March 24, 1881 . ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 227 
inspiration. It is a singular fact that definite information on this 
point is very difficult of attainment, for the writers who should be 
able to speak authoritatively will be found to differ ; some asserting 
that the Tulips of the Tulip mania were late Tulips, and others with 
equal confidence declaring that they were early Tulips. The Rev. 
William Hanbury, in his great work on “ Planting and Gardening,” 
in two folio volumes, 1771, page 859 of the first volume, says without 
hesitation, “The early species were the sort of Tulips that were so 
much coveted in the above-mentioned period, and for the bulbs of 
which, singly, such extravagant prices were given.” The list in 
Parkinson’s “ Paradisus ” long ago suggested to me that the famous 
Tulips of the seventeenth century comprised the two great divisions ; 
for he wrote so near the time of the outbreak of the mania, and 
figured and described the several sections then recognised with such 
evident appreciation of the high merits of each, that it could not be 
expected the tide of public favour should suddenly contract to one 
narrow channel to compass only one class of these splendid flowers. 
I am now enabled to say without hesitation that the famous Tulips 
of the middle of the seventeenth century comprised both early and 
late varieties ; and moreover, I can declare to you that some of the 
most famous of that day are at this day in cultivation, and are much 
prized for their beauty ! In my endeavour to solve the riddle I have 
been greatly assisted by Mr. J. H. Krelage of Haarlem, who pos¬ 
sesses a remarkably fine collection of books, pictures, and miscel¬ 
laneous memoranda illustrative of the history of the Tulip, and he 
has generously put himselfj to much trouble to furnish me with 
original matter for this discourse. 
To sum up the results, the Tulips of the bubble period were of all 
classes, but the principal were of the sections now known as Early 
and Late. A variety known as Zomerschoon, which was sold for 
1010 florins, is still in existence ; it belongs to the Late Rose class. 
The celebrated Admiral Liefkins was a Late Rose. Admiral Yan 
Enkhuizen was a Late Rose. The mighty Semper Augustus must of 
course have special attention ; of this it is said there were at one 
time only two roots available for commercial purposes, for one of 
which an offer was made of 4G00 florins, a new carriage, two grey 
horses, and a set of harness. For the other a man agreed to give for 
a root twelve acres of land. Well, and what sort of thing was 
Semper Augustus ? I asked my friend the Rev. F. D. Horner if he 
could give me any distinct idea of the style and complexion of Semper 
Augustus, and he replied indefinitely, but making a very good guess, 
as will be seen. He says, “ I have pictured him in fancy’s eye as a 
rough bizarre of spattery flame, and with skips in feather, long in the 
cup and thin in petal, foul in stamen, and perhaps base in base—in 
fact, with a touch of all the faults and blemishes which we have led 
the Tulips through to purity and beauty.” Mr. Krelage is enabled to 
say, by means of the drawings in his possession, that the original 
Semper Augustus was a Late Rose, but there was, he adds, “ a Bizard 
of this name which exists yet at present, and of which some bulbs 
were lately offered to me by some of my friends here.” 
So far as to the late Tulips of the speculative period. Now for the 
early ones. The early Tulip we know as Lac Yan Ryn was of the 
number, and was sold for 175 florins. The Geil en Rood, which was 
sold for 235 florins, was an early Tulip. A very rectified form of Wit 
en Rood borde, which was sold for 2000 florins, was an early Tulip. 
Thus we may see that the two leading classes of Tulips were about 
equally favoured, and the case, as presented by Parkinson in his 
classification of 140 varieties,is fully justified by the facts at our com¬ 
mand. It is to be hoped, however, that those severe florists who turn 
up their noses at early Tulips will for the future abstain from so dis¬ 
tressing the muscles of their noses, as also of making known their 
possible lack of catholicity, for history has decided that the early 
Tulips have some technical merit, and it is always folly to oppose the 
stream that carries with it all the wrecks of time that are gifted with 
any degree of buoyancy. 
Having treated the subject thus far historically let us now hastily 
regard it from the floral or artistic point of view. There are Tulips of 
many kinds, and their distinguishing characters are obvious to the 
most casual observer. Between the clear self yellow or white of a 
Pottebakker and the feathery pattern of a fine show Tulip the dif¬ 
ference is so great that it really does not need to be pointed out. The 
alphabet of the tulipist may be learned in less time than the alphabet 
of our literature. But when we quit the elementary stage and plunge 
into details the parallel holds good, and it is about as hard to under¬ 
stand the details of the Tulip fancy as the intricacies and involutions 
of expression in English literature. But it must be added that the 
hardness is softened by its sweetness. It is a laborious task to master 
all that is required to be known by one who would pass judgment 
authoritatively on florists’ Tulips, and it is not less hard—perhaps 
more hard—to acquire the knowledge and judgment required for the 
criticism of English authors from Chaucer downwards. 
The early Tulips are judged by form and colour and general effec¬ 
tiveness, but the late Tulips are judged by a most severe judgment as 
to their form and the symmetry and purity of their markings ; and 
an immensity of knowledge is required for the performance of the 
arduous task in a satisfactory manner. In the late Tulips some very 
strange characters are required, such as flames and feathers, of which 
we see but little in the early Tulips. Consequently at this stage of 
the story we come upon another of the peculiarly interesting points 
in the history of the Tulip—it is that which the florists term the 
“ breaking ” of the self-coloured flower into one variegated with stripes 
and lines that are known as flames and feathers. The florists have 
perhaps said enough in respect of this wonderful process, but the 
biologists have not even yet in their ardent search after illustrations 
of evolution taken hold of the fact as of scientific interest. We sow 
the seeds, and the plants that rise therefrom produce in due time 
their flowers. But these flowers have but one colour, and they may 
be called seifs, but as a rule they are called Breeders. Now, these 
one-coloured Tulips are carefully scrutinised, and those that are con¬ 
sidered deficient of form and substance are destroyed, the very finest 
of the breeders only being retained for further cultivation. The hope 
of the florist from this moment is to see his selected breeders break. 
As a matter of course all kinds of methods and tricks have been re¬ 
sorted to for the promotion of the much-desired “ breaking,” but only 
one secret has Nature and Time ever revealed to the anxious watcher 
over a bed of breeders. Yes, there is one secret, and to realise fully 
the capabilities of a breeder Tulip we have only to exercise patience. 
If we are not patient Nature will not move in our behalf ; and if we 
are patient she will be none the less immoveable, but will just take 
her own time, and when her time arrives the self-coloured Tulip will 
abandon its self colouring and appear with flame or feather, or both 
combined, a gratifying and glorious reward for the pains and patience 
of its possessor. 
It may appear from this statement that the art of man has but 
little to do with the characters of the flamed and feathered, or, as we 
sometimes term them, the “rectified,” Tulips. But here we encounter 
another of the curious features of this fascinating subject, for although 
the tulipist cannot by any science or any trick compel his breeders to 
break—and they will do it when they are in the humour, or perhaps 
never do it at all—nevertheless, the kind of break that may occur, 
and the style and fashion of the flower throughout, are under his con¬ 
trol, and if he does but co-operate with Nature, and as little as pos¬ 
sible stand in the way of her normal working, he may ensure the pro¬ 
duction of a race of flowers of a type determined by himself. To sum 
up this matter, we must bring to bear upon the production of Tulip 
seed a certain amount of science and taste, and having done this we 
must wait for the results. It is thus that distinct strains or races of 
Tulips have been established, as in one case the Chellastou Tulips, in 
another the Stapleford Tulips, and so on. We may begin with the 
seifs, but we must reserve for stud purposes those that have acquired 
the gorgeous stripes, and in due time we may expect their progeny to 
take after their parents, and thus keep us rich, and so reward us for 
our forethought. Thus, having found the Tulip quite unique in its 
manner of assuming the garb that has made it so renowned, we are 
now enabled to restore it to the rank of any ordinary flower, and see 
in its mysterious flames and feathers, and all the characteristics of its 
carriage and form, an illustration of the Shakesperian doctrine— 
From fairest creatures we desire increase, 
That thereby Beauty’s Rose might never die. 
COVERING WALLS IN STOVES. 
The back walls in these structures are often bare and unsightly, 
and therefore the following outline of a successful mode of ren¬ 
dering them attractive will be useful to those who wish to effect 
such a purpose in the stove. Fix flat iron bars up the wall about 
a yard apart. The holdfasts should be either cemented or leaded 
in : wood should not be used, or the holdfasts require replacing 
every alternate year. The upright bars should have holes either 
punched or drilled through them 2 inches apart, through which 
galvanised wire can be run the whole length of the house in single 
wires. Another plan is to affix to the uprights on the face of the 
wall 2-inch-mesh wire netting. When wires alone are used very 
rough turf must be employed for packing next the wall, with 
small additions of leaf soil and peat to every layer of turf until 
the whole is filled, the space between the wall and wire being 
3 inches. The wire netting should not exceed 18 inches in width, 
it being necessary to fill the space up, as the netting is attached to 
the upright bars. Where moss is plentiful it may be used between 
the netting and the soil. The compost must be pressed in very 
firmly, as a hollow space will soon be the result if it is placed in 
loosely. Besides a groundwork of Selaginellas pricked in about 
6 inches apart the following are suitable :—Begonias of the orna- 
mental-foliaged varieties ; Tradescantia discolor, T. vittata, and 
T. zebrina ; Panicum variegatum, Gymnostacbyum Pearcei, Adi- 
antum cuneatum, and Pteris serrulata. These should be about 
2 feet apart; also a few young plants of Cissus discolor add con¬ 
siderably to its beauty. Every care must be taken to keep them 
moist by syringing twice every day, especially when first inserted. 
This mode of covering a wall is one of the most beautiful, amply 
repays for the trouble, and invariably gives great satisfaction 
when artistically executed.—A. 
CalAnthes at Drtjmlanrig. —Mr. Cox (page 215") appears 
to require further information about the above. It is well known 
that they are second to none in the kingdom, and as I hope Mr. 
Thomson will tell us in these pages the details of his culture I will 
not speculate on it. Had I found them with small pseudo-bulbs 
