September 3, 189b. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
13 
Narcissus Grand Monarque, 
NARCISSUS TAZETTA GRAND 
MONARQUE. 
The garden varieties of N. Tazetta are very 
numerous, and as the species enjoys a wide distribu¬ 
tion, extending from the Canary Islands through 
Syria, and South Europe to Cashmere, China and 
Japan, it follows that the geographical variations of 
it are very numerous. About a hundred of the forms 
have been described as species by various botanists. 
Haworth named the variety under notice Hermione 
floribunda and Salisbury described it as Narcissus 
floribundus. It has been known in cultivation for 
many years under the name of Grand Monarque, a 
French name doubtless given it by some Continental 
grower. It is still one of the finest and most popular 
of the varieties cultivated, or rather flowered, in this 
country ; and is most serviceable when grown in 
pots, because it comes finer than it would in the open 
ground exposed to the vicissitudes of our uncertain 
climate, and may practically be put to any purpose, 
using it as a pot plant for conservatory or dwelling 
room decoration, for exhibition purposes, or as cut 
flowers. The large white segments are broad and 
much imbricated, while the central cup is yellow. 
The two colours place the variety in the section 
Tazettinae bicolores. 
-. 1 - . - 
TENBY DAFFODIL. 
This exceedingly neat and beautiful form of the 
Daffodil (see accompanying illustration) lies some¬ 
where between the typical Narcissus Pseudo-Narcis- 
Tenby Daffodil, 
sus and N. P.-N. major, being intermediate in size. 
It was described as a species by Haworth under 
the name of N. obvallaris, so that it has been many 
years in cultivation, and remains one of the most 
popular and useful. Independently of the forms of 
N. Bulbocodium, it is one of the earliest to come 
into bloom, and certainly the first to appear in the 
market and the windows of the florist in the early 
part of the year, being forced to supply the demand 
for cut flowers, &c. The bright yellow segments are 
relatively broad, well imbricated, and of good sub¬ 
stance. The latter quality of the golden Trumpet is 
one of its strongest recommendations. The tube or 
trumpet is short, wide, stiff, six-lobed at the mouth 
and widely expanded there. The stiff habit makes 
it very serviceable either indoors or outside and 
exposed to the rude winds of early March. Needless 
to say, it is extensively cultivated, and one of its 
peculiarities is that no attempt must be made to 
stimulate it by means of farmyard manure, otherwise 
the bulbs are liable to degenerate. 
ALLIUM NEAPOLITANUM. 
A considerable number of the species of Allium are 
really ornamental or pretty and interesting her¬ 
baceous plants, but many of them do not bear much 
handling on account of their more or less powerful 
odour of Onions or Garlic. That under notice is 
really very pretty, and scarcely, if at all, offensive 
in this respect, for the flowers are scentless. They 
are produced in an umbel of numerous blossoms 
that are pure white, with the exception of the sta¬ 
mens, which are green. The species is a native of 
South Europe, and, judging from the name, must 
have been first picked up about Naples by the 
botanist who described it. Being perfectly hardy it 
has long been cultivated in a few gardens in this 
country, and in the open flowers about the beginning 
of summer. The bulbs readily submit to forcing by 
which trusses of white flowers like Hawthorn 
greatly magnified may be had during the early 
months of the year, when they are highly esteemed 
for cut flower purposes. The plants themselves may 
be grown in the conservatory, where they afford a 
pleasing variety to Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissi and 
other early flowers. We are indebted to Messrs. 
William Cutbush & Son, Highgate, N., for the 
opportunity of illustrating this Allium as well as the 
Tenby Daffodil and the Polyanthus Narcissus Grand 
Monarque. 
-- 
BULBS AT AUCTION. 
The average gardener does not often trouble his 
head as to how the bulbs which he grows and blooms 
in their legions in pot and box and flower bed are to 
be obtained, neither does he reck whether the season 
be bad or good, favourable or unfavourable, or 
whether the crop of sound bulbs be light or heavy, 
but he does expect that his own supply of material 
shall reach him in due course, sound, free from 
blemish, and such upon which he can depend to 
give him the flower he needs during the earlier 
months of the year. His wants are supplied, and— 
voila tout, as far as he is concerned. But the system 
by which these wants are supplied is wondrously 
complex in character, and almost world-wide in its 
influence, for each individual bulb is not the offspring 
of chance, but the result of the applied skill and care 
of many thousands of individuals in all quarters of 
the globe. Thus the bulbous treasures of far Japan 
and distant Bermuda, as well as of the nearer 
countries of the continent of Europe, are all tapped 
to make the British garden gay. 
After the various processes of cleaning, sorting and 
packing are gone through, and the sea journey is 
accomplished, those embryo plants find their way 
either into the hands of our large nurserymen who 
specially import their own materia), or they gravitate 
to those distributary centres, the public auction 
rooms, from whence our smaller traders and 
our larger amateur cultivators draw their 
supplies. It will thus be seen that the public auction 
room occupies a very important position in the dis¬ 
tributary system. In this connection the name of 
Protheroe & Morris has become almost a household 
word, for the quantity of bulbs, Palm seeds, and 
plants of all descriptions that has passed through 
their bands in the thousands of sales held by them is 
almost[immeasureabIy vast. During the season sales 
of bulbs are held every week-day except Saturday, 
commencing at n a.m., and thousands of lots, vary- 
Queen Anne’s Daffodil. 
ing in size to suit the requirements of different 
purchasers, are disposed of each day. These sales 
have already commenced, as many of our readers are 
aware. We recently dropped into the rooms in 
Cheapside, not with intent to buy, but merely to see 
what kind of stuff was being bought and sold. We 
found that in every case the material was sound and 
well-ripened, and likely to give satisfaction to the 
purchasers, so that Mr. T. A. Morris, who officiated 
in the rostrum had little need to use his persuasive 
powers upon purchasers. Hyacinths appeared to be 
smaller than usual, as indeed they generally are this 
year, but they were of good weight and well matured. 
Narcissi, on the other hand, although equally well 
ripened, were larger than usual, and we noticed some 
really fine samples of the popular Polyanthus varie¬ 
ties. Crocuses, Snowdrops, Spanish Irises, Tulips, 
Chionodoxas, Scillas, and Freesias were likewise all 
in excellent condition, whilst the wonderfully reason¬ 
able prices at which they were knocked down left us 
wondering where the margin of profit to the pro¬ 
ducer and other parties concerned was to come in. 
Of course, it is only standard varieties of all the 
a"bove-mentioned subjects that come to the hammer 
in this way, the choicer sorts are far too scarce to be 
thus disposed of in their hundreds and thousands, 
but there is yet a great wealth of material from 
which to select, for many grand named varieties of 
Allium neapqlitanum. 
