DAFFODIL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION. 



311 



shilling and sixpence each. Unfortunately Mr. Horsfield left no 

 history of his pet Daffodil, but the tradition is that he had 

 N. bicolor in his garden, hence it has been assumed to be a 

 seminal descendant of that variety, maybe fertilised by pollen of 

 another kind. That Horsfield knew something of hybridisation 

 is proven by his having previously reared a hybrid Tigridia, 

 having for its parents T. yavonia and T. concliiflora. 



Another of the pioneers in rearing seedlings was the late Mr. 

 W. Backhouse, of St. John's, Wolsingham, Durham. His seed- 

 lings are many, including some of very fine quality, such as 

 Empress, Emperor, J. B. M. Camm, C. J. Backhouse, and many 

 others. 



Mr. Backhouse published a few most interesting notes in 

 the Gardeners' Chronicle, 1865, and he therein refers to the 

 crosses between the Daffodil and N. Tazetta, from which A 7 . 

 tridymus, N. Backhousei, &c, have been derived. These are the 

 four men whose names will go down to posterity as the prime 

 movers in the artificial variation of the cultivated Narcissi, they 

 having done in the garden what the insects do on the mountain- 

 side or in the meadow. 



Nowadays one may say nearly all the cultivators of these 

 flowers also rear seedlings. In Holland Messrs. de Graaff have 

 done great things, and their bold and beautiful Daffodil Mme. 

 de GraafT so far stands at the head of the list in its way. Mr. 

 Wilks, Mr. Engleheart, Mr. J. Allen, Mr. Barr, Mr. MaxLeichtlin, 

 Mr. Hartland, and Messrs. de Graaff, not to mention many 

 others, are now doing their best to emulate the doings of 

 Backhouse and Horsfield, and some of their results are here 

 to-day for direct comparison with the older kinds. 



THE PROGRESS OF THE NARCISSUS CULTURE IN 

 THE ISLES OF SCILLY. 



By Mr. T. Algernon Dorrien- Smith, F.R.H.S. 



Twenty-five years ago some eight varieties of the Narcissi 

 were growing in the Isles of Scilly, besides those in the Abbey 

 gardens, some almost wild, some in the hedges, and some in 

 the gardens attached to the little farms. 



These varieties were : Telamonius plenus, odorus major 



