THE TULIP. 
211 
all obliged to succumb to his terms. But in 
England we have had tolerable prices given 
for tulips, for their scarcity and quality com- 
bined. 100Z. and 1201. are prices that have 
been paid within our own time ; and for 
the last twenty years we have surpassed the 
Dutch in the quality of many new varieties. 
The selection of a bed of tulips is a task of 
no ordinary difficulty ; but a good deal of 
this arises from fashion. There are certain 
old flowers thought nothing of because they 
are old, but they are essential in a good bed. 
There are certain other flowers run after 
because they are more scarce and more dear, 
but are by no means so good. The young 
beginner is too often sacrificed in his first 
purchases ; this is too bad, because there is 
no reason why a young cultivator should be 
served worse than an old one. There are 
plenty of good flowers cheap, or cheap flowers 
good, and he should at least have these. No- 
body should try to get an extensive collection 
at first ; it is better to form the bed of thirty- 
six sorts, and have plenty of each, than to ex- 
tend the number of varieties for mere exten- 
sion's sake. It is very well to exchange some 
for better after these have been grown some 
time ; but a bed formed of about thirty-six 
kinds, all clean and fine, would be much more 
striking than some that are costly beyond 
description, because in tulips, as in anything 
else, the price is regulated by the scarcity or 
plentifulness, far more than by the quality. 
Polyphemus, which, when bloomed well, is the 
first bizarre in the world, is cheap because it 
has propagated rapidly, and there are such 
great quantities about. The properties of the 
tulip were never defined, so as to be under- 
stood, until the establishment of the Metropo- 
litan Society, and the publication of the 
properties caused a vast alteration in the 
prices of some which had till then been in high 
regard. These properties are now well under- 
stood, and any striking fault so lowers the 
value, that what would have been esteemed a 
few years ago, would now be thrown away, 
or at least would bring but a low price, how- | 
ever new or scarce it might be. To all young 
beginners we would, therefore, say, buy cheap 
but clean flowers, and rather have twenty of 
a sort that is clean, than seek to diversify the 
collection by any that are dirty or foul. In 
this paper we propose to give such instruction 
to the young amateur as will enable him to 
make a show the first year, as fine as a more 
experienced grower ; and that will encourage 
him to persevere. 
SOIL AND SITUATION. 
There is no soil so good for a bed of tulips 
as the top spit of a loamy pasture, with the 
turf rotted in it. Let the spit be taken off 
about six inches thick, and be laid in a heap 
to rot. A year is generally sufficient for the 
rotting, but so important is it that it should be 
freed from all sorts of vermin, that at the end 
of six months the heap ought to be chopped 
through, and the soil examined and thrown 
into another heap, and every living thing be 
taken out of it ; this can only be done by re- 
peated turnings. If time will permit to lay 
it by two seasons instead of one, the heap need 
not be disturbed the first year at all, but the 
more it is chopped about the second year the 
better. Grubs and wire-worms, which are 
the enemies of flowers and vegetables alike, 
are nearly always to be found in turves ; and 
the rotting of the turf in the loam is, never- 
theless, the best kind of manure or dressing 
for the tulip. But if this kind of soil cannot 
be had, and the loam can only be got pure, 
without any dressing at all, the best help to 
it is leaf mould ; that is, leaves rotted into 
mould, about one-fourth part of which should 
be added. The loam should be what is com- 
monly called hazel loam, that is, of a brown 
colour, and the quality, as to adhesiveness, 
such as will enable you to stir and bruise it 
easily ; for when the loam is too adhesive, it 
is very inconvenient, because the rain runs it 
together, and when you attempt to stir the 
surface, it comes up in lumps which are not 
easily crumbled. Thus there is a great loss 
of time, and considerable danger of damaging 
the bulbs. Nevertheless, a tulip will grow 
moderately well in any kitchen garden soil, 
and if you cannot get what you want, be not 
afraid to use what you can. The situation 
should be protected against wind, if possible, 
as it saves much trouble, and prevents the 
necessity of covering them up close when 
wind prevails much ; the bed is to be placed 
north and south or thereabouts, where it can 
be made to fall in with the garden plan ; but, 
of course, it would not do to form it contrary 
to the length or the width of the ground. It 
should either be down or across the garden, 
whichever ranges best with the north and 
south, but we do not attach so much impor- 
tance to this as some do. 
FORMATION OF THE BED. 
The space for the bed should have three 
feet of properly prepared compost. If the 
ground be low it is better to have two feet 
dug out, and one foot above the surface of the 
ground ; if dry, two feet six or eight inches 
should be dug out, and five or six inches be 
above. The hole should be dug four feet 
wide, and if the garden be not well drained 
it ought to be, for nothing can do well long 
together if the ground be naturally wet. On 
the bottom may be put good rotten cow -dung 
rotted into mould, full two inches thick ; on 
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