260 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  18,  1902. 
better  kinds  have  been  employed  without  a  shadow  of 
expense  in  planting  up  grassy  glades. 
I  have  never  attempted  the  production  of  Tulips  for 
forcing,  but  a  gardening  friend  whose  soil  suited  Tulips  to 
perfection,  forced  home-grown  bulbs  during  many  vears, 
and  with  great  success.  Forced  Hyacinths,  too,  after  gain¬ 
ing  strength,  though  as  good  spikes  as  the  generality  one 
purchases,  and  much  superior  to  the  cheap  bulbs  so  com¬ 
mon  wherever  one  goes.  I  might  proceed  to  show  that 
Spanish  and  English  Irises  from  seeds  are  as  easily  pro¬ 
duced  as  Potatoes,  and  the  same  Avith  most  other  hardy 
bulbs,  but  I  do  not  wish  to  indulge  in  too  many  subjects 
at  one  time.  The  question  that  more  particularly  engages 
my  attention  is  how  results  such  as  I  have  hinted  at  can 
be  secured.  The  answer  is  a  very  simple  one.  Merely  to 
cultivate  them  with  as  much  care  as  we  give  to  any  other 
subject  we  decide  to  succeed  with.  I  have  seen  potfuls  of 
forced  bulbs  huddled  together  into  the  ground,  one  potful 
close  to  another.  It  is  plain,  treatment  of  that  nature  is 
not  of  a  kind  to  produce  superior  bulbs.  Rather  they  must 
decrease  in  vigour,  and  end  in  complete  failure.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  plant  in  good  soil  thoroughly  cultivated, 
allowing  each  bulb  sufficient  space  for  the  development  of 
its  foliage  and  its  progeny  for  the  next  three  years,  not 
forgetting  each  spring  to  apply  something  extra— soot, 
rich  soil,  rotted  muck,  or  mineral  manures,  and  with  the 
ordinary  attention  due  to  all  crops,  the  result  will  be  bulbs 
to  be  proud  of,  and  flowers  a  joy  and  source  of  rejoicing. 
There  is  still  a  wider  phase  of  this  question,  that  it  may 
be  not  amiss  to  touch  on  just  at  present.  That  is,  whether 
home  growers  for  sale  are  competent  to  produce  as  satis¬ 
factory  bulbs  as  the  foreigners.  I  think  there  is  no  ques¬ 
tion  but  that  they  are.  Continental  bulbs  may  have  the 
advantage  in  forcing  more  easily,  but  in  other  respects 
they  have  none  that  cannot  be  equalled  by  the  home  pro¬ 
duction.  New  Daffodils  alone  will  form  a  big  trade  in  the 
future,  and  it  has  been  shown  in  the  case  of  home-grown 
bulbs  of  new  varieties  that  these  are  equal  to  those  of  Con¬ 
tinental  growth.  Nothing  could  be  better,  for  instance, 
than  the  behaviour  of  the  Engleheart  varieties  distributed 
last  year.  Noyelties  derived  direct  from  the  Continent,  as 
well  as  others  in  commerce,  were  not  of  finer  quality. 
But  if  the  home  grower  is  to  keep  up  his  sales,  he  must 
also  keep  up  the  quality  of  his  bulbs.  I  saw  an  instance 
last  spring  of  a  piece  of  wild  gardening  absolutely  spoilt  by 
the  inferior  quality  of  bulbs,  of  which,  I  am  sure,  not  over 
5  per  cent,  produced  a  single  bloom,  while  Continental  stuff 
bought  at  the  same  price  yielded  on  an  average  about 
250  blooms  to  a  hundred  bulbs.  Policy  of  this  kind  is  bad, 
nt  only  for  the  party  interested,  but  it  cannot  miss  injuring 
trade  growers  as  a  whole.  The  same  unhappy  way  of  con¬ 
ducting  business  has  occurred  in  the  case  of  home-grown 
bulbs  of  Fritillarias,  Scillas,  bulbous  Irises,  &c.,  which,  had 
to  be  cultivated  a  year  before  they  were  sufficiently  strong 
to  bloom.  Whether  it  is  a  desire  to  keep  the  best  bulbs 
for  growing  in  his  own  grounds  that  induces  a  tradesman  to 
send  out  an  infei'ior  article  I  cannot  say,  but  to  compete  with 
the  foreigner  at  equal  prices  the  best  must  be  sold  and  the 
less  good  grown  at  home.  The  question  during  late  years 
has  assumed  dimensions  of  some  importance,  and  I  am 
acquainted  with  many  workingmen  amateurs,  and  those 
higher  in  the  social  scale,  who  annually  make  bulb  pur¬ 
chases  directly  from  the  Continent,  and  they  have  no 
interest  except  they  believe  they  get  thence  the  better 
article,  for,  at  the  same  time,  flower  and  vegetable  seeds 
are  purchased,  regardless  of  price,  so  long  as  they  are 
assured  of  their  high  quality,  from  home  seedsmen. — 
R.  P.  Brotherston. 
- <*•♦> - 
IRIS  BUCKARICA. 
A  new  species  named  and  described  by  Sir  Michael  Faster, 
F.R.S.,  and  native  of  Eastern  Bokhara,  on  mountain  slopes  at  an 
altitude  of  5,000  to  6,000ft,  and  on  the  sides  of  river  Sureh-ab,  a 
tributary  of  the  Amu  Darya.  It  was  discovered  by  a  collector 
of  the  firm  of  Messrs.  Van  Tubergen.  Miss  Willmott,  of  Warley 
Place,  Great  Warley,  exhibited  a  specimen  before  the  Floral  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  on  the  8th  of  April 
last,  and  was  accorded  a  First  Class  Certificate.  Iris  Buckarica 
resembles  I.  orchioides  in  many  respects,  the  points  of  difference 
being  in  the  flower.  It  has  fleshy  stems,  and  the  shining,  linear, 
succulent  foliage  is  luxuriant  below  the  terminal  flowers.  The 
recurving  tips  of  the  blades  are  deep  sulphury  yellow,  the 
petaloid  stigmas  and  the  claw  being  white  and  conspicuous.  The 
“standards”  are  reduced  to  mere  flimsy  bracts.  Its  culture,  no 
doubt,  is  identical  with  that  of  other  bulbous  Irises.  Irises 
succeed  in  sandy  loams,  well  enriched,  and  in  sunny,  sheltered 
positions.  They  are  also  grown  in  pans  for  spring  flowering. 
The  illustration  on  page  261  is  from  a  drawing  by  Mr.  Geo. 
Shayler. 
- • - 
New  Daffodils, 
Scarcely  has  the  foliage  of  the  Daffodil  disappeared 
when  new  catalogues  arrive,  raising  hopes  and  exciting 
desires  that  must  perforce  remain  unsatisfied.  Many 
exquisite  varieties,  however,  can  now  be  obtained  at  a 
small  outlay.  The  newer  sorts  are  beyond  the  reach  of 
ordinary  means.  “  Many  men,  many  minds,”  may  be 
rendered,  and  we  may  say,  “  Many  men,  many  floral 
tastes.”  The  Daffodil,  with  its  beautiful  form  and  robe  of 
golden  sheen  or  virginal  purity,  cannot  but  be  a  general 
favourite.  So,  when  one  was  told  by  a  veteran  florist  in 
the  foremost  files  of  the  day  that  he  hated  Daffodils,  the 
expression  was  assigned  its  true  value.  No  doubt  the  modest 
Auricula  has  insinuated  herself  into  the  sanctum  of  his 
affections,  and  the  gaudier  Carnation  and  winning  Picotee 
guard  the  inner  court,  but  in  the  outer  there  is  room  for 
every  flower  that  blooms.  The  sweet  Auricula  appeals  to 
the  taste  of  comparatively  few,  and  to  many  wTho  attempt 
its  culture  the  Carnation  in  its  finer  forms  is  a  lovely 
nuisance.  But,  as  the  French  have  it — chagun  a  son  gout — 
each  one  to  his  taste. 
The  past  season  was  a  record  one  for  the  Daffodil.  The 
development  was  slow7,  never  were  the  flowers  larger  or  of 
better  quality,  and  the  period  of  bloom  was  unusually  pro¬ 
longed.  Emperor  was  uncommonly  good,  nearly  one-third 
larger  than  usual,  and  of  exquisite  finish  ;  M.  J.  Berkeley 
and  Maximus  in  extra  intensity  of  colour ;  Grandis  of  per¬ 
fect  purity ;  and  Mrs.  Camm  rivalled  Madame  de  Graaff  in 
all  but  form.  So  one  might  maunder  through  his  moderate 
collection  in  the  fond  delusion  that  what  gave  him  so  much 
pleasure  must  necessarily  be  of  interest  to  others.  To  the 
writer,  the  event  of  the  season  was  the  annual  visit  to 
Valleyfield,  Penicuik.  To  Mr.  Cowan  the  ordinary  Daffodil 
lover  in  Scotland  is  indebted  for  a  feast  he  could  not 
otherwise  enjoy.  Prompt  to  the  eagerly-awaited  intimation, 
that  the  Daffs  were  on  at  Valleyfield,  a  trio  of  friends 
were  on  the  spot.  In  addition  to  a  cordial  greeting  from 
Mr.  Cowan  they  were  saluted  by  a  great  fanfare  of  erolden 
trumpets,  and  thousands  of  fair  heads  nodded  welcome. 
There  is  ‘no  need  to  refer  to  this  great  genera]  collection. 
All  varieties  were  there  that  are  worth  growing. 
The  prominent  new’  sorts  may  be  glanced  at,  these  in¬ 
cluding  a  large  number  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Engleheart’s  seed¬ 
lings.  Leading  the  way  at  the  head  of  the  big  battalions 
came  Lord  Roberts,  a  striking  Daffodil  worthy  of  its  illus¬ 
trious  name,  with  fine  stiff,  massive,  golden  perianth,  and 
great  frilled  trumpet.  Catalogued  at  £21  it  is,  and  likely 
will  long  continue  to  be  a  flower  for  the  privileged  few7. 
Golden  Bell  is  well  named,  the  large  trumpet  seeming 
almost  luminous  ;  Siren,  a  pretty  flower  with  long  white 
trumpet ;  Florence,  a  fine  white,  and  Galatea,  a  smaller 
refined  white  trumpet,  were  specially  noticeable.  Among 
the  cupped  varieties  of  high  merit  were  Ariadne,  with 
spreading  cup,  very  slightly  tinged  with  lemon ;  Water- 
witch,  a  fine  white  bloom  like  an  improved  Beatrice  ;  and 
Torch,  whose  bright  orange  and  scarlet  cup-  is  very  attrac¬ 
tive.  As  on  former  visits,  the  Goliaths  of  the  race  were 
interviewed — Monarch,  Shakespeare,  Weardale  Perfec¬ 
tion,  Duke  of  Bedford,  and  others.  Queen  Wilhelmina  and 
Hodsock’s  Pride  were  not  then  quite  expanded. 
A  supplement  to  these-  was  presented  at  the  subse¬ 
quent  spring  show  in  Edinburgh,  where  a  table  of  Daffodils 
from  Valleyfield  formed  a  supreme  attraction.  Among 
others,  one  there  noted  Sol,  a  great  yellow  trumpet ; 
Maggie  May,  a  very  beautiful  Leedsi,  with  pure  white 
perianth  and  pale  citron  cup  nicely  frilled  ;  and  King  Alfred 
a  golden  self  trumpet,  if  not  the  largest,  in  refinement  of 
colour  and  perfection  of  symmetry  peerless  among 
Daffodils.  Lovers  of  this  flowTer  are  grateful  to  Mr.  Cowan 
for  an  opportunity  of  seeing  these  and  such  rare  varieties. 
The  removal  of  this  great  collection  to  new  quarters 
where  they  will  be  free  from  the  polluting  breath  of  well- 
known  extensive  works,  must  entail  immense  labour  on 
Mr.  Pirie,  Mr.  Cowan’s  able  gardener,  but  will  result  in 
enhanced  pleasure  to  its  owner  in  the  unsullied  purity  of 
his  favourite  flower.— A  Northern  Amateur. 
