HARDY BULBS AND TUBERS. 
285 
the former is the best time, and in less favoured parts give the 
preference to April. Plant the corms or bulbs 3in. deep and 
3in. apart in fairly large groups. Those planted in autumn 
should be protected with a covering of bracken or dried leaves 
during the winter. As the bulbs have a tendency to rise to 
the surface, it is a good plant to lift and replant annually in 
November, adding a little manure to the soil. Some growers 
lift the bulbs in November, dry and store them away till 
April, and then replant. This is a good plan to adopt on a 
heavy soil. Generally speaking, good results are obtained by 
lifting and replanting every third year. Increased by offsets 
in autumn, also by seeds sown in sandy soil in a cold frame, 
and the seedlings grown on till they flower four years later. 
Tulfpa (Tulip). — The Tulip family is a large one, and 
contains not only a number of distinct and very pretty species, 
but also a legion of varieties, divided into several classes or 
groups. All the various forms in cultivation are exceedingly 
showy and brilliant, and very popular flowers for decorating 
our gardens in spring. They display their rich and varied 
colours to good advantage in beds, in borders, or naturalised in 
grass, are exceedingly easy to grow, and their comparative 
cheapness brings them within the reach of the owner of the 
smallest garden. There is a good deal of romance associated 
with the Tulip, but as our space is limited we shall not touch 
even the fringe of this phase of Tulip lore, interesting though 
it be. We have incidentally mentioned that the Tulip is classi- 
fied into various groups or sections, and now it will be our 
business to deal briefly with these. The Tulips belong to 
the Lily order (Liliaceae), and are natives of Europe and Asia. 
Species. — First of all we will take the species, which are 
very beautiful and interesting, and suitable to grow in masses 
in borders or in grass. T. acuminata has curiously formed 
thread-like petals of a yellow and red-streaked colour, height 
17m. ; T. biflora major, creamy-white flowers, borne several 
on a stem, height 8in. ; T. billietiana, yellow, margined at the 
base with orange-red, height igin. ; T. Clusiana (Lady Tulip), 
rosy-red outside, white and violet inside, height 8in., charming 
for a rockery ; T. Didieri, crimson vermilion, indigo and prim- 
rose centre, height i6in. ; T. D. alba, a white fragrant variety; 
T. D. lutescens, pale yellow and greenish-black centre; T. 
elegans, pointed reflexed petals, crimson-vermilion, yellow 
centre, height 14m. ; T. e. alba, white, edged carmine; T. e. 
variegata, crimson, striped gold, two lovely varieties; T. 
gesneriana, flowers large, bell-shaped, scarlet, black centre, 
purple stamens, fragrant, a handsome species, height 2ft. ; 
T. g. spathulata, crimson-scarlet, blue-black centre; T. g. 
aurantiaca, scarlet greenish brown and golden centre height 
