ISO JOURNAL OF THE KOYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



A NOTE ON THE WORK OF THE NARCISSUS AND TULIP 



COMMITTEE. 



By C. Scrase-Dickins, Hon. Sec. 

 [Read at a Meeting of the Members on May 20, 1902.] 



PROBABLY it is not known to most of the present members of the 

 Committee that originally we were formed as a Sub-committee of 

 the Scientific Committee and not of the Floral, but this is the way in 

 which it came about that we were called into existence : — In the year 

 1884 a Conference on Daffodils was held at South Kensington, under the 

 presidency of Professor Michael Foster, F.R.S., when a resolution proposed 

 by Mr. H. J. Elwes, F.R.S., seconded by Mr. J. G. Baker, F.R.S., was 

 adopted as follows : — 



M That in the opinion of this Conference uniformity of nomen- 

 clature is most desirable, and that garden varieties of Narcissi, 

 whether known hybrids or natural seedlings, should be named or 

 numbered in the manner adopted by florists, and not in the manner 

 adopted by botanists." 

 In order to carry this into effect a " Revising Committee " was 

 appointed who should draw up a list of all the varieties then known, sub- 

 stituting popular names for the Latin or Latinised ones, except in the case 

 of typical forms previously described. The Scientific Committee had had 

 under consideration the question of the alleged doubling of Daffodils in 

 gardens or modern reversions from single to double, and in February 1885 

 B circular was sent out to a large number of ladies and gentlemen likely 

 to be interested in the subject asking them to become members of 11 a 

 Sub-committee, which for brevity we will call the 'Narcissus Committee,' 

 . . . formed under the auspices of the Scientific Committee of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society," and to undertake work on the following suggested 

 lines : — 



1, Collect and sift the evidence offered by various observers as to the 

 "doubling " or "going single " in their gardens. 



2. If any cases seem to afford prima facie evidence of " doubling " or 

 •• singling " in this or that garden, take these as " experimental stations." 



8. Draw up a List of Regulations for carrying out an experiment, 

 such as — 



(a) Bulbs in flower this spring to be marked for experiment this 

 summer as single, double, &c. 



(b) The ground experimented on must be assured to be free from 

 Daffodil bulbs. 



(c) Precautions for securing that the labels do not get separate 

 from bulbs, && 



4. It will be as well that the character of the bulbs experimented on, 

 and the result, should be attested by more than one Member of Committee* 

 Possibly it will be desirable that some of the Committee should go down 

 and plant the bulbs in the experimental stations. 



