216 
THE TULIP. 
be also taken up as soon as the leaves are 
dead. 
' July. Finish taking up the bulbs, and let 
the boxes be set in the shade, to harden and 
dry the bulbs ; have the mould of all the beds 
sifted, to collect any bulbs or offsets tbat might 
h:ive escaped. Any very small offsets of valu- 
able sorts may be re-planted at once in pots, 
as they will often shrivel before planting time. 
August. Clean all the bulbs of their dirt and 
skins, and also of the bi ts of stem left on them at 
taking up, and put the drawers away in a cool 
dry place. The smallest seedlings, and also 
the unripe offsets that are worth the trouble, 
should be planted again at once ; throw out 
the compost from the beds, and chop it about 
occasionally, to see there are neither grubs nor 
wire-worms among it, for both are enemies to 
the tulip. 
September. Begin to arrange your beds, 
removing those which are too short or tall, or 
wrong sorts, or not appropriate, into places bet- 
ter adapted for them ; all these alterations must 
be made in the boxes, and carefully noted in 
the book for the next season. Turn over the 
compost of the beds. 
October. Plant offsets so as to get them 
out of the way before the general planting 
time comes ; the seedlings and breeders may 
also be all planted this month, leaving nothing 
till next month, but the principal beds. Return 
all the compost to the best bed, and if it be 
the same the tulips grew in last season, put 
some rotten cow-dung, about two feet from 
the surface, full two inches thick all over the 
bottom. 
November. Plant the rest of the stock, 
the best bed as well as others ; sow seed, and 
keep offset beds clear of weeds. The whole 
of the bulbs ought to be planted early in 
the month. 
December. Sow seed, keep all beds clear 
of weeds, and if any bulbs be left out of the 
ground, lose not an hour in planting them. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
The necessity of planting as early as 
directed, if the weather permit, may be ap- 
preciated on consideration of the fact that the 
weather often causes all operations to be sus- 
pended for a month or six weeks. "We have, 
ourselves, been unable to do it at the proper 
moment, and although we could have done it 
a fortnight later, had the weather served us, 
we have been thrown out (and we remember 
one year in particular) until the 11th of 
January. The bulbs always suffer from the 
time they begin to shoot until they are in the 
ground; the cultivator who will pay common 
attention to these simple rules, however un- 
important some may seem, will find his reward 
in a good bloom and healthy bulbs. 
PROPERTIES OP THE TULIP. 
First. — The cup should form when quite 
expanded from half to a third of a hollow ball. 
To do this, the petals must be six in number ; 
broad at the ends, smooth at the edges, and the 
divisions between the petals scarcely to show an 
indenture. (See illustration.} 
Second. — The three inner petals should set 
close to the three outer ones, and the whole 
should be broad enough to allow of the fullest 
expansion without quartering (as it is called), 
that is, exhibiting any vacancy between the 
petals. 
Third. — The petals should be thick, smooth, 
and stiff, and keep their form well. 
Fourth. — The ground should be clear and 
distinct, whether white or yellow. The least 
stain, even at the lower end of the petal, would 
render a tulip comparatively valueless. 
Fifth. — Roses, byblomens, and bizarres, are 
the three classes into which tulips are now 
divided. The first have a white ground, and 
crimson, or pink, or scarlet marks ; the second 
have white grounds, and purple, lilac, or black 
marks ; and the last have yellow grounds, with 
any coloured marks. 
Sixth. — Whatever be the disposition of 
colours or marks upon a tulip, all the six petals 
should be marked alike, and be therefore per- 
fectly uniform. 
Seventh. — The feathered flowers should 
have an even, close feathering all round, and 
whether narrow or wide, light or heavy, should 
reach far enough round the petals to form, 
when they are expanded, an unbroken edging 
all round. 
Eighth. — If the flower have any marking 
besides the feathering at the edge, it should be 
a beam, or bold mark down the centre, but not 
to reach the bottom, or near the bottom of 
the cup ; the mark or beam must be similar 
in all the six petals. 
Ninth. — Flowers not feathered, and with 
flame only, must have no marks on the edges 
of the flower. None of the colour must break 
through to the edge. The colour may be dis- 
posed in any form so that it be perfectly uni- 
form in all the petals, and does not go too 
near the bottom. 
Tenth. — The colour, whatever it be, must 
be dense and decided. Whether it be delicate 
and light, or bright, or dark, it must be dis- 
tinct in its outline, and not shaded, or flushed, 
or broken. 
Eleventh. — The height should be eighteen 
to thirty- six inches; the former is right for 
the outside row in a bed, and the latter is right 
for the highest row. 
Twelfth. — The purity of the white, and the 
brightness of the yellow, should be permanent, 
that is to say, should stand until the petals 
actually fall. 
