518 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
April 16, 1892i 
DAFFODILS & NARCISSI. 
(Concluded from page 500 .) 
Daffodils as Cut Flowers for Decoration. 
These flowers have a double qualification. In the 
growing state, either in the open border or in pots, 
they are highly decorative, and as cut flowers for the 
drawing-room, for the fashionable dinner-table, or for 
the mantel-piece of an ordinary sitting-room, there 
are few flowers more lovely, none more graceful, and 
few, indeed, that so lighten up and brighten a dark 
room. For cut flowers those varieties which have 
long stalks are much to be preferred. Such varieties 
as Golden Spur, maximus, cernuus, Horsfieldii, 
Sir Watkin, Stella, poeticus ornatus, the grand 
old-fashioned Codlings and Cream, with its more 
striking sister, Eggs and Bacon, and the beautiful 
double poeticus, or Gardenia flowered Narcissus. 
The last three are doubles, and much to be re¬ 
commended ; but, for cutting single flowers, as a rule, 
are more useful and profitable, for they are lighter in 
appearance and they last longer. Fashions in flowers 
change as in everything else. In the days of our 
forefathers it was considered the correct thing to 
have everything in the way of house furniture as 
massive as it was possible to get it. The Codlings 
and Cream and the Eggs and Bacon Daffodils 
were consequently thought highly of. They accorded 
with the prevailing taste. Now, however, when we 
are on the aesthetic tack, the fashion in Daffodils has 
changed, too, and the single varieties, with their airy 
elegance and refinement of form, are happily in the 
ascendant. These three kinds are however indispens¬ 
able in ever so modest a collection. The Codlings 
and Cream has a rich, soft, creamy hue, while the 
Eggs and Bacon is unique with its orange coloured 
petaloid stamens rising from their milk-white setting 
like a phoenix from its ashes. The lovely cernuus 
plenus, which has a perfectly double creamy-white 
trumpet, is a grand flower. Sometimes, as in the 
case of the fine old Double Daffodil the trumpet 
instead of being entire is split and the flower then 
assumes the form of a full-bloom rose. The latter 
appearance is likely to occur after a hot summer, or 
if the bulbs are grown in a warm sandy soil. In a 
shady situation or in stiff soil they are more likely to 
retain their trumpet shape. All kinds should be cut 
before they expand into full bloom, just when they 
have slipped their hood or flower sheath and are 
showing the colour of the calyx, or perianth, as the 
calyx of a Daffodil is called. Immediately after being 
gathered they should be placed with their stalks in 
water, in a darkened room, say, in a potting shed, or 
any other cool place, where they are not exposed to 
. sunlight or to any artificial heat. The flowers will 
then open clean, fresh, and pure in colour, and will 
' have three times the enduring qualities which those 
would have which were allowed to be in full bloom 
. before cutting. Early morning is the best time for 
^cutting Daffodils, and, if it is intended to pack them 
:and send them away, they ought to be placed in 
'-water two or three hours previously. One of the 
very best for packing is the Tenby, the trumpet 
being short and stout, and not easily damaged. 
In arranging Daffodils in glasses it is well, if pos¬ 
sible, to place them in slender and fairly tall glasses, 
never upon any account crowding them together, but 
arranging them loosely and naturally. As far as it 
can be done, so dispose them as they would have 
looked when growing. Nothing looks worse than to 
see these lovely flowers huddled together in fat, 
podgy bunches. They ought always to be garnished 
with foliage becoming them, their own leaves. 
Daffodils do not readily mix in any kind of society. 
The}' like to move in their own set. As the natural 
foliage is recommended, the question might fairly be 
asked, would it not be robbing the plant to denude 
it of its leaves as well as its flowers ? Certainly it 
would ; and the plant would quickly resent such 
treatment. In the Daffodil world, as among our¬ 
selves, while some command others must obey. We 
must therefore look to the commoner sorts, such as 
the common Trumpet Major, the Lent Lily, or the 
Double Daffodil, to provide foliage to set off their 
more aristocratic brethren and sisters. If you take 
the leaves as well as the flowers from the finer sorts, 
many of which are not only costly to begin with but 
are slow in reproducing themselves, you must not 
expect great things in the way of increase, nor must 
you look for fine flowers from them the following 
year. What I would recommend to those who grow 
-the select sorts is to have dotted up and down the 
kitchen garden in small clumps some of the cheapest 
kinds to pick foliage from, and so be able to leave 
intact the leaves of the choicer-named sorts. There 
would not only be economy in this plan, but it would 
be the means of enlivening the kitchen garden in the 
early months of the year, when it is often little else 
than a howling waste of naked stems and leafless 
branches. 
Cultivation in Pots. 
My remarks under the heading of cultivation I pro¬ 
pose to devote chiefly to cultivation out of doors, but 
as all kinds of Narcissi do well in pots, I may say a 
word or two upon indoor cultivation. For green¬ 
house or conservatory decoration they go well with 
Hyacinths and Tulips, so there should always be a 
few potted up in October to come in about March. 
They may be potted singly in 4-in. or 5-in. pots, or in 
threes in 6-in. or 7-in. pots. Some sorts such as 
Emperor, Empress, Horsfieldii, and Sir Watkin, 
have very large bulbs at times, and for three bulbs 
would require a 7 in. or 8-in. pot, but a smaller pot 
suffices for the others. The Hoop-petticoats may be 
planted five in a 5-in. pot. For a good potting soil I 
would recommend two parts of rich loam, one part 
of leaf mould, and one part of rough sand. A little 
soot and well-rotted cow manure mixed with the soil 
would be a help. See that the drainage of the pot 
is perfect, and do not pot the bulbs too tight, as that 
seriously hampers root action. Place the bulbs with 
their tops about an inch under the surface, and then 
put them out on ashes in a cold frame to winter. 
When they begin to show bloom give plenty of light 
and air. If they are brought into the house they 
should not be left in a room where fire and gas is 
burning, else they will soon flag. When they are 
done blooming they may be put out of doors to dry 
off until June, then knockout the bulbs, and let them 
have the sun on them for a few days, after that 
storing them away until September or October in a 
dry, airy place. They require very little water 
during winter, but must never be allowed to get dry 
after they have shown the bloom scape. 
Cultivation Out of doors. 
In growing Narcissi in the flower-border, it may be 
presumed that the soil is, to some extent, made free 
and friable; for, in a heavy clay, only the very 
strongest growers would have any chance, and even 
they would not be very happy in it. Bulbous plants 
cannot brook tightness or strangling. To grow a 
collection of Daffodils to perfection, different soils 
and situations would be required. Beginning with 
the commonest kinds, plant them in the poorest soil, 
and in such a position that they may be left undis¬ 
turbed for years. Strong growing kinds, like 
Emperor, Empress, and Rugilobus, should be 
planted deep, say, not less than 8 in., and the best 
soil for them is a deep, strong loam. Do not press 
the soil around them. If planted by September (as 
they ought to be) the autumn rains and the long spell 
of winter will do all that is required in firming the 
soil about the bulbs. You must bear in mind that 
in a week or two from the time of planting the roots 
begin to grow, and, as they keep on growing during 
the winter, they want breathing space. Although 
these are strong growers they should not get any 
manure after planting. If the ground requires 
enriching, old cow manure or thoroughly well rotted 
stable manure should be applied the year before, so 
that it would have become wholly incorporated with 
the soil before the bulbs came in contact with it. 
Horsfieldii, Countess of Annesley, Golden Spur, Ard 
Righ, and others of the spurious type should be 
planted very early, in August if possible, or, at all 
events, not later than September. They do not 
require to be planted so deep, nor in so strong a soil. 
They do well when lifted every July and planted 
again the following month, just giving them a month 
or six weeks to harden their bulbs. The white 
trumpet varieties, Cernuus, Moschatus, Tortuosus, 
Pallidus, Proecox, and that grand Daffodil—Maximus 
—are all weaker in growth and like shallow planting. 
The soil for these must be light, the aspect southerly, 
and getting plenty of sunlight. They do well at the 
foot of standard roses, for they seem to like being 
relieved of some of the moisture in the ground. On 
gravelly or warm sandy banks they do admirably. In 
moist or retentive clay they ultimately perish. The 
Double Cernuus is a delicate grower, and wants to 
be tenderly dealt with. A light soil and a warm 
situation is indispensable for its welfare. The dainty 
little hoop-petticoat Daffodil should be planted at 
the foot of some ornamental tree and left alone, 
provided the situation is not damp. If it is, it must 
be lifted about July and replanted in August. It is 
rather long winded, for although it begins growing 
early in autumn it is a late bloomer. The peerless 
or star Narcissi, such as Cynosure, Queen Bess, 
Stella, Princess Mar}’, and Leedsii Amabilis should 
not be planted deeply. Being all of them garden 
hybrids, they have been used to rather a rich soil 
and take well with it. They may be lifted and re¬ 
planted annually. As in the case of the 'White 
Trumpet varieties, so with the White Star Narcissi, 
they are delicate and shy in growth and want a little 
nursing. The lovely little Cyclamen flowered 
variety Triandrus Albus, poetically called Angels' 
Tears, may be grown on a north border, or where it 
is not exposed to the full force of the sun, but it is 
much more satisfactory to grow it in pots. The 
Poet’s Narcissus section want careful management. It 
is of no use attempting to grow them in heavy clay soil. 
The soil must be light and in fine condition when the 
bulbs are planted, a deep, rich, sandy soil suiting them 
well. Sometimes the Double White is apt to go blind. 
This, it is said, may be obviated by lifting every 
second year, so that to ensure a number of flowering 
bulbs half the stock might be lifted annually. The 
foregoing remarks apply to those planted in the open 
border, but many, if not all, of the kinds named do 
well in the grass, and they look uncommonly pretty 
peeping up here and there on a lawn that is not kept 
too closely cut. The whites and the smaller ones 
are very pretty when grown on a grassy bank. 
I am told that Mr. Robinson, the editor of the 
Carden, has thousands of Daffodils growing in a grass 
meadow at his place in Sussex, leaving them alone 
year after year, and that they reward him by coming 
stronger every year. Queen Anne's Daffodil, a lovely 
gem with the petals overlapping each other with 
geometrical accuracy, likes a gravelly soil, and should 
be planted pretty deep for its size. It is best to lift 
it in July, and after hardening the bulbs plant again 
in a month or so. Before leaving the subject of 
cultivation, I may mention that in preparing these 
cultural notes I have had the valuable assistance, for 
the sake of comparison with my own notes, of the 
experience of one of the highest authorities on the 
Daffodil, Mr. F. W. Burbidge, the able and accom¬ 
plished Curator of Trinity College Botanic Gardens, 
Dublin, and Mr. Hill, who so successfully manages 
the great Daffodil grounds of Percy J. Kendall, Esq., 
at Newton Poppleford. 
The Best Kinds to Grow. 
Any of those I have named are worth growing, and 
in a good representative collection it would be a pity 
to leave any of them out. But if I were restricted 
to a list of twenty sorts I would name the following : 
—Large trumpet section: Golden Spur, maximus 
tortuosus, Emperor, Empress, Horsfieldii, Countess 
of Annesley, capax plenus (Queen Anne's Daffodil). 
Medium trumpet section : Sir Watkin, Queen Bess, 
Cynosure, Stella, Codlings and Cream, and Eggs and 
Bacon. The true or Poet’s Narcissus section: 
poeticus ornatus, poeticus flore pleno, Burbidgei, and 
triandrus albus. To these I would add the three 
Jonquils : the single sweet-scented, the Campernelle, 
and, in addition, the Queen Anne's Double Jonquil, 
which, by the way, must not be confounded with 
Queen Anne’s Daffodil, a totally different variety. 
The old Double Daffodil, now so popular with 
Americans, is well worth growing. In conclusion, I 
would strongly recommend a more extended cultiva¬ 
tion of these lovely flowers. They have a long 
blooming season, they come in the spring, when there 
are few out-of-door flowers to be had. They are 
bright and cheerful looking under all conditions, 
either indoors or out of doors, and they are easy of 
culture. They are, indeed, as the poet has put it, 
" things of beauty and joys for ever.” The time at 
my disposal has prevented me from going into the 
question of raising Daffodils from seed and the wide 
field taken up by hybridisers of this flower, from 
whom we have received many beautiful forms of the 
Narcissus, but I hope that I may have led some of 
my hearers to see that there is in the study of this 
flower a great field open to the botanist, the florist, 
and the amateur.— A. Hope. 
The Carnation : its History, Properties, and Management, 
with a descriptive list of the best varieties in cultivation. By 
E. S. Dodwell. Third edition, with supplementary chapter on 
the yellow ground. London: Gardening World Office, i, 
Clement’s Inn, Strand, W.C. is. 6d.; post free, is. yd.— [Advt. 
