644 
fHE GAkDENiNG WORLD 
June 11, 1892. 
TULIPS FOR OUTDOOR 
CULTURE. 
'There is a large nutriber of species and well marked 
forms or varieties of Tulip which may be made to 
contribute largely to the ornamentation of British 
gardens, as they are showy, hardy, and may be 
grown and flowered successfully every year from the 
same lot of bulbs without having to import fresh 
ones from abroad. The soil must, however, be of a 
light and friable nature, with an open or well-drained 
subsoil, and it may even be sandy, provided it is 
naturally rich or made so by means of well-decayed 
manure. All are essentially spring flowering, so that 
they may be grown in beds intended later on for 
summer flowering plants. The stronger and taller 
growing kinds may be grown by themselves, or 
planted in the centre of large beds with the dwarf 
ones outside. By the time the plants are well in 
bloom the young bulbs are made, so that when they 
go out of bloom they may be lifted and laid in soil in 
the reserve garden till they ripen off, after which 
they may be lifted and stored till planting time 
in autumn. 
Strong Growing Kinds. 
Tui.ipa Gesneriana.— So well known is this 
species that little need be said about it than that it 
contains a host in itself of various types both for 
outdoor and pot culture. The florists’ flamed and 
feathered or rectified Tulips belong here. Recently 
a new strain of breeder Tulips have been raised and 
put into commerce under the name of Darwin 
Tulips. They are strong and vigorous varieties, pre¬ 
senting a great range of colour, and might be largely 
used for bedding purposes. 
T. spathulata.— Some good authorities consider 
this as the wild form of T. Gesneriana. The flowers 
are large and red with a violet blotch at the base of 
each segment within, and shaped somewhat like a 
crown. It grows about i8in. high and answers well 
for bedding out. 
T. Ostrowskyana.— The height and habit of this 
plant is similar to the last, but the flowers show it 
to be closely allied to T. oculis-solis; they are 
scarlet with a black blotch surrounded with a yellow 
line at the base of each segment. 
T. vitellina.— Yolk of egg colour as implied by 
the specific name is not strictly correct, for the 
flowers are pale yellow, the outer segments being 
slightly shaded with green and the inner ones with 
white. Occasionally the whole flower is white. In 
all cases it is of large size and effective in beds, 
while the scapes grow iJ ft. to 2 ft. high. 
T. strangulata.— The flowers of this species are 
large and of a deep red, with a pale blapk blotch at 
the base. Sometimes the flowers sport or become 
rectified, by being mottled and striated with fine red 
lines on a yellow ground, and the blotch is here 
absent. The leaves are very broad. 
T. Greigi.— The broad leaves of this Tulip are 
striped with purple, and the huge flowers are 
different from those of other species. They are 
bright scarlet with a black claw having a yellow 
edge. The segments are widely spreading, revolute 
at the apex, and the three outermost are much the 
largest. Unfortunately the bulbs have a tendency to 
get weaker and weaker in succeeding years in certain 
soils. 
T. suaveolens. —Although a strong grower, this 
does not generally exceed a foot in height. The 
flowers are large reddish-purple with the upper 
third white or pink. A double form is quite as 
common as the single. 
T. fulgens. — In this we have one of the tallest 
growing Tulips with stems about 2.J ft. high. It is 
very effective and striking when bedded out, owing 
to the size of its brilliant red flowers with a yellow 
blotch at the base. Sometimes the flower is flamed 
with yellow. The segments are pointed, the outer 
ones being recurved, the ir.ner ones slightly so. 
T. elegans.— At a casual glance this resembles 
the last, but the segments are longer pointed, all 
recurved, and the stems are only 12 in. to 18 in. high. 
The colours are nearly alike in the two cases. Both 
are of garden origin, and handsome. 
T. retroflexa. — The stems here are ijft. to 2 ft. 
high, with large, bright yellow flowers. The seg¬ 
ments are lanceolate, often lobad and twisted, with 
long revolute points as implied by the name. It 
may be described as a yellow T. elegans and is very 
effective in beds. 
T. acuminata. —This is often grown under the 
name of T. cornuta, but in both cases the name 
refers to the long and pointed character of the seg¬ 
ments, which are yellow and more or less suffused 
with red upwards. They are -linear-lanceolate and 
3 in. to 5 in. in length. The sort may be regarded 
as an extraordinary curiosity than as an effective 
bedding plant, although it is sometimes used for 
that purpose. 
T. maculata. —The segments of this Tulip are 
spathulate, emarginate, and crimson-red with a 
black blotch at the base, surrounded with yellow 
and often running down the segments in the form of 
rays or teeth. 
T. viridiflora.— This may be described as the 
green Tulip, for all the segments are glaucous green 
with yellowish edges ; the inner segments are often 
conduplicate, or folded upon themselves. It is a 
vigorous grower with stems 18 in. high. 
Dwarf Species. 
T. Eichleri. —Although of low stature with only 
two leaves, this Asia Minor species has very large 
scarlet flowers, with a somewhat arrow-shaped 
black blotch surrounded with a yellow line at the 
base of each segment. A garden race of dwarf 
varieties raised from this would be very showy, 
although it would seem difficult to improve upon the 
original. 
T. Clusiana.— Internally the flowers of this 
charming little Tulip are white with a purple blotch 
at the base of each segment; the three outer seg¬ 
ments, externally, are reddish-purple with a white 
edge. The filaments are black, the anthers violet, 
and the leaves linear and slender. 
T. linifolia.— The scape of this species is 6 in. to 
8 in. high, with slender leaves as in the last case. 
The flowers are, however, large and brilliant scarlet, 
with a rounded black blotch at the base of each seg¬ 
ment, and violet anthers. On the whole it is 
certainly pretty, and might be more extensively 
grown. 
T. sylvestris.— Amongst all the species of Tulip 
this is the only one which is reckoned British. The 
flowers are of a bright yellow with oblong segments 
tipped with a tuft of short hairs ; the inner segments 
are somewhat narrower and lanceolate. As a rule it 
flowers freely and is well worthy of a place in the 
garden. 
T. fragrans.— The flowers of this species are 
similar to those of T. sylvestris, but they are slightly 
larger, with broader segments not pubescent at the 
tips. They are also fragrant, as the name implies, 
and of a bright yellow. 
T. Dammaniana.— The stems of this species grow 
from 12 in. to 16 in. high, and the flowers are bright 
red, with a longitudinal black blotch surrounded 
with yellow at the base of each segment. The whole 
plant, including the flowers, is of medium size as 
Tulips are reckoned, but very neat and well adapted 
for edging beds of larger kinds, or even shrubs. 
T. macrospeila.— The origin of this Tulip is un¬ 
known, as in the case of so many others. The 
flowers are of medium size, deep red, and having a 
short, rounded black blotch at the base, surrounded 
with yellow. In general aspect it may be compared 
with T. spathulata than which it is a little smaller, 
but equally adapted for planting in beds, flowering 
at the same time. 
T. platystigma.— The scapes of this plant are 
12in. to 15 in. high, bearing very broad leaves. The 
flowers are of medium size, of a purplish-flesh colour 
with a yellow blotch at the base, slightly tinted with 
green, at least in the young state. They are late in 
being developed compared with most of the above, 
and form as it were a succession to them. Although 
useful as a bedding plant, it is not so showy as most 
of the above. 
T. australis. —All parts of this species are of 
moderate dimensions, comparable to those of 
T. sylvestris, but the leaves are narrower, the plant 
altogether more slender, and the flowers more 
decidedly funnel-shaped. For garden purposes 
it is, however, totally distinct, as the yellow 
flowers are heavily suffused with red on the 
back of the outer segments, so that the combination of 
colours is quite charming. Something similar 
happens in the case of T. Clusiana, only the ground 
colour in the latter is white. The pair would make 
a very interesting contrast. Could not hybridists do 
something with these two species ? 
IMPORTED POTATOS. 
So far as my judgment goes I regard good well- 
preserved home grown Potatos of the previous 
year's crop to be much better for eating, even so late 
as the month of June, than are the new tubers 
which are so plentiful in our markets in early 
summer, and come to us in such abundance from 
France, Jersey, Malta, the Canary Islands, and else¬ 
where. None of these imported tubers are ripe, that 
is certain, and they nearly all have a close watery 
nature ; this doubtless arises from their being grown 
in a warm humid climate where the rainfall is con¬ 
siderable, and also because lifted and sent into 
market whilst the tops are still full of growth. 
Now it is a curious fact that in spite of the 
Potato being a native of South America, and an 
exotic, yet with us it produces the best quality in 
tuber in a comparatively cool climate. What Potatos 
are better than those grown in Yorkshire, or the 
North of Scotland, a warm humid atmosphere 
conduces to plant growth, at the expense of tubers, 
whilst a cool atmosphere if fairly dry checks coarse 
top development and induces good starchy tuber 
production; hence it is that no Potatos grown in any 
part of the world are better than are those grown in 
our coolest districts. Looking over the fine imported 
Potatos shown at the recent Earl's Court Exhibi¬ 
tion, I was struck with the great likeness shown by 
the fine handsome Kidneys from Malta and Jersey, 
with our old exhibition friend International Kidney, 
and I cannot doubt but that they were of that 
variety. 
It is thus both amusing and instructive to find 
that what we have rejected from cultivation at home 
we should so readily purchase from other countries. 
Potato culture in the Canary Islands has become an 
important industry, but it is interesting to learn that 
the seed tubers are annually imported from England ; 
but these are certainly not better materials, wearing 
a coarser appearance, and partaking somewhat of 
the volcanic nature of the soil, which is rather black, 
yet producing excellent quality it is -said.— A. D. 
* 
Potato Chiswick Favourite. 
This is a good and useful Potato, and especially 
worth growing for its excellent late keeping qualities. 
It is still with us, June 1, very good indeed, and 
shows no trace of going black in the boiling ; on the 
contrary the flesh is perfectly white and mealy, which 
is somewhat remarkable as last year was by no means 
a good one for Potatos generally. With us it is a 
strong grower, producing a goodly number of large 
tubers. Our crop was grown in the open field, side 
by side with some eight or ten other sorts, none of 
which have kept so well as Chiswick Favourite. It 
was also almost disease proof, and certainly is a sort; 
that should be better known. Can your corres¬ 
pondent "A.D.” say who raised it? — Con. 
Spring Sown Onions 
I do not known what the experience of gardeners in 
other parts is, but here in the west of England, in 
the majority of places the spring sown Onions have 
come up very bad. I have visited a number of 
gardens recently, and in not a single instance did I 
see a good plant. I am myself among the favoured 
few in this respect, and I will explain how it comes 
about. I decided to make my sowings in two places, 
and obtained my seeds from two different seed firms. 
I am glad that I did so, as in the one case not half 
enough came up to make a crop, while in the other 
there are about four times too many. The moral to 
be drawn from this would seem to be—in seasons 
which are bad for harvesting seeds, don't get all your 
seeds from one source. Opinions vary as to the 
cause of this partial failure, but I think myself it is 
easily explained by the fact that the seeds ripened 
well only in a few favoured localities last year. The 
failure is much to be regretted, as it is too late now to 
sow again, and a short crop is a great inconvenience. 
Many I know waited to see if rain would cause the 
seeds to germinate, and we still have to wait for it. 
The long drought is becoming a very serious matter, 
as the soil is getting too dry for all surface rooting 
crops, and farmers are much concerned about food 
for their stock. Most of the old Hay is gone, and 
where a supply for next winter is to come from is at 
present not quite certain.— Con. 
