September 5, 1896 . 
T r H E GARDENING WORLD. 
crown, and is wholly pure white when fully expanded. 
Beatrice is equally pure and perfect in shape. 
Other hybrids .—For pot work or open air planting, 
a collection would be incomplete without a few of 
the Barri section but particularly B. conspicuus, 
the lemon-yellow segments of which are broad and 
overlapping. The crown is edged with orange. 
Maurice Vilmorin has a creamy-white perianth and 
orange-edged cup, and is second in value only to 
that previously named. 
Short-crowned Narcissi. 
M. Burbidgei is allied to N. poeticus, having the 
same white perianth, but a slightly deeper cup of a 
bright orange colour. The large snow-white perianth 
and saucer-shaped, oraDge cup of Muzart Orientalis, 
bespeak a plant of hybrid origin, apparently between 
N. poeticus and N. Tazetta. It is deliciously 
scented. 
Polyanthus Narcissi .—Being less hardy than any of 
those previously named, the varieties of N. Tazetta 
are mostly used for conservatory decoration and 
exhibition purposes, and are grown in pots. Paper 
White is, of course, indspensable for forcing pur¬ 
poses. Bazelman Major is, perhaps, the finest of 
this type in cultivation. The flowers are of great 
size and white, with a yellow cup. Scarcely inferior 
is Grand Monarque with a primrose cup. Gloriosus 
is white with an orange cup and valuable for forcing. 
any, and as a large quantity of bulbs can be obtained 
in autumn at very low rates, a few hundreds of them 
scattered about would do much to improve the look 
of the flower garden and pleasure grounds in early 
spring. 
G. Elwesii is the giant of the genus. It is a very 
large distinct form introduced from Asia Minor 
about the year 1875. This species and G. nivalis 
with one or two of the better varieties of the latter 
are the most suitable for general purposes. Where 
Snowdrops are wanted to produce a telling effect by 
themselves the best way is to plant in large bold 
clumps or masses. A thinly planted shrubbery may 
be turned to good account in this way. A grand 
mass of G. Elwesii close to the hardy fernery at Kew 
was one of the finest sights to be seen last year in 
the whole of the gardens. Snowdrops may also be 
turned to good account as an edging to beds. In 
planting, the bulbs should be buried not more than 
2 in. deep. 
Pot culture is but a qualified success ! True, if 
treated properly, the bulbs flower well enough, but 
sooth to say Snowdrops look out of their element 
under glass. Their rightful place is the damp cold 
earth outside, their nurse the wintry February 
winds, and to remove them thence seems to rob them 
of a large portion of their unique individuality. If 
it is elected to grow a few in pots, they must not be 
of the Levant from whence it was introduced to this 
country in 1596 according to records. The Dutch 
introduced it from the eastern shores of the Mediter¬ 
ranean, and have been its principal cultivators ever 
since. Seven or eight varieties were known in this 
country about the end of the sixteenth century, and the 
botanist Swertius figured as many as forty varieties 
as early as 1620. By the year 172c, the Dutch 
florists at Haarlem, cultivated more than 2,000 
varieties, so that if a tithe of them were really good 
sorts in those early times, the extensive and extend¬ 
ing cultivation of the present day can only be the 
revival of a culture that was formerly held in very 
high repute. In all probability not a single variety 
of those days is now in existence, notwithstanding 
the fact that some Hyacinths are very long lived. 
Certain varieties, probably of weak constitution from 
the first, deteriorate in a few years ; but on the 
contrary some are known to have survived for up¬ 
wards of a century. Moreover, in spite of all 
changes that must have taken place, the best 
varieties now in cultivation, may be regarded as the 
lineal descendants of the improved sorts of the olden 
times. 
The wild type is described as having blue flowers, 
and in its native country flowers in February, being 
naturally a month earlier there than here owing to 
the more southern latitude. The vast number of 
Narcissus incomparabilis Orange Phoenix (See p. 7). Narcissus maximus (See p. 7). 
Her Majesty is white, but the best of this colour is 
White Pearl. The Good Luck Lily or Jos Flower 
of China should not be overlooked because very 
floriferous. For the sake of variety Jaune Supreme 
with a yellow perianth and orange cup should be 
grown. 
The Poet's Narcissus .—There are several fine forms 
of this, but N. poeticus ornatus is one of the most 
useful for pot work, and N. p. poetarum one of the 
most handsome. There are two double forms, the 
Gardenia-flowered or N. p. recurvus fiore pleno being 
the best. 
- —- 
SNOWDROPS. 
Bright harbingers of spring, how we greet their 
appearance from out the frozen earth ! Bravest of 
Flora’s beauteous children their delicate blossoms 
seem ill fitted to contend with the keen cutting winds 
of February. Planted in clumps in the herbaceous 
border they look happy enough, as long as there are 
no heavy showers to besmirch the virgin purity of 
their blossoms with mud. They appear to the best 
advantage when naturalised on lawns or in shady 
nooks in the flower garden. Once planted, there 
they may well be let alone, as lifting has a tendency 
to weaken the bulbs. For the purpose, our common 
British Snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, is as good as 
subjected to heat, or failure will result. After their 
removal from the plunging bed a corner in a cold 
frame is the best place for them. Here they will 
come on gradually and flower a couple of weeks 
before those outside. G. Elwesii is the best for this 
purpose, and some of the double forms are greatly 
admired. 
HYACINTHS. 
Something like thirty species of Hyacinths are 
known to science, and they vary so much iD form 
and structure that botanists have divided them into 
five sections ; but some of these sections are con¬ 
sidered by certain authorities as distinct genera. A 
large number of these thirty species are only of 
botanical interest. A few of these small-flowered 
ones are useful for the rockwork or for small beds on 
the grass in early spring. Hyacinthus azureus and 
H. amethystinus are gems for this kind of work, and 
their flowers are of those particular shades of blue 
indicated by the specific name. 
The Hyacinths, proper, all belong to one species, 
namely, Hyacinthus orientalis. The vast number of 
early and late, single and double, exhibition, bedding 
and decorative varieties have all been derived from 
one species in gardens by centuries of cultivation, 
crossing and selection. The wild species is a native 
shades of colour now in existence speak volumes of 
the possibilities lying latent in a single species, and 
gradually developing into actual reality in response 
to the guiding hand of man. It might well be asked 
whence comes the rose, purple, carmine, lilac, 
mauve, yellow and other distinct shades of colour 
that cannot be detected in the wild blue form. The 
white varieties might be described as albinos which 
frequently occur in a state of nature. Other colours 
may have been derived by the separation of 
original mixtures. Some of them may be actual 
developments quite foreign to the original. Without 
actually analysing the colours of the wild blue form, 
one would naturally conclude that yellow was 
an innovation. There is no real scarlet in Hyacinths, 
though some of the shades of colour come very near 
it as seen by the naked eye, and are often described 
as such by cultivators. On the other hand there are 
those who would deny that there is any true blue in 
the whole race. That opinion, however, would only 
be shared by the more special of the specialists. 
There are many blues, even amongst Hyacinths and 
some of them are extremely beautiful. While 
speaking of colours, it may be germain to the subject 
to recall the fact that light is unessential to the 
development of the colours of Hyacinths. The 
small and colourless flowers of the bud stage, will 
gradually assume the hues characteristic of each 
