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Show To TU about five Inches thick upon the which will be fufficient for nourifhing thefe Roots while they are young. The Diftance which thefe young Bulbs fhould be allow’d, need not be more than two Inches, nor fhould they be planted above two Inches deep ; but toward the End of Oéfober, it will be proper to cover the Beds over with a little fref Earth, about an Inch deep, which will preferve the Roots from the Froft, and prevent Mofs or Weeds from growing ever them. But if the //inter fhould be very fevere, it will be proper to cover the Beds either with Mats or Peafe-haulm, to prevent the Froft from entering the Ground, beeaufe thefe Roots are much tenderer while young, than theyare after they have acquired Strength. In‘ the Sp the Surface of the Ground fhould be gently ftirr’d, to make it clean, before the Plants come up ; andifthe Spri 1g fhould prove dry, they muft be frequently refrefh’d with Water, during the Time of their Growth ; but this muft not be given to them in great Quantities, left it rot their tender Bulbs; and when the Leaves are decay'd, the Weeds fhould b off, and the Beds covered with frefl h, which fhould alfo be repeated again in Autumn. In thefe Beds the Bulbs may remain two Years, during which time they muft be conftantly kept clear from Weeds, andin Spring and Autumn fret e in the Manner al- readydire&ted ; < vhi Bulbs muft be taken up, and planted into freth Beds, at four Inches afunder, and asmanydeep, where they may remaintwo Years more, during which the Florifts near Haerlem, have often given an hundred Ducats for one fingle Root 3 which Extravagance was the Oecafion of an Order being made bytheStafes, to limit the utn t Price that fhould be afterward given for any it ever fo fine. Tulip Root, were Having thus given an Account of the Me thod ofraifing thefe Flowers from Seeds, fhall now proceed: to the Management offich Roots which are term’d Breeders, {0 as to have fome of them every Year break out into fine Stripes. There are fome whopretend to’ have Sccrets how to make anySort of Breeders break into Stripes whenever theypleafe ; but this I dare fay is without Foundation ; for from many Experiments which I have made in this kind, I never could find any Certainty of this Matter: All that can be done by Arr, is, to thift the Roots every Year intofreth I th, anda different Situation, by which Method 1 have had very good Succefs. The Earth of thefe Beds thould be every Yeardifferent ; for although ic is generally agreed, that lean, hungry, frefh Earth doth haften their breaking, and canfe their Stripe to be the finer, and more beautiful ; yet, i they are every Yearplanted in the fame Sort of Soil, it will not have fo much Effeé on them, as if they were one Yearplanted in one Sort of Earth, and the next Year in a very different one, as I have feveral times experienced, The beft Compoft for thefe Roots isa third Part of frefh Earth from a good Pafture, whichfhould have the Sward rotted withit ; a third Part of Sea Sand.; andthe other Part time ¢ fhould have the fame Culture as fifted Lime-rubbifh ;, thefe fhould be all m before : And after that, the Bulbs being large together, fix or eight Monthsat leaft before enough to blow, they fhould be taken up, i , and fhould be frequently turned, in and planted in frefh Beds, at the ufual Dirto mix the Parts well together. With ftance, and in the fame manner { this Mixture the Beds fhould be made about where, when they flower, ighteen Inches deep, after the following manare worthy to be preferved fhould be mark’d ner: After the old Earth is taken from out of with Sticks, and at the Seafon for taking up the Bed to the D intended, then fome of the Bulbs, they muft be feparated from the the frefh Earth { others, in order to be planted Breeders, in Inches thick, this ft different Beds, but you fhould by no means and then Lines drawn } throw out the reft, until they have flowered two or three Years, becaufe it is impoffible to judge exa@ly of their Value in lefS Time for many which at firft flowering do appea beautiful, will afterwards degenerate fo as to be of little Value, and others which did not pleafe at firft, will many times improve, fo that they fhouid be erved until their Worth can be well judged of. In this Method manySorts of new Breeders will be annuallyrais’d, from which there will always be fine Flowers broken, which being the Produce of a Perfon’s own Sowing, will be greatly valued, becaufe they are not in chequerwife ; at fix Inches diftance, upon the h Crofs, fhould be placed the Center o Zulip Roots, in an upright Pofition ; 4 after having finifh’d the Bed in this manner, the filled in fo as to raife the Bed eight Inches higher, obferving in doingthis, not to difplace any of the Roots, and alfo to lay the Top of the Beds alittle rounding, to throwoff the Water. There are many Perfons who ai in Planting their Zu/ip Roots, and level the Beds well, blunt Dibble to make Holes, into wh put the Roots, andthenfill up the Ho Price of all Flowers ; and it has been entirely a Rake ; but this is by no means thod, for the Dibble i h Owing to this Method of raifing new Flowers, preffes the Earth clofely that the Dutch have been fo farno amongft the Bottom, whereby th whom the Paffion for fine Tulips did fome detain’d fo } time fince reign: fo Violently, that many of “em ;- befides, other Hands, which is- what enhances the Bottom of the Bulbs, they can’t fo eafily emit their Fibres, which muft certainly prejudice the Roots. Thefe Beds fhould be funk, moreor lefs, below the Surface, according to the Moifture or Drynefs of theSoil, for the Roots fhould be fo elevated as never to have the Water ftand near *em long, whichis very apt to rot them. Sothat where the Soil is very wet, it ne Flowers may be feen long before they are blown, for all the green Leaves of the Plant will appear ofa fainter Colour, and feem to be ftrip’d with White, or of a browni fh Colour, which is a plain Proof that the Juices of the whole Plant are alter’d, or at leaft the Vefféls through which the Juice is ftrain- ed, fo that hereby Particles of a differ ent will be proper to lay fome Lime-rubbith under Figure are capable of paffing through them, which, when enter’d into the Petals of the the Beds fhould: be entirely rais’d above the Level of the Ground; but to prevent their different manner, which occafions the Variety we fee in the Colours of Flowers (but this is the Karth, in order to drain off the Wet, and falling down into the Walks, after Froft or hard Rains, it will be propertoraife the Paths between them, either with Sea-Coal Athes or Rabbith, eight or ten Inches, which will fupport the Earth of the Beds, and thefe Paths may flope at each End from the Middle, which will caufe the Water to run ofas it falls. But where the Soil is dry, the Beds may be funk a Foot or fourteen Inches below the Surface, for in fuch Places the Beds need not be more thanfour orfix Inches above the Surface, which will be Allowance enough for their Settling, During the Winter Seafon there will be no farther Care required, the Roots being planted thus deep will be in no Dangerof fuftering by Froft ; but in the Spring, when their Leaves begin to appear above-grouud, the Earth, upon the Surface of the Beds fhould be ftirr’d to clearit from Weeds, Mofs, &c. and when the Flower-buds begin to come up, they fhould be guarded from Froft, otherwife they ate very fubject to blight and decay foon after they appear; but they need only be cover’d in fuch Nights when there is a Profpect ofFroft, for at all other Times they fhould have as much open Air as poffible, without which they will draw up weak, and produce very {mall Flowers. When thefe Breeders are in Flower, you fhould carefully examine them, to fee if any of them have broken into beautiful Strip which, if you obferve, there fhouldbea Stick put into the Ground, by every fuch Root, to mark ’em, that they may be feparated from the Breeders, to plant amoneft the ftrip’d Flowers the following Year; but youfhould carefully obferve whether they have thrown off their former Colourentir ly, as alfo when they decay, to fee if they continue beautiful to the laft, and not appear fmear’d over with the original Colour, in both which Cafes they are very fubjeét to go back to their old Colour the next Year; but if their Sur ipes arediftinét and clear to the Bottom, and continue fo to the laft (which is what the Flori Well), there is no great Dang turning back again, as hath been by fom fidently ; for if one of thefe Flowe is quite (as it is term’d), it will never lofe its h fometimes they will blow much fairer thar 5 ar | often be mor he he old Roots Altera in the Colour of thefe Flower, do reflec the Rays of Light in a more fully explained in the Article of 7 tion, which fee:) This breaking of the Co lours in Flowers proceeds from Weaknefs, or at leaft is the Caufe of Weaknefs in Plants ; for it is obfervable, that after Tulips are broken into fine Stripes, they never grow fo tall as before, nor are the Stems, Leav Ss Or Flowers fo large ; and it is the fame in all other variegated Plants and Flowers whatever, whichare alfo much tend than they were before they were ftrip’d; fo that many Sorts of Exotick Plants, which by Accident become variegated in their Leaves, are often render’d fo tender as not to be preferved without great are 5 though indeed, the Striping of < lips doth never occafion fo them; the greateft Effeét in leffening their Growth, while they continued in great Weaknefs in it hath on them, is caufing fome(which their original plain Colours, did rife near three Feet in Height), to advance little more than two Feet, after their Colours were alter’?d; and the more beautifully their Stripes do appear, the fhorter will be their Stems, Flowers. and the weaker their There is nothing more to be obferved in the Culture of ftrip’d Flowers, than what has been dire¢tedfor Breeders, e3 ceptingthat thefe fhould be arched over with tall Hoops and Rails, that they may be thaded from the Sun in the Day-time, and protected from {trong Winds, hard Rains, and frofty Mornings, otherwife the Flowers will continue but a fhort time in Beauty; but where thefe Inftruétions are duly follow’d, they maybe prefery’d in Flowera ful! Month, which is as long as moft other Flowers docontinue. There are fome Perfons who are fo ex tremely fond of thefe Flowers, as to have large Frames of Iron-work, to cover their Beds of Tulips, in fuch a manner, that they may walk between two Beds un ler the Frames, over whichis fpread Tarpawlins, foas to keep off Sun, Rain, and Froft; whereby they can view the Flowers without beingat the Trouble of tak F or turning up the Tarpawlins, incommoded by the Sun or Rain, cannot be avoided, ing is low: Befides, by the Flowers have ; fo that they are when verin them ; but only by however, there y be where the Cover thus raifing the Covers, sreater Share of r, n fo weak as they s low d clofe to 5 ng expenfives can Perfons of Fortune ; Frames of Wood |
