DAFFODIL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION. 



305 



habitat. It is supposed to have been brought to Tenby by a 

 colony of Flemings, and singularly enough was found naturalised 

 in Co. Wexford, Ireland, where also a colony of Flemings existed 

 years ago. 



The giant Peerless Narcissus called " Sir Watkin " has an 

 obscure origin. It was found in Wales, and became popular in 

 1884, but how, or whence, it came to Wales no one now knows. 



Then we have quite a number of Daffodils in Ireland the 

 origin of which is unknown. Ard Righ, Countess of Annesley, 

 Frilled Trunk or " Crom-a-boo," princeps, Rip Van Winkle, 

 and others I need not now name. Of these N. princeps may 

 originally have been imported from Italy, but at any rate it is 

 naturalised abundantly on old sites, in parks and in gardens 

 in many parts of Ireland, where, by the way, the common wild 

 N. pseudo-narcissus of England is unknown as a wild species ! 



The six best yellow Daffodils are, perhaps, N. Emperor, 

 N. Golden Spur, N. General Gordon, N. maximus, N. Countess 

 of Annesley, and Ard Righ. Of these, the history of N. 

 Emperor alone is known ; of the remaining five there is nothing 

 but traditional evidence left to us to-day. 



My own view is that these so-called Irish Daffodils, or their 

 progenitors, were introduced many years ago as garden flowers, 

 just as they w T ere introduced to England. The only difference 

 seems to be that they have thriven better in Ireland, and in 

 many cases have seeded spontaneously, and so reproduced them- 

 selves with some little variety. At any rate the fact stares us in the 

 face that from Irish gardens a dozen or more varieties have been 

 introduced to England within the last ten years or so that have 

 so far not been discovered either wild or cultivated elsewhere. 



Statistical Note on Cultivated Narcissi. 



As bearing on the modern history of cultivated Narcissi, we 

 may refer to Mr. Barr's catalogue of 1871, where, at page 11, 

 we find only 13 kinds offered in the magni-coronati group, 

 including singles and doubles, Hoop Petticoats, and all the 

 white Daffodils of that date. 



On turning to the same gentleman's list for 1888 we find 

 109 Daffodils in the place of the 13 only in 1871. 



In the medio- cor onati section for 1871 there are 13 species 



