T U L 
earth fliould be put in about eighteen inches thick ; 
this fhould be levelled exa&ly, and then lines drawn 
each way of the bed, chequerwife ; at fix inches dif- 
tance, upon the center of each crofs, fliould be placed 
the Tulip roots, in an upright poficion, and after 
having finifhed the bed in this manner, the earth muft 
be filled in, fo as to raife the bed fix or eight inches 
higher, obferving, in doing this, not to difplace any 
of the roots, and alfo to lay the top of the beds a little 
rounding to throw off the water. 
There are many perfons who are fo carelefs in planting 
their Tulip roots, as only to dig and level the beds 
well, and then with a blunt dibble to make holes, in- 
to which they put the roots, and then fill up the holes 
with a rake, but this is by no means a good method ; 
for the dibble, in making the holes, preffes the earth 
clofely on each fide, and at the bottom, whereby the 
moifture is often detained fo long about the roots as 
to rot them, efpecially if the foil is inclinable to bind; 
beiides the earth being hard at the bottom of the 
bulbs, they cannot fo eafiiy emit their fibres, which 
mu ft certainly prejudice theroots. 
Thefe beds fhould be funk, more or lefs, below the 
furface, according to the moifture or drynefs of the 
ground, for the roots fliould be fo elevated as never 
to have the water ftand near the reach of their fibres 
in winter, for moifture is very apt to rot them •, fo 
that where the foil is very wet, it will be proper to 
lay fome lime rubbifh under the earth, in order to 
drain off the wet, and the beds fliould be entirely 
railed above the level of the ground ; but to prevent 
their falling down into the walks, after froft or hard 
rains, it will be proper to rail? the paths between 
them, either with fea coal allies or rubbifh, eight or 
ten inches, which will fupport the earth of the beds ; 
and thefe paths may Hope at each end from the middle, 
which will make paffage for the water to run off as it 
falls. But where the foil is dry, the bottom of the 
beds may be funk eighteen or twenty inches below the 
furface, for in fuch places the beds need not be more 
than four or fix inches above the furface, which will 
be allowance enough for their fettling. 
During the winter feafon there will be no farther care 
required. The roots being planted thus deep, will 
be in no danger of fuffering by ordinary frofts, but 
if the winter fliould prove very fevere, fome rotten 
tan or Peas- haulm may be laid over the beds to keep 
out the froft during the continuance, but this muft 
be removed when the froft is over ; and in the fpring, 
when their leaves begin to appear above ground, the 
earth upon the furface of the beds fliould be ftirred 
to clear it from weeds, Mofs, &c. and when the 
flower-buds begin to come up, they fliould be guard- 
ed from froft, otherwife they are very fubjedft to 
blight and decay foon after they appear, if the froft 
pinches their tops ; but they need only be covered in 
fuch- nights when there is a profpedt of froft, for at 
all other times they fhould have as much air as pofli- 
ble, without which they will draw up weak, and pro- 
duce fmall flowers. 
When the breeding Tulips are in flower, you fliould 
carefully examine them, to fee ifany of them have broken 
into beautiful ftripes, which, if you obferve, there 
fliould be a ftick put into the ground by every fuch 
root, to mark them, that they may be feparated from 
the breeders, to plant amongft the ftriped flowers the 
following year; but you fliould carefully obferve, 
whether they have thrown off their former colour en- 
tirely, as alfo when they decay, to fee if they conti- 
nue beautiful to the laft, and not appeared fmeared 
over with the original colour, in both which cafes 
they are very fubjedt to go back to their old colour 
the next year : but if their ftripes are diftinct and 
clear to the bottom, and continue fo to the laft, 
(which is what the florifts call dyeing well,) there is 
no great danger of their returning back again, as 
hath been by fome confidently reported ; for if one of 
thefe flowers is quite broken (as it is termed,) it will 
never lofe its ftripes, though fometimes they will blow 
much fairer than at others, and the flowers of the 
TUL 
offsets will be often more beautiful than thofe of the 
old roots. 
This alteration in the colour of thefe flowers may be 
feen long before they are blown, for all the green 
leaves of the plant will appear of a fainter colour,- 
and feem to be ftriped .with white, or of a brownifh. 
colour, which is a plain proof, that the juices of the 
whole plant are altered, or, at leaft, the veffels thro” 
which the juice is drained ; fo that hereby particles 
of a different figure are capable of paffing through 
them, which, when entered into the petals of the 
flower, reflect the rays of light in a different manner, 
which occafions the variety we fee in the colours of 
flowers (but this is more fully explained in the arti- 
cle Vegetation, which fee.) This breaking of the 
colours in flowers proceeds from weaknefs* or at leaft 
is the caufe of weaknefs in plants ; for it is obfervea- 
ble, that after Tulips are broken into fine ftripes, they 
never grow fo tall as before, nor are the Items, leaves, 
or flowers, fo larffe as before ; and it is the fame in all 
other variegated plants and flowers whatever, which 
are alfo much tenderer than they v/ere before they 
were ftriped ; fo that many forts of exotic plants which 
by- accident became variegated in their leaves, are 
often rendered fo tender, as not to be preferved with- 
out much more care, though indeed the ftriping of 
Tulips doth never occafion fo great weaknefs in 
them as to render them very tender. The greateft 
effeft it hath on them, is in leffening their growth, 
earning fome (which, while they continued in their 
original plain colours, did rife near three feet in 
height) to advance little more than two after their co- 
lours were altered ; and the more beautifully. their 
ftripes appear, the fhorter will be their ftems, and 
the weaker their flowers. 
There is nothing more to be obferved in the culture of 
ftriped flowers than what has been directed for breed- 
ers, excepting that thefe fliould be arched over with 
tall hoops and rails, that they may be fha'ded from the 
fun in the day time, and proteifted from ftrong winds, 
hard rains, andfrofty mornings, otherwife the flowers 
will continue but a fhort time in beauty ; but where 
the inftrudions here given are duly followed, they 
may be preferved in flower a full month, which is as 
long as moft other flowers continue. 
There are fome perfons who are fo extremely fond of 
thefe flowers, as to be at a great expence in eroding 
large frames of iron work to cover their beds of Tu- 
lips, in fuch a manner, that they may walk between 
two beds under the frames, over which are fpread 
tarpaulins, fo as to keep off fun, rain, and- froft, 
whereby they can view the flowers without being at 
the trouble of taking off or turning up the tarpaulins, 
or being incommoded by the fun or rain, which can- 
not be avoided where the covering is low ; befides, by 
thus railing the covers, the flowers have a greater 
ftiare of air,' fo that they are not drawn fo weak, as 
they are when the covering is low and dole to them ; 
but thefe frames being expenfive, can only be made 
by perfons of fortune ; however, there may be fome. 
of wood contrived at a fmaller expence, which bein°- 
arched over with hoops, may anfwer the purpofe as 
well as the iron frames, though they are not fo fio-htiy 
or lafting. 
But after the flowers are faded, the heads of all the 
fine forts fhould be broken off to prevent their feed- • 
ing ; for if this is not obferved, they will not flower 
near fo well the following year, nor will their ftripes 
continue fo perfect ; and this will alfo caufe their Items 
to decay fooner than otherwife they would do, fo that 
their roots may be taken up early in June, for they 
fhould not remain in the ground after their leaves are 
decayed. In taking the roots out of the ground, you 
muft be very careful not to bruife or cut them, which 
will endanger their rotting, and, if poffible, ic%>.uld 
be done a day or two after rain. When thefe roots 
are taken out of the ground, they muft be cleared 
from their old covers, and all forts of filth, and 
fpread upon mats in a ihady place to dry, after which 
they fhould be put up in a dry place, where vermin 
l 3 ® cannot 
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