8o6 



GARDENERS' MAGAZINE. 



December io, 1898. 



T 



Daffodil in Cornwall 



(Concluded from tage 792.) 



It may, however, be asked, what warrant is there that all this affection for 

 daffodils is not the unstable fashion of an hour ? Why should not the daffodil be 

 dethroned and another favourite reign? An amateur who has in his garden 

 never less than some 30,000 of his own seedlings, a link in a chain of experimental 

 work reaching over more than a decide and a half of years, must often have 

 pondered this question. Bat after long thought and conference with the most 

 piercing horticultural intellects I have retired into the solacing conviction that 

 while roses are gathered and strawberries eaten the daffodil's empire will not be 

 seriously threatened. The spring flower seems not to exist in nature, and cannot 

 be evolved from the most fertile inner consciousness, which shall supersede the 

 daffodil. Sumptuary laws are not for our times ; though prices should mount to 

 ^1,000 a bulb the traffic will not be put down by Act of Parliament, as was the 

 tulip craze of the first half of the seventeenth century in the Netherlands. Mr. 

 George Monro, the salesman and prophet of Covent Garden, is of opinion that 

 with regard to cut blooms we are but at the beginning of the demand for the best 

 produce, that is, for the finest kinds perfectly grown and consigned to market in 

 perfection. The costly elaboration in letter and picture of the daffodil specialist's 

 catalogue, and the undeprecating boldness of its prices in guineas of two figures, 

 argue that the daffodil cult is not on the wane, and the guarantee of its permanence 

 lies in the intrinsic excellence of the flower. What other has the abundant market 

 qualifications of great earliness in the open air ; fresh and delicate colour, ability 

 to store water in its cells and keep fresh two days without a drink, like a camel 

 crossing the desert, and, by no means least, a flower at right angles to a long 

 stem, so that it makes up into long bunches facing one way for display, and 

 travelling uncrushed in shallow boxes. The outdoor hyacinth is profitless for cut 

 bloom ; it comes much later, will not bunch, and is too rank of scent in rooms. 

 The attempts made of late to 11 boom " the tulip have fallen flat. The florist's 

 tulip proper runs into the plethora of early summer flowers ; its bloom is fugitive, 

 and, to quote from a Cornish amateur, "in a quite common combination of sun 

 and rain is ruined by a kind of small-pox." 



A character which has endeared the daffodil to our gardens is that of all spring 

 flowers it is the most lily-like. Botanically it is separated from the true lilies by 

 certain features, as that of the seed vessel being formed outside instead of within 

 the corolla. But the popular names " Lent Lily " and " Mount Lily " show that 

 it has by a true discernment been recognised as a lily, a flower of queenly rank, 

 removed from the crowd by a certain aristocratic grace of presence The first 

 flower of note to appease our winter-long hunger, the very tips of its strong leaves 

 are rejoiced in as they break the soil : — 



11 When daffodils begin to peer, 



Why, then comes in the sweet o' the year. 



" E molto bello : e il primo fiore della primavera," was the appreciative comment 

 of an Italiin labourer as he watched me digging up a wild yellow daffodil by 

 the roadside outside Lucca. This fearlessness of our rough English spring- 

 March is 44 the roaring moon of daffodils "—has made it pre-eminently an English 

 flower, and the hands of Englishmen have fashioned it to its present beauty. 

 Over two and a-half centuries ago Parkinson had anticipated Mr. Peter Barr 

 in employing Pyrenean 44 root collectors," and describes some hundred kinds of 

 daffodil. The magic art of cross-fertilisation was then undreamed of, and the 

 possibilities latent in Parkinson's store awaited the coming of Herbert, first 

 Dean of Manchester. Herbert, who, in one side of his versatile genius was 

 something of a pre-Darwinian Darwin, published, in 1843, the results of many 

 years' experiments at his Yorkshire rectory of Spofforth, and demonstrated that 

 the short-crowned narcissi of the reputed 44 species " N. incomparabilis are really 

 hybrids between the trumpet daffodils and the pheasant eye or N. poeticus. The 

 first to avail themselves of this discovery, of such paramount importance for the 

 enrichment of the spring garden, were Messrs. Leeds, of Longford Bridge, near 

 Manchester, and Backhouse, of Walsingham By effecting this cross in variety, 

 and intercrossing the resultant seedlings with other flowers and one another, they 

 obtained the host of lovely forms now in common cultivation. These, again, are 

 being sedulously used by the hybridist for the further evolution of size, form, and 

 colour. The subsequent workers in the same field have all been Englishmen. A 

 few fine trumpet daffodils have been raised in Holland, notably the very beautiful 

 white Madame de Graaff by Messrs. de Graaff, of Leyden, but these seem to have 

 been chance seedlings, and it is a curious fact that the Dutch, reputed quick to 

 discern any avenue of profit, have never deliberately taken in hand the hybridisa- 

 tion of the narcissus. The best Polyanthus Narcissi or Tazzettas are, it is true, of 

 Dutch origin, but these do not rank in general esteem or money value with other 

 daffodils, and have scarcely been improved for a century. Leeds sold his entire 

 collection for a hundred guineas, and the sum was thought so large that it was found 

 by a small company of purchasers. Twenty times the amount would now be 

 thought a small price. At the death of John Horsefield, the Lancashire weaver, 

 who raised the fine white and gold trumpet daffodil bearing his name, the few 

 bulbs were sold by auction for eighteenpence apiece — sic vos non vobis. 



y ^P ro P OS0 ^^ essentially English associations of the daffodil, I have been 

 told by Mons. II. L. de Yilmorin, of the great French firm of seedsmen and 

 florists, that the venture of growing it on a large scale for the Paris market failed 

 entirely. The more fanciful and fickle Parisian tires of a continuance of one 

 flower, liking here a bit of white lilac, there a spray of mimosa or a bunch of 

 Riviera anemones, but only now and then a daffodil. In France, too, there has 

 never prevailed, as in England, what may be termed intensive gardening, the 

 loving and exhaustive study of some one particular flower in all its phases and 

 potentialities. The sight is inconceivable in France, which may be witnessed any 

 April at a Royal Horticultural Society's gathering, of four men standing rapt and 

 abstracted, their heads in close contact over a match-box containing a single 44 pip " 

 or tloweret of a new auricula seedling. The minutue of distinction between daffo- 

 dils like * tweedledum and tweedledee" to the casual eye. their more subtle nuances 

 ot shape, tint, and growth, are for the specialist, the daffodil florist proper, and it 

 is vain to reproach him for distinguishing between things indistinguishable. Wher- 

 ever the mmd s full interest is long^ent upon a numerous class of objects, the 

 11 SI!*' y de K vel u °P s ' and the eye, without either straining or make believe, 



q Rm tET erS *"£ t 1 ele ^ c °P ic «d microscopic, 

 of ?nr« 1S , n ° H k of . more obvious charms in the daffodil. 'In its resources 

 belong limitation, a certain restraint and sobriety, which 



be^ng to the highest beauty no less in nature than in art. It loses nothing when 

 ET™^ colour-palette Ld bizarre eccentricity of form. 



iiS"*? fL***" <°°<°»' * ^ two «le» en . S , th e inner 



may 



long 



, or, more 

 as in the 



familiar 

 crockery 



in Spain by Mr. reter uarr, to tne cream of Pallidus precox, which consoTts 

 exquisitely with the purple of violets or Iris reticulata. ~ ""worts 



deep, as in the poeticus. But cross the trumpet and the rsmfomm a 

 intercross parents and progeny, and the central portion of thl a ^ ain 

 every gradation in depth of cup, bowl, saucer, £?"£t? to^aw" fiSfi 

 comparison from the wholly inadequate resources of the modern 

 cupboard. An apter but oyer recondite illustration might be (nnnA 

 the more varied and graceful curves of the equivalent Greek ndT m 

 vessels The colour elements are only yellow, Ihite, and red Se yeHow^ 

 a cheerful and satisfying colour in flowers— is of large range from tZ • u~ 

 gold of the stately Maximus or Santa Maria, a still deeper u£d flower 



f Mr. Peter Barr, to the cream of Pallidum n^cox, which consorts so 



the yellows described as orange, lemon, primrose, canary, 

 light, full, rich, clear, soft, and a dozen other modifying adjectives The daffnH IV 

 whitest white, almost the negation of colour, is found in the poeticus, esDeciallv 

 the late P. recurvus. Elsewhere the whites are those of the ecclesiastical Lbro? 

 derer, the faintest possible creams, greens, and, in the cups of some of the Leedsi 

 class, citrons and pinks. When left to dress itself the daffodil employs red with 

 quite niggardly discretion, as though to merely accentuate and set off its yellow 

 and white. The purple brown thread which rings the eye of N. poeticus some 

 times appears in its seedlings and hybrids as a ribbon-edge or a suffusion of red 

 By intercrossing such flowers an accumulation of the colour may result, and some 

 of my own most recent seedlings have cups of almost true scarlet. This intensified 

 red is held to be one of the goals of the hybridist and is greatly coveted, but I 

 must own to private misgivings whether violence has not been done' to the 

 daffodil's better taste, and the lighter touches of colour are not more pleasing. 

 Should a seedling ever attain to full red in both cup and petals, it would command 

 an enormous price, but artistically considered would be somewhat of an outrage. 

 The most disdainful of all daffodils in its rejection of red is the dainty little N. 

 triandrus, with pale, clustered, cyclamen-like blossoms, as common in parts of 

 Portugal as the primrose in Cornwall, but practically unknown in England until 

 fifteen years ago. From this, crossed with the larger garden kinds, I have 

 a series of perfectly lovely hybrids with pendant fuchsia-like flowers of the most 

 refined cream and ivory whites. But cross it as you will with the most brilliant 

 of the red- cupped sorts the seedlings perpetuate its own simpler apparel, and 

 never show a trace of red. 



A race more delightful to myself than perhaps any other are the Leedsi 

 varieties, intermediate between N, poeticus and the white trumpets. It is remark- 

 able that in this cross the former parent effaces the weakliness of the latter, and 

 supplies a diversity of vigorous and very lovely white flowers. In the cups of 

 some of these a quite exquisite range of colouring occurs, which can be only 

 imperfectly conveyed by such words as salmon, citron, apricot. Recent seed- 

 lings perhaps foreshow the coming of true pink in the daffodil. To appreciate 

 these delicate tints the flowers should be studied in the late afternoon when the 

 sun is off them and they seem to create a still, magical atmosphere about them- 

 selves. . »■ 



A discourse upon the whole art and mystery of seedling raising would far 

 transgress the bounds of this paper, but it should be urged that the time is at 

 hand when this department will be necessary to every gardener abreast of the 

 times in the culture of flowers, fruit, or vegetables, to the least amateur and to 

 the largest farmer. Seed selection and cross fertilisation are as certain to super- 

 sede, or at least supplement, the mere propagation of existing plants as the electric 

 light is to extinguish gas. Absolutely nothing has been done in this province in 

 comparison with what awaits the educated and industrious worker. A certain 

 fortune, for instance, is in store for the young man who will devote his life to the 

 scientific improvement of our fruits. In narcissi there are still many desiderata ; 

 large early yellow trumpets of sturdier constitution ; finer and stronger white 

 trumpets ; short-crowned flowers, of the size and vigour of Sir Watkin, of uniform 

 clear white, and others with cups of full red. The Polyanthus Narcissus is still 

 capable of advancement in size and colour. I cannot join in the current deprecia- 

 tion of this beautiful plant ; its earliness and perfection of growth in Cornwall 

 should draw more attention to its possibilities. The poeticus may be enlarged 

 and the eye deepened in colour. 



My remark at the outset, that the Cornish daffodils ought to be unsurpassed, 

 was not of the ungrateful nature of general faint praise, but referred to one point 

 only. The repertoire of the market growers has struck me as rather meagre. The 

 truth is questionable of the common objections that it does not pay to buy new 

 varieties, and that the public do not distinguish between one kind and another. 

 The wise grower will not invest largely in an untried bulb, however striking the 

 flower may be at a show, but he will not neglect to have a small experimental bed 

 of the newest introductions. It is strange that the bright yellow and red and the 

 immense vigour of Barri conspicuus have not caused it to be more largely grown. 

 That very fine golden trumpet, M. J. Berkeley, of the maximus order, but less shy 

 in bloom, should well repay an enterprising buyer. The new bicolor, Victoria, is 

 dear at present, but increases fast, and for size and substance will supersede 

 Horsfieldi and Empress. More attention should be paid to the best Leedsi kinds, 



~ " The spot or mildew which 



has lately invaded the former may be a transient effect of season. The Covent 

 Garden salesmen tell me that good white narcissi, such as these, are wanted, 

 may be an excellent investment to give £$ or £10 for a bulb of a small new stock. 

 An instance is known to me of £$ being paid for one Madame de Graaff, and at 

 the end of three years three of its increase being sold for £12 and three stm 

 retained. A midland florist expresses to me his regret that he purchased only one 

 bulb of Weardale Perfection on its first appearance at £12 12s. apiece. 



On the subject of cultivation I am reluctant to say much. The dilemma br sc s 

 me that upon the general requirements of a plant it is superfluous, ard upon i» 

 local requirements presumptuous to speak. Let me not fall into the pit : 01 in ■ 

 technical education lecturer on horticulture, who, in my country side ot cru 

 downs, Willi the nearest water a hundred feet from the surface, devoted the wn. 

 of his introductory lecture to methods of drainage. Mr. Andrew Lawry * 

 amiable enough to follow my suggestion and plant his omatus d. eper. but loun 

 he had made a mistake. Tblt the following practices are beneficial I do n« 

 doubt Early planting and early lifting ; rotation of cropping, 

 daffodils, or at least not similar kinds, upon the same plot for r lon g ^e^r 

 occasional entire change of stock with a distant grower, if feasible , ^manu j, 

 from the surface with soluble phosphate, such as dissolved bone, me 

 advertised basic slag is valueless on " rrtrn,<;h so,ls - 



Rev. Geor* 



such as Minnie Hume and Duchess of Westminster. 



It 



most, perhaps on 



in Engleheart, in The Gornisn wag* 



Lowe 



specimens were 



would 

 Cahax* c 



quarte 



« the dahlia with the chrysintnemum ; " UL1 " 1 

 PPosed hybrid did not appear to be very marked 



case, as 



