May 4, 1901. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
573 
W 
they seem to prefer the yellow ones to the others; 
they are often very destructive to Primroses of the 
same colour. The only way to protect them is by 
having lines of black cotton stretched over them. 
Tomatos.— Rex : It is too early yet to entrust 
them to the open air, unless it is necessary for want 
of room ; in that case they should be well hardened 
off, and then protected at night by standing some¬ 
thing in front of them, such as branches of ever¬ 
greens, or cover with sacking. 
Tulips weak .—Beds : If they have been in their 
present position for as long as you state the weakness 
is due to starvation. They should be lifted in the 
autumn and either change their position or give the 
ground a good dressing of well decayed stable 
manure and soot. 
DAFFODILS AT LONG DITTON. 
The Daffodils have not been complaining of the 
long, cold winter and spring, with a continuity of 
sunless skies and the many rainy days. These 
conditions have, however, kept them much behind 
their,usual time, so that the bulk of them have 
come into bloom about the fourth week of April, 
instead of the first or second. The very warm 
weather which set in on the 14th April and continued 
till the 25th had the effect of hurrying up the late 
varieties so that a large proportion of them came 
in together, as may be judged from the fact that 
the latest trumpet Daffodil, namely, Grandis, was 
in full bloom by the 27th ult., when we went 
through the fine collection of Messrs. Barr & Sons, 
at Long Ditton, Surrey. The earliest varieties of 
Narcissus poeticus were also in bloom, including 
N. p. ornatus, now so largely grown for market. N. 
p. Almira is like a greatly magnified form of the last 
named, both the segments and the crown being 
larger. Very fine is N. p. Glory, which received a 
First-class Certificate at the Manchester show the 
other week. The flower is altogether of large size 
with much imbricated segments. Another grand 
variety of the Poet’s Narciss us is N. p. Cassandra 
with much imbricated segments and a dark orange- 
scarlet rim. 
Trumpet or Ajax Daffodils. 
The varieties of this section at the command of the 
planter are now legion, and the size of many of them 
is gigantic if placed alongside of the old English 
Daffodil or Lent Lily (N. Pseudo-narcissus). All the 
Daffodils, however, are remarkably strong this year 
on account of the abundance of moisture, and lack 
of drying winds until recently. One of the least and 
earliest of the trumpet Daffodils is N. cyclamineus 
now almost out of bloom. Ascending the scale we 
come to N. Johnstoni Queen of Spain, that elegant 
and graceful little Daffodil with a truncate trumpet 
and twisting, reflexed segments. N. J. KiDg of 
Spain differs by having the trumpet revolute and 
frilled at the mouth. Both are charming little 
Daffodils for the rockery. Of the older giants 
Empress holds its own, being here grown in large 
breadths. The same may be said of its yellow 
counterpart Emperor. Madame de Graaff (see 
illustration) is now too plentiful to be classed as a 
£20 Daffodil, but it is yet all too scarce in gardens 
generally. The same may be said of Glory of 
Leiden (see illustration p. 574), a rather early 
variety; Monarch, an improvement upon Emperor ; 
and Weardale Perfection, a bicolor with soft canary 
trumpet. Even less known are Mrs. Waher Ware, 
another bicolor with creamy white segments and a 
wide bright yellow trumpet; Big Ben, with sulphur 
segments and a long wide open trumpet ; Captain 
Nelson, with oblong, twisted, pale yellow segments 
and a long, golden, frilled crown; and Lady Willes, 
with broad sulphur segments and a deeply lobed, 
golden trumpet. Sentinel is a bicolor with ovate, 
pointed segments and a long deep yellow 
trumpet. In the same type as Emperor comes P. R. 
Barr with its massive golden trumpet. Miss Ada 
Brooke comes in the same group with pale sulphur 
segments and a long, narrow, but wide mouthed 
trumpet. The latest flowering and dwarf habited 
Grandis ought to receive more attention than it gets, 
for it is choice and handsome. ]. B. M. Camm 
is classed with the bicolors, the pale sulphur yellow 
trumpet favouring this view. 
Mrs. Camm, however, has thin white segments 
and a lemon corona and is relegated to the class of 
which N. Pseudo-narcissus moschatus is the primi¬ 
tive wild type. Here also come William Goldring or 
Swan’s Neck, so called on account of the long droop¬ 
ing or curved portion of the stalk just under the 
white flowers. Much smaller but very pretty in 
form is W. P. Milner, with a sulphur white and 
frilled trumpet. 
New Daffodils. 
These may conveniently be placed here as the most 
of them belong to the trumpet section, in which the 
raisers of new varieties seem to be most active ; for 
although most of the above mentioned sorts are 
giants of the race the demand for big flowers is still 
on the increase, and evidently possess the greatest 
fascination to the raiser and the public generally. 
Peter Barr is styled the King of the Daffodils in the 
moschatus section, which includes such a grand form 
as Madame de Graaff. A glance at the picture will 
show the form of Peter Barr, which is much larger 
than the latter, and has white segments with a 
trumpet of the palest lemon. It was raised at Long 
Ditton, and flowered in the seed bed for the first 
time four years ago. It is now increasing freely in 
the case of large bulbs, but is priced at 50 gs. a bulb, 
and shoulders above its compeers, as its name¬ 
sake Kiug Alfred stood out conspicuously amongst 
the old English kings. It has the intense yellow and 
the lobing of the trumpet almost of N. maximus, and 
the substance of Emperor. 
A large number of seedlings, raised by the Rev. 
G. P. Haydon, Westbere, Canterbury, have found 
their way to Long Ditton, and many of them are 
full of promise so that the public will hear of them 
again and see them likewise. All of them belong to 
the largest types or giants amongst the Ajax or 
trumpet section. Only one of them has yet been 
named. R. 10 has broad, stiff spreading pale yellow 
segments, and a huge deep yellow trumpet, deeply 
lobed at the mouth. R. 1 is also a large and hand¬ 
some flower, but the trumpet is narrower, and the 
segments more decidedly flat. Seedling 103 is like 
N. albicans in colour, but the flowers are larger than 
Madame de Graaff, with broader, flatter segments, 
and a longer trumpet, less revolute at the mouth. 
The parentage of No. 96 was Weardale Perfection 
x Madame de Graaff, but the trumpet is darker 
than either and very wide at the mouth. No 99 is a 
huge flower with long and broad segments, 
and is not yet catalogued. It is certainly a splendid 
Daffodil judging it by its large size and delicate 
colouring. Ray Smith is a late sort with yellow 
segments and a golden crown. General Roberts was 
awarded a First-class Certificate by the Narcissus 
Committee the other week ; and is characterised by 
broad, almost triangular sulphur segments, and a 
clear yellow, short, stout trumpet, having a very 
wide, revolute mouth. SeedllDg No. 30 belongs to 
the Leedsii type and has long, starry or spider like 
segments and drooping flowers, strongly recalling 
a single Cactus Dahlia; the base of the cup is lemon, 
all the rest of the flower being white. It is the most 
distinct of the radiate or starry flowers we have 
seen. Willie Barr, with oblong, yellow segments 
and a golden trumpet was new last year, and a grand 
Daffodil. 
One of the most striking of the trumpet Daffodils 
we noted was the new King Alfred, which stands 
about 20 in high, on a stiff stalk, which carries the 
flower wtll above the foliage, in this respect head 
spreading horizontally like a wheel. The trumpet is 
long, widely expanded at the mouth, and deep 
yellow, making a strikingly distinct flower in the 
matter of shape. No. 101 has white segments and 
a pale yellow trumpet, very wide at the mouth. The 
named variety is Hon. Mrs. Jocelyn, with light 
yellow segments, remarkably long and slightly 
twisted. The tube is narrow and golden yellow. 
The flower is quite distinct in shape. Several other 
fine-things are also flowering in this lot. 
Varieties of N. incomparabilis. 
On entering the grounds we came upon a grand 
new Daffodil, catalogued last year. We refer to 
Stella superba with long white segments having a 
spread of 4^ in. to 5 in. The golden crown is 
widely bell-sbaped. This is very vigorous, and will 
make a grand bedder when plentiful enough. The 
segments of Lucifer are creamy white, and the loDg, 
bell-shaped chalice oraDge. It is practically new. 
James Bateman is remarkable in this section by fre¬ 
quently bearing two flowers on a stalk. The yellow 
Narcissus Madame de Graaff. 
y 
