September 5, 1896. 
THE GARDENING'"WORLD, 
J 
Double English Daffodils, Narcissus Horskieldi. Narcissus incomparabilis Narcissus incomparabihs 
DAFFODILS. 
From being a neglected and unimportant class of plants 
in gardens. Daffodils proper, and Narcissi generally, 
have risen to be of the first importance for garden 
decoration in spring, both in the open air and under 
glass. For several months in succession, they con¬ 
stitute one of the leading and most persistent features 
of spring exhibitions, from the time the forced bulbs 
make their appearance till the latest have gone out 
of season in the open ground. With the shelter of a 
cold frame, the beautifully neat Narcissus cycla- 
mineus, and the chaste white N. monophyllus, may 
be had in bloom in February or even earlier, accord¬ 
ing to the mildness or otherwise of the winter. They 
finish up in June in the open ground with the last 
remnants of the double forms of N. poeticus. Three 
species flower some time between September and 
November, but they are rare in cultivation and un¬ 
important. 
The best authorities place the number of species 
at sixteen, with numerous hybrid forms natural or 
artificial. A good few take the rank of sub-species ; 
and the number of garden varieties is legion. The 
leading uses to which they are put, are for conserva¬ 
tory decoration and exhibition as far as pot culture 
is concerned ; and on the other hand for spring bed¬ 
ding and naturalisation on the grass. For these 
purposes they have never been more popular. No 
class of flowers is better adapted for naturalisation 
on the grass, and this style of gardening is largely on 
the increase, having very much to recommend it. 
The accompanying illustration shows this aspect of 
spring gardening admirably, and we cannot too 
strongly recommend it to the attention of our 
readers. The use of Daffodils for cut flowers is 
practically unlimited, and no spring flowers are 
more elegant, graceful, handsome, and amenable for 
this purpose. All the more common kinds are of the 
easiest cultivation in any ordinary garden soil. Pot 
culture for exhibition purposes is dealt with on 
another page. 
Long crowned or Trumpet Daffodils. Golden 
and Yellow— One of the most popular on account of 
its earliness and neat form is N. obvallaris or the 
Tenby Daffodil. It forces so readily that it may be 
seen in the market about Christmas or soon after. 
It is golden-yellow. For forcing and general 
purposes, Golden Spur and Ard Righ or Irish King, 
come next in order of flowering. Both are golden- 
yellow and handsome Daffodils. Golden Plover is 
equally useful for pot work, and much of the same 
character. Santa Maria is very early even in the 
open ground, and is a gem for pot culture. The 
flowers are of a dazzling golden-yellow or orange,and 
Narcissus nanus. Sir Watkin. 
very handsome. Another early flowering, but much 
paler variety, is Princeps, with sulphur-white seg¬ 
ments and yellow trumpet. Distinct also is Countess 
of Annesley, with darker flowers and a deeply lobed 
crown. A very popular and handsome old type is N. 
maximus (see illustration p.8) of a rich golden-yellow, 
with a huge trumpet, and very useful otherwise for 
bedding on account of its showy character and 
earliness. Of the later and large types, Emperor is 
quite indispensable for pot culture and bedding. 
The pale yellow segments are very broad, and the 
golden trumpet is magnificent. This variety heads 
a list of several others of the same class, including 
M. J. Berkeley and P. R. Barr ; and all are easily 
obtainable. Glory of Leiden is, of course, the king 
of this section, but it is yet too scarce and costly. 
Of the smaller trumpet Daffodils, the graceful and 
elegant M. Jonstonei Queen of Spain must not be 
omitted. Its flowers are of a rich lemon-yellow. 
Those who make their acquaintance with the above 
selected dozen will want to know more of them. 
Bicolors. —The finest of the Bicolor type is Wear- 
dale Perfection, but it is yet scarce and expensive. 
The list would, therefore, be headed by John 
Horsfield, better known as Horsfieldi, and Empress, 
two of the finest Daffodils in cultivation. The white 
segments and golden crown are very handsome. 
The first-named is the earlier. The earliest of all 
this section, however, is J. B. M. Camm, white with 
sulphur yellow trumpet. None is more floriferous 
than Dean Herbert, otherwise known as Primulinus, 
with primrose segments and rich yellow trumpet. 
James Walker has a sulphur white perianth and 
golden trumpet of great size. Harrison Weir, on the 
contrary, is white, with a canary yellow trumpet. 
The latest of all the bicolor group is Grandis or 
Grandee, about a fortnight later than Empress, and 
much dwarfer in habit. 
White Daffodils. —These have been derived from 
the chaste, little Spanish N. moschatus. The finest 
of all the white varieties is Madame de Graaff, but it 
is yet very scarce. Scarcely inferior to it is Mrs. J. 
B. M. Camm, under highly favourable conditions. 
The purest white is Colleen Bawn, a very early 
variety. Bishop Mann, otherwise known as Butter 
fly, is the tallest growing of this type, and resembles 
a giant form of Cernuus. Mrs. F. W Burbidge has 
a pale primrose trumpet. Cernuus pulcher is an 
early variety of a silvery-white. Tortuosus, other¬ 
wise known as Leda, is a beautiful wild form with 
twisted segments of a snowy white. Wm. Goldring 
is notable for its long neck and drooping flowers. 
Double Varieties. — There are several double forms 
of the trumpet section, but only a few of them are 
Stella. 
widely cultivated, including Telamonius plenu*. 
otherwise called Van Sion, Lobularis plenus, and 
Rip Van Winkle, with very deeply cut crowns and 
very narrow segments. The first two are well 
adapted for naturalising on the grass. 
Medium-crowned types 
Incomparabilis type.— Sir Watkin is facile princeps the 
finest of this section on account of its magnificent 
size. It is well adapted for pot work. Gloria 
Mundi and Cynosure are second in importance and 
have a large orange crown to recommend them. 
They, as well as Stella, with a yellow cup, are useful 
for bedding purposes. Leedsi has a yellow perianth, 
and the crown is edged with orange-scarlet. The 
finest of all the orange-scarlet crowned varieties of 
N. incomparabilis is C. J. Backhouse. Quite of 
another type are Queen Bess and Princess Mary, 
both notable for the widely expanded character 
of their crown, something between a bowl and a 
saucer in shape. The former of the two is the 
earliest of this section and useful for market. 
Princess Mary is nevertheless a fine flower, with an 
orange rim to the crown, and broad segments. One 
of the finest and most charming of recent introduc¬ 
tions is Sutton's Lulworth (see accompanying illus¬ 
tration p.9). The broad, creamy-white segments are 
much imbricated ; but an even finer feature of the 
flower is the large and widely-expanded, glowing 
orange-scarlet crown, which places the variety in the 
first rank for ornamental value. 
Double forms. — Queen Anne's Double Daffodil is 
one of the most singularly constructed, and besides 
being neat, is notable botanically for its segments 
being arranged in six imbricated rows. Sulphor 
Phoenix is a very choice sulphur-white variety. 
Orange Phoenix (see illustration p.8) is even finer and 
more distinct by reason of its yellow perianth seg¬ 
ments being interleaved with short orange ones. 
We are indebted to Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, 
for the accompanying illustrations of Daffodils. 
Eucharis-flowered. —These are white varieties that 
bear much the same relation to N. incomparabilis as 
the white trumpet varieties do to the yellow ones. 
They all belong to the hybrid Leedsii type, and the 
white flowers have been aptly compared to those of 
a Eucharis. Duchess of Westminster has flowers of 
great width, a canary-yellow crown, and is well 
adapted for bedding. Katherine Spurrell is equally 
fine with a light yellow cup ; in fact many consider 
it the best of the section next to Duchess of West¬ 
minster. Minnie Hume is a charming flower with a 
pale yellow crown passing to snow white. Mrs. 
Langtry has a broad, white perianth, SSad a cup that 
is edged with pale yellow. Amabilis has a long 
