 



^'xhiiution ih>\\tMs. The lirst has 



t 



ing 



a shai)ely white iteiiantli with Hat eye of 

 p7 d" Williani^, and i^ a bnlluuit flower, pale yellow, heavily nuu-ined with brilliant 



