268 
JOURNAL  CF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
September  18,  1S02. 
The  English  Tulip. 
I  willingly  accede  to  the  editor’s  request  that  I  should  write 
an  article  about  "this  most  unjustly  neglected  flower  for  this 
present  Bulb  Number,  although  I  fear  that  few  will  read  it  with 
more  than  a  languid  and  perfunctory  interest.  It  is  strange  that 
this  should  be  so,  for  there  is  no  florists’  flower  more  beautiful  in 
form  and  colouring,  and  certainly  none  more  refined  and  interest¬ 
ing  in  its  markings.  Its  culture  is  easy,  the  standard  varieties 
are  readily  and  cheaply  procured,  and  the  National  Tulip  Society 
holds  Northern  and  Southern  shows  where  all  who  know  more 
about  the  flower  are  received  with  open  arms.  There  are,  how¬ 
ever,  signs  that  the  worst  days  for  the  English  Tulip  are  over — 
may  the  signs  grow  speedily  stronger,  and  strengthen  into 
certainty !  - 
The  English  Tulip  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  Dutch 
Early,  the  so-called  Darwin  Tulips,  or  what  the  Dutch  growers  call 
Show  Tulips  or  Old  Dutch  Amateur  Tulips.  I  noticed  the  other 
day  in  a  Dutch  catalogue  a  statement  that  a  “number  of  Old 
Dutch  Amateur  Tulips  arc  often  included  in  collections  of  Eng¬ 
lish  Tulips.”  This  statement  is  scarcely  correct,  as  we  English 
growers  only  include  one  Dutch  variety,  Comte  de  Vergennes,  and 
we  only  esteem  it  as  a  fourth  rate  flower.  The  English  Tulip  is 
certainly  derived  from  the  Old  Dutch  Amateur  Tulip,  but  while 
the  Dutchmen  have  done  nothing  to  improve  the  flower  for  the 
last  hundred  years,  raisers  in  this  country  have  been  working  hard 
all  the  time,  and  have  changed  the  dog-eared,  impure,  dull 
coloured,  confused  old  flower  into  the  shapely,  pure,  brilliant 
blooms  that  may  be  seen  at  any  show  of  the  Tulip  Society.  I  am 
expressing  myself  now  as  a  florist  or  Tulip  amateur  only,  and  do 
not  wish  anything  I  write  to'  be  construed  as  a  condemnation  of 
the  Dutch  varieties  as  ordinary  decorative  flowers  for  the  general 
garden,  which  would  be  most  unjust  and  undeserved. 
It  is  quite  beyond  the  scope  of  an  article  of  this  kind  to  go 
deeply  into  the  matter  of  culture,  especially  as  I  have  pretty 
well  exhausted  myself  in  a  series  of  articles  written  for  the 
Journal  some  years  ago.  A  few  cultural  notes  are  all  that  I  can 
attempt.  To  begin  with,  the  bulbs  should  be  planted  in 
November,  4in  deep  and  Gin  apart,  in  a  bed  about  4ft  wide,  and 
situate  in  an  airy  place,  but  sheltered  from  rough  winds.  The 
tallest  growing  kinds  should  be  planted  in  the  middle,  and  the 
dwarf  ones  on  the  edges  of  the  bed.  which  should  be  well  drained 
if  situated  in  a  wet  or  low-lying  position.  The  best  soil  is  the 
top  spit  of  a  fat  loamy  pasture  stacked  for  a  year,  and  then 
roughly  cut  down,  but  any  good  garden  soil  that  has  been  manured 
and  grown  a  crop  of  Celery,  Potatoes,  &c.,  the  year  before  will 
do  Very  well.  Fresh  stable  manure  should  not  be  used,  as  the 
bulbs  do>  not  like  it  in  fact,  they  often  refuse  to  face  it  at  all, 
and  the  plants, die  down  without  blooming. 
After  planting,  the  bulbs  need  no  attention  until  the  end  of 
March,  when,  if  the  best  results  are  desired,  the  bed  should  be 
covered  by  glass  garden  lights  about  4ft  Gin  long  by  3ft  wide, 
raised  on  a  temporary  framework  about  4ft  from  the  ground. 
After  the  lights  are  on,  the  plants  should  be  watered  as  often  as 
needed,  but  care  should  be  taken  not  to  wet  the  foliage. at  all, 
and  of  course,  watering  must  only  be  carried  out  on  mild  evenings. 
Towards  the  middle  of  May,  or  whenever  the  plants  begin  to 
bloom,  the  surface  of  the  covering  lights  should  be  shaded  from 
the  direct  sunlight,  which  spoils  the  beauty  of  many  varieties 
by  causing  the  colours  to  flush  or  run.  As  the  petals  fall  the 
shading  and  lights  may  be  removed  and  the  plants  allowed  to 
ripen  off.  By  the  end  of  June,  or  a  little  later,  the  bulbs  should 
be  lifted,  dried  in  a  cool  airy  place,  cleaned  and  stored  away  for 
planting  again  ini  November. 
Grown  in  this  way,  and  in  suitable'soil,  there  will  be  no  need 
to  get  fresh  bulbs  again;  the  same  bulbs  will  serve  indefinitely, 
and  if  the  offsets  are  saved  as  they  ought  to  be,  and  grown  on  in 
a  separate  bed,  the  collection  will  rapidly  increase  in  numbers. 
Offsets  should  be  grown  much  in  the  same  way  as  the  flowering 
bulbs.  It. is,  however,  better  to  plant  them  a  month  earlier,  and 
no  protection  at  all  is  needed  for  them. 
It  is  advisable  to  change  the  soil  of  the  Tulip  bed  every  second 
year,  but  if  this  cannot  be  done  a  copious  addition  of  decayed 
vegetable  matter  before  replanting  will,  in  most  cases,  be  quite 
as  effective.  A  simple  plan  is  to  sow  the  bed  immediately  after 
taking  up  the  bulbs,  thickly  with  mustard,  and  to  dig  it  in 
about  Gin  deep,  just  as  it  begins  to  flower.  This  is  rather  rough 
on  the  mustard,  but  as  the  succulent  stalks  and  leaves  quickly 
decay  they  make  an  admirable  vegetable  manure  at  little  expense  ; 
rotten  garden  weeds  would  do  just  as  well,  but  if  these  are  used 
the  seeds  begin  to  germinate  and  become  a  nuisance. 
Classification. 
Tulips  are  divided  into  three  classes,  named  Itoses,  Bybloe- 
mens,  and  Bizarres.  The  Roses  have  white  grounds  coloured 
with  some  shade  of  red,  which  is  the  more  esteemed  as  it 
approaches  to  scarlet.  The  Bybloemens  have  white  grounds 
A  Field  of  Keizerskroon  at  Rush.  (See  reference  on  page  261.) 
