210 
JOUUNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAIE  GABDENER. 
September  10,  1903. 
Ancient  and  Modern  Daffodils.' 
When  Daffodils  came  into  fashion  in  1884,  the  subject  of  a 
popular  name  was  much  debated.  Narcissus  is  the  botanical 
name  for  the  entire  family.  Daffodil,  strictly  speaking,  applies 
only  to  the  trmmpet  section.  Some  individuals  spoke  of  them  as 
Daffodils,  while  others  named  them  Narcissi,  and  frequently  the 
same  speaker  would  use  both  terms.  Others,  again,  would  refer 
to  the  trumpet  section  and  its  hybrids  as  Daffodils,  and  to  the 
poeticus  section  as  Narcissi.  A  “  sort  of  ”  compromise  was 
arrived  at  so  as  to  avoid  confusion,  and  now  all  sections  of  the 
Narcissus  are  generally  called  Daffodils. 
Narcissus,  Peter  Barr. 
This  is  loithout  douht  the  finest  lohite 
tiumjiet  Daffodil  yet  raised.  It  is  oj  distinct 
form,  having  a  beautiful  -pure  white  shouldered 
perianth  and  a  large  handsome  elegant  trumpet 
almost  p)ure  white.  The  flower  is  large  and 
hold,  of  beautiful  symmetry  and  fine  substance. 
It  is  a  strong  grower  and  free  bloomer,  with 
handsome  deep)  bidsh-green  foliage.  F.C.C, 
from  the  Boyal  Horticultural  Society  in  1902. 
We  are  indebted  to  Ilessrs.  Barr  and  Sons 
[who  own  the  stcch)  for  the  use  of  the 
illustration. 
*  Read  at  the  meeting  of  the  Sea  Point 
Horticultural  Society  (Cape  Colony),  September, 
1901,  by  Mr.  Peter  Barr,  V.M.H. 
The  earliest  recorded  reference  to  Daffodils  was  by  Theo¬ 
phrastus,  of  Eresus,  about  b.c.  300.  Homer  and  Sophocles  both 
wrote  of  the  Daffodil.  The  former,  in  his.  hymn  to  Demeter, 
speaks  of  the  Daffodil  thus :  “  The  noble  Narcissus  wondrous 
glittering,  a  noble  sight  for  all,  whether  immortal  gods  or  mortal 
men,  from  whose  root  a  hundred  heads  spring  forth,  and  at  the 
fragrant  odour  all  the  broad  heavens  above,  and  all  the  earth 
laughed  and  the  salt  waves  of  the  sea.”  In  1888  during  some 
excavations  in  the  cemetery  at  Hawara,  *in  Egypt,  some  floral 
wreaths  were  found,  one  of  which  consisted  of  the  Bunch-flowered 
Daffodil,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  a  Greek  artist 
resident  in  Egypt  about  the  first  century  before  the  Christian 
era. 
There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the  species  of  Daffodil  referred  to¬ 
by  the  early  Greek  and  Roman  poets  in  their 
writings,  but  it  is  generally  accepted  to  be  poeticus, 
or  what  we  now  call  the  Poet’s  Daffodil.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  flower  referred  to  by 
Homer  in  his  hymn  to  Demeter.  The  Bunch- 
flowered  Daffodil  alone  would  give  the  hundred 
heads  and  the  fragrance  named. 
Shakespeare’s  “  Daffodil  that  comes  before  the 
swallow  dares,  and  takes  the  winds  of  March  with 
beauty,’  is  the  Daffodowndilly  or  Lent-lily  of 
English  copses  and  meadows.  In  1697  it  is  said 
there  werei  tw-enty-four  species  of  Daffodils  culti¬ 
vated  in  London  gardens.  In  1629  John  Parkin¬ 
son  published  his  "  Paradisus  Terrestris  in  Sole  ;  or 
A  Garden  of  Beautiful  Flowers.”  At  that  time 
there  appear  to  have  been  many  Daffodil  amateurs, 
as  he  states  there  was  much  confusion  amongst  the 
names,  and  so  undertook  the  task  of  setting  the 
family  in  order.  Those  who  may  have  access  to 
this  old  book  will  find  many  quaint  remarks  and 
criticisms  on  the-  names,  of  Daffodils. 
Parkinson  records  nearly  one  hundred  sorts,  but 
since  the  advent  of  Linnaeus,  many  so-called  Daffo¬ 
dils  of  pre-Linnaean  times  have  been  put  into  other 
families.  From  Parkinson’s  day  to  the  early  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century  it  may  be  said  fittle  or 
no  progress  was  made  in  Daffodil  lore.  There. were, 
hoAvever,  many  gardening  books  published  between 
1629  and  1800,  but  none  of  them  added  to-  Parkin¬ 
son’s  list.  Hales,  it  is  true,  gave  a  woodcut  of 
one  he  called  “Silver  and  Gold,”  which  we  now 
recognise  as  N.  scoticus  plenus.  Some  curious 
theories  were,  hovyever,  propounded  on  the  making 
of  double  Daffodils,  all  of  which  may  be  safely 
called  nonsense. 
Double  Daffodils,  as  far  as  I  can  make  out, 
originated  in  a  wild  state,  but  when,  and  where, 
and  how,  are  unsolved  questions.  No  one  in 
modern  times  has  added  a  double  Daffodil  to  the 
existing  ancient  forms;  indeed,  I  am  not  quite 
sure  that  w-e  know  as  many  double-  Daffodils  as 
Parkinson  cultivated  in  his  garden  in  Holbom, 
London.  Some  names  of  double  Daffodils  have 
been  changed,  it  is  true.  But  a  change  of  name 
doe-s  not  make  a  new  flower.  Let  us  examine  what 
is  known  of  some'  of  the  double  Daffodils  in  a  wild 
state. 
The  big  double  yellow  Daffodil  (Telamonius 
plenus),  of  Haworth,  is  found  in  Italy,  with  its 
single  varieties  Telamonius,  now-  called  King  Um¬ 
berto,  and  Princeps.  This  latter  is  one  of  the  most 
common  and  free  flowering,  and  in  the  spring  the 
flqwer-bqys  of  Melbourne,  Australia,  sell  it  by  the 
million  in  the  streets.  These  three  have-  been 
gathered  wild  for  me  in  the  valley  of  the  Arno, 
Italy.  Of  the-  Daffodil  of  Shakespeare,  its  double 
form  grows  on  the  Isle  of  Wight  plentifully,  and 
sparsely  in  many  other  parts  of  England.  The 
double  form  of  thc'  Scotch  Daffodil  has  been  found 
in  Holland,  along  wdth  its  single  form.  A  double 
Daffodil  is  found  growing  along  with  the  Tenby 
Daffodil  in  Denbighshire.  The  Gardenia-flow'ere-d 
double  poeticus  comes  from  the  wild  English  poeti¬ 
cus.  The  double  “Butter  and  Eggs”  grows  with 
its  single  form  in  the  Landes,  France.  “  Codlins 
and  Cream  ”  is  a  double  form  of  semi-partitus. 
“  Eggs  and  Bacon  ”  I  would  suggest  is  a  double 
form  of  Bernardi,  a  hybrid  found  on  the  mountains 
above  Luchon,  in  the  French  Hautes  Pyrenees. 
There  is  a  beautiful  reversion  from  “  Eggs  and 
Bacon  ”  now  known  as  Mary  Anderson.  In  my 
travels  I  found  a  double  variety  in  Spain  of  Pallidus 
prsecox.  There  is  a  double  form  of  the  small  sweet- 
scented  Jonquil.  There  are  a  few  double  forms  of 
the  Bunch-flowered  Daffodil,  and  in  China  the 
double  and  single  forms  grow-  together  of  the  “  Good 
