280 THE FLORIST. 



remarks are penned for the especial gratification of the lady portion 

 of our readers, that pleasure becomes doubled. 



The Hyacinth, like the Rose, is a universal favourite ; for though 

 a diversity of taste occurs in floral matters, as in all others, the merits 

 of the Hyacinth never are questioned.* Every body loves it for its 

 beauty and its fragrance ; and it is worthy of it. The Dahlia-fanciers 

 may " look down" upon the Pelargonium ; the Florist who never sees 

 beauty but in the eye of his pet Pansies, may rank all other flowers as 

 inferior ; the enthusiast who would grow nothing but Tulips, and root 

 up even those which did not produce his acme of perfection, a semi- 

 globular flower, may pride himself on his eccentricity, and hold him- 

 self aloof from the recognition of the universal loveliness of flowers ; 

 but one and all will unite in terming the Hyacinth a " household 

 flower," and no greater praise could be awarded it. 



When we had penned thus far, we received a copy of a little 

 cheap work entitled Practical Hints on the Cultivation and Properties 

 of the Hyacinth, by G. P. Tye,t which, on perusing, we found to 

 contain so many valuable hints on the subject which we were writing 

 on, that we determined to enrich our remarks wdth some extracts 

 from its pages ; but we are sure that any one of our readers who may 

 be in a like position with our fair correspondent will immediately pro- 

 cure a copy of the little work in question. 



We may premise, however, that the first element of success in 

 the cultivation of the Hyacinth, is to encourage a free and healthy 

 root-action before the production of the flower-stems. This general 

 rule applies equally to those grown in pots or glasses. One of the 

 most frequent causes of failure arises from a violation of this fun- 

 damental rule. We have seen the bulbs, from the first moment of 

 their being brought home, placed in the glasses and set in the win- 

 dows, or some equally strong light. In such a position, and under 

 such circumstances, but a sorry amount of gratification will be 

 reaped. 



Much has been said on the superiority of certain varieties for 

 glass or pot culture, and many seedsmen continue to make such indi- 

 cation in their bulb-lists. For ourselves, we give no heed to such dis- 

 tinctions, and believe there is no foundation in them. Our author 

 has some remarks on the " selection cf bulbs," from which we take 

 the following: "As an important element v,\ success, an early selec- 

 tion of bulbs is recommended. This, in m';st cases, will ensure to 

 the purchaser larger quantities from which to choose, and finer bulbs 

 may l)e obtained." And again, at page 7. in deprecating the practice 

 of allowing the bulbs to begin rooting before they are purchased, he 

 says, " If the food it seeks be withheld, it will draw from sources 

 within itself the nourishment with which nature has supplied it; but, 

 like many other unassisted efforts, it fails to mature its parts, and 

 perfection is not attained. Let, therefore, the bulbs be chosen he- 

 fore they begin to grow." And we beg to add, that in removal 



* Of course, we are here speaking of its general character, not criticising it 

 individually. 



+ Groombridge and Sons, Paternoster Row. 



