THE ENGLISH OR FLORIST'S TULIP. 



157 



It should be grown in the poorest possible soil. ' Modesty ' is one of the 

 most exasperating of flowers ; but good feathered Koses are so scarce that 

 one must grow a lot of it on the chance of getting one really first-class 

 bloom. 



• Rose Hill ' is a dark crimson breeder with a wide base, of excellent 

 form and the largest size. In many respects this is the best Kose breeder 

 in cultivation, but it rarely breaks at all well. 



The Roses are much the weakest of the three classes ; many others 

 are grown and produce good flowers, but speaking generally they are 

 inconstant and weak in shape ; among them 1 Alice ' and ' Sarah Headly ' 

 are perhaps the most likely to yield a good feathered flower. 



Cultivation. 



The English Tulip is comparatively easy to grow, and is not very 



Fig. 57. — Petals of Feathered Flowers. 



particular either as to soil or climate ; it is an excellent suburban flower, 

 standing smoke well, even the smoke of the outskirts of the great 

 manufacturing towns of Lancashire and Yorkshire, where but few trees 

 survive. Any moderately rich well-worked soil will suffice, but it should 

 be stiff rather than light ; indeed it is quite a mistake to suppose the 

 light alluvial sand of Holland is at all the natural medium for the 

 Tulip. The great desiderata in the soil are free drainage and a fair 

 proportion of carbonate of lime ; in the absence of either of these 

 disease is likely to set in. Many growers renew the soil of their beds 

 every year, well-rotted maiden loam being sought after for this purpose, 

 but I have not found the change necessary. To revive and enrich an old 

 bed I have scattered over it a few handfuls of guano immediately after 

 lifting the Tulip bulbs about the end of June, dug the bed over, and sown 



