876 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
February 13, 1886. 
Onions for an experiment in two places, one was in the 
kitchen garden proper, and the other in a piece outside 
the kitchen garden walls, which had not had Onions 
grown thereon for some time ; those outside fairly 
escaped, and we got a reasonable crop, while those in 
the kitchen garden were so badly affected that we lost 
nearly the whole of them. 
1 have not been much troubled with the maggot, 
which, I believe it to be, in Parsley. We make two 
sowings : one in spring for summer use, and another 
in July to stand the winter ; this sowing also carries 
us through until the spring sowing is ready. I never 
transplant, as I find Parsley takes a long time to 
re-establish itself when it has been disturbed at the 
root. And I like to sow in beds, then we can protect 
it in winter with glass lights, packing the sides and 
ends with bracken or dry litter. — IV. C. 
-->:£<-- 
A DOUBLE BLUE PRIMULA. 
At last a double blue Primula sinensis ! It is to be 
seen in the collection of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, at 
their Portland Road Nurseries, Reading. Indeed, from 
what one can now see there in flower, it does appear 
possible that the time is not far distant when a mar¬ 
vellous strain of double Primulas of the Chinese type 
will take the place of the single ones. Of these new 
Reading forms you shall presently have some detailed 
description, at present, I am dealing with the double 
blue type. Now' as concerns the evolution of the single 
blue (and I refer to it by way of introduction), the 
credit of having put the first type into commerce under 
the name of Holborn Gem, certainly belongs to Messrs. 
James Carter, Dunnett, & Beale, of High Holborn. 
They were engaged in making experiments at their 
Nurseries in the direction of obtaining new types, by 
means of crosses, and from one of these came two dis¬ 
tinct forms, one the Holborn Blue ; the other, a pretty 
rose-coloured variety, named Rosy Morn, a name that 
was, however, given to a variety by another house, and 
to avoid confusion Messrs. Carter & Co. changed it. 
The first blue had flowers no larger than a shilling ; 
but the magnificent form that is now offered by Messrs. 
Carter k Co., and by other houses as well, has resulted 
from later crosses subsequently made with the view of 
giving vigour to the plant, and size and form to the 
flowers ; and it is not surprising that in the course of 
their efforts at crossing, Messrs. Carter & Co. have 
observed some very curious freaks in the development 
of Primulas of the Chinese type, of an altogether un¬ 
expected character. 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons have for years past been 
busily engaged in a similar line of work, and it is 
worthy of note that their type of the blue Primula 
sinensis came from a cross of which the fine Alba mag- 
nifica was the seed parent; and both by selection and 
crossing they have not only varied the habit and colour 
of the blue type, but they have, like Messrs. Carter & 
Co., greatly advanced in size and stoutness also. But 
it is particularly in the development of semi-double 
varieties that the Reading firm has been so successful, 
and they have this season bloomed two semi¬ 
double forms of the blue one on plain or palmate, the 
other on Fern-leaved foliage. Now all the semi-double 
varieties in the Reading collection—and there are at 
least eight that are quite distinct—have bronzy red 
foliage, but of a pale rather than of a deep tint, and 
this has been of the blue forms. And in endeavouring to 
describe these double blue types I may say that there 
is, first of all, the circle of flat petals, and then rising 
from the eye is a circle of upright petals, the coloured 
side towards the beholder, and other petals also come 
up inside of these until a good semi-double character 
is revealed, and there is no interference with the organs 
of germination as the semi-double forms bear seed, 
though not in such a large proportion as the single 
flowers. But they do seed, and more than that they 
reproduce themselves true from seed. Then there is 
another advantage, the flowers are much more lasting 
than in the case of the single varieties, and this is an 
important gain when used for decorative and cutting 
purposes. 
The origin of these useful semi-double forms is soon 
explained, and they have been produced for years past, 
but never followed up with the zeal Messrs. Sutton & 
Sons have shown in the work of production. The 
first indication is the appearance of an additional petal 
in the centre, if such a flower be carefully fertilised 
with the pollen of a very fine single type or better 
still one of like character, the progeny will show 
several further advancing towards the semi-double 
character. Not long since a florist said to me ‘'I am on 
the way towards getting a double Primula, for I have 
a very fine variety with a double row of petals.” He 
thought that additional petals might be piled up upon 
these until the whole of the flower was filled with 
them. He will have to wait long until this happens, 
unless someone else has attained it in this way to a 
double flower, and then an exception is provided. 
Fine stout large single-flowered Primulas often show 
the petals overlapping each other ; it is particularly 
noticeable in the fine strains raised by the late Mr. 
Tomkins, of the Sparkbrook Nurseries, Birmingham.—- 
E. D. 
BRITISH, OR WHAT? 
The complaint made by “Imperias,” that English 
people, both speakers and writers, refer to Scotch things 
as English, thus, as it were, robbing the northern 
country of what is her due, is, perhaps, rather amusing 
in face of the fact that some years ago not only were 
Scotch gardeners the most favoured by English em¬ 
ployers, but also the Scotch gardeners traded on their 
nationality and found it eminently profitable. No 
doubt, at that time the Scotchman was the best gar¬ 
dener. He had received better training in his profession, 
and, what is more, far better elementary education in 
his schools ; therefore, he found in the south a good 
market for his knowledge and ability, and when his 
northern derivation proved a marketable commodity he 
was at no pains to hide his nationality. 
No Scotchman was then ever heard to deprecate that 
nationality, and declare that he was British ; to have 
done so would have been to kick away the stone- which 
helped him so admirably in his career in life. The 
demand for British designation now seems amusing, 
but English readers and writers have no narrow views 
in the matter, and certainly are not selfish. By all 
means drop the pure national appellation, and let us 
have those of broader phrase and comprehensiveness. 
Great Britain certainly has a comprehensive as well as 
an high-sounding expression, and British might well 
be made to govern all that relates to any part of the 
kingdom ruled 1 over by the Queen. 
Perhaps Irish readers will object to that compre¬ 
hension, natives of that country just now seeming 
rather to favour nationality than inclusion. However, 
for all gardening purposes British may suit most 
people and give little offence. We have long used the 
term British as applied to native plants, and none have 
quarrelled with it. We shall only have to apply the 
term to all things raised in gardens, and the same 
result will follow.— Briton. 
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ANCIENT AND MODERN TULIPS. 
Tulips appear to have been introduced into this 
country in the sixteenth century, probably in the reign 
of Queen Elizabeth. The Tulip is supposed to have 
been brought from Persia to the Levant, and it was 
introduced into western Europe about the middle of the 
sixteenth century by Burbeck, ambassador from the 
Emperor of Germany to the Sublime Porte, who, to his 
astonishment, found Tulips on the Road between 
Adrianople and Constantinople blooming in the middle 
of winter, so the story goes. From the Levant they 
found their way into England. Nothing worthy of 
notice appears to have taken place in them for about a 
century ; and it was in Charles the Second's time the 
Tulipomauia occured. 
It was chiefly in Holland and the Netherlands that 
this mania raged with the greatest violence. I have 
just found in an old gardening book what was paid for 
a root called The Viceroy :— 
Two lasts of Wheat 
Four lasts of Rye . 
Four fat oxen 
Three fat pigs. 
Twelve fat sheep . 
Two hogsheads of wine 
Four tuns of beer . 
Two tons of butter 
1,000 lbs. of cheese 
One complete bed . 
One suit of clothes 
One silver beaker . 
value. 
448 florins 
558 ,, 
480 „ 
240 „ 
120 „ 
70 ,, 
32 „ 
192 „ 
120 „ 
100 „ 
80 „ 
GO „ 
Making a grand total of 2,500 florins 
What a price for a single bulb ! 
In those days Tulips were generally sold by a small 
weight called a pint, which was rather less than a 
grain. Four hundred pints of a variety named Admiral 
Leiften sold for 4,400 florins; 446 pints of Admiral Yon 
der Eyke sold for 1,620 florins ; 200 pints of Semper 
Augustus sold for 5,300 florins ; and it appears that 
Viceroy rose in the market after the account given 
above, as it was sold for 3,000 florins ; whilst a bulb of 
Semper Augustus was sold for 4,600 florins, a new 
carriage, and a complete set of harness ; and for a bulb 
of the same variety twelve acres of land were given by 
another person. 
Now, I wonder what was the real value of these 
Tulips? They could not have approached anything 
near to the value of the flowers in Groom’s day, and 
what comparison could they bear to the gems in Mr. 
Samuel Barlow’s collection, to Sir J. Paxton, Dr. 
Hardy, Orion, Violet Aimalle, and others that could be 
mentioned. It is said that Semper Augustus was 
grown in old collections up to within the last thirty or 
forty years, and was described as a “light reddish 
Bizarre, pretty fair, but not good enough to grow now.” 
John Slater does not name it in his catalogue of Tulips, 
published in 1843. 
Alas ! the gorgeous Tulip has ceased to be grown 
round London. I remember when Mr. John Edwards, 
of Holloway ; Dr. Sanders, of Staines ; the brothers 
Williams; several cultivators at Camberwell and Peck- 
liam ; Mr. R. J. Lawrence, of Hampton, and others 
had then collections and used to exhibit. They have 
left no successors behind them. In Derbyshire, York¬ 
shire, Lancashire, Cheshire, and one or two adjacent 
counties, collections are grown and exhibitions are held. 
Would that there could be something like a Tulip 
revival in the south ; who knows but what it may come 
some day ? Fashions in the matter of flowers change 
and the Tulip may again have its day in the near 
future. It would not be difficult to form a good col¬ 
lection just now, nor would it be expensive to do so. 
Some of the northern growers would be happy to assist 
anv southern recruit who could be induced to join their 
ranks.— E. D. 
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NARCISSUS BULBOCODIUM. 
In the great genus Narcissus, we have probably one 
of the most valuable—I think I may say the most 
valuable among spring flowering bulbous plants ; it is 
great in more ways than one, for it includes some of 
the smallest gems of the rock garden, as well as some 
of the most prominent and bold of the border flowers, 
and in point of variety it is an overwhelming group ; 
varieties in some cases more distinguishable by name 
than by any definite character. Still it is not my 
desire to find fault, for call them what we may, it does 
not in the least mar the beauty for which they are 
renowned. The species above named is perhaps 
better known by the familiar title of the Hoop Petticoat 
Daffodil, an appropriate name too, which appears to 
have its origin in the formation of the cup ; this is of 
a clear golden yellow, and on emerging from the scape 
gradually and regularly widens to the summit ; when 
it attains maturity it is usually erect, prior to which it 
assumes a horizontal direction. 
It grows when well established to a height of S or 
even 10 ins. when well suited, and where soil and 
situation suit it, it is better to leave it undisturbed in 
the soil ; it will thrive in any deep well drained light 
sandy loam, but does not object to equal parts of peat 
and loam made sandy. A position on a southern 
border, or in patches in sunny positions on the rockery 
(not high up, for it should be arranged close to the 
eye) suit it admirably. It forms a pleasing companion 
to Gentiana acaulis, planted alternately in clumps, and 
is benefited when in flower by the deep green glossy leaves 
of the Gentian, which latter forms a good succession. 
Nor must we leave it here, for its value as a pot plant 
for conservatory decoration is not the least pleasing 
feature respecting it, and by potting early in autumn, 
and introducing it into slight warmth early in January, 
flowers of it may be had in succession till they come on 
naturally in the open ground ; it is one of the gems of 
spring which cannot be too strongly recommended. It 
comes from the South of France and Spain, where it is 
found abundantly, and where the rich golden of its 
flowers issuing from amidst its grassy or rush-like tufts 
of leaves produce a most telling effect. I may remark 
that the generic titles of Corbularia and Bulbocodium 
are often adopted for this little group. — J. 
