THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN aiJIDE. 



265 



many years past. In the selectioa of 

 hyacinths, it does not by any means follow 

 that a fine, large, fat-looking root will pro- 

 dace a fine truss of bloom. As a proof, 

 last year the roots of L'honneur d'Sas- 

 senlieim were very largo and fine, the 

 result of luxuriant growth iaduced by the 

 excessive wet of the spring of 1880, but 

 the spikes of bloom were, as a rule, poor 

 and thin ; this year bulbs of the same sort 

 are not above half the size, but they are 

 thoroughly ripe, with conical crowns, and 

 promise a fine bloom. Some of the finest 

 hyacinths are not so much grown as they 

 should be and as their merits deserve, 

 because they have either small or un- 

 sightly roots. Porcelain Scjptre, one of 

 our finest single blues, in/ariably has a 

 cracked and deformed root ; Nimrol is 

 always small, though producing: the hand- 

 somest and largest truss of any hyacinth I 

 know ; Comtesse de la Coste, double red. 

 Sultan Achmet, double white, both mag- 

 nificent hyacinths, are generally miserably 

 small, more especially the first-named, 

 whish operates very much against their 

 sale with those who are guided only by 

 the appearance of the roots without any 



knowledge of the flowers. In two or 

 three words, select roots that are hard and 

 firm — ^the more conical in shape the larger 

 the truss is likely to be — and let size be 

 a secondary consideration. Tulips, as a 

 rule, this year are rather small, but they 

 are as brown as a chesnut and as hard as 

 Brazils, and therefore indicate a fine show 

 of bloom either for pot or the open ground. 

 All the other bulbs are equally well 

 ripened this year, and pui'chasers need not 

 be alarmed if they are a little behindhand 

 this year, as it is very likely those who 

 are served tbe last will fare the best. All 

 such things as Tritonias, Ixias, Iris pa- 

 vonia, Brodisea congesta, Camassia escu- 

 leata, are beautifully ripened this year, 

 and cannot fail to give satisfaction to 

 purchasers if they on their part use the 

 proper measures to secure the desired 

 results. I should prefer you did not 

 attach my name to these few desultory 

 remarks, lest I should be thought angling 

 for custom, but if you think them of any 

 value let your readers have them. 



William Chitty. 



[The name is a guarantee to the reader, and 

 must appear. — Ed.] 



DISSECTING LEAVES. 



Steep the leaves, seed-vessels, or other 

 parts of the plant which are required to be 

 dissected, in rain water ; leave them ex- 

 posed to its influence until the whole of 

 the soft or pulpy matters are decomposed. 

 The period required for this operation va- 

 ries much in different leaves, etc., accord- 

 ing to their texture ; thus, some require but 

 a few weeks, others as many months. 

 When the pulpy parts are completely de- 

 composed, the next operation consists in 

 their removal from the fibro-vascular net- 

 work with which they were originally 

 connected. This requii-es much care and 

 patience. There are two ways of accom- 

 plishing it ; one, which consists in care- 

 fiilly exposing them to a stream of fresh 

 water, using at the same time a brush ; 

 and the other by simply placing them in 

 fresh water, and removing with care the 

 decomposed portion, in like manner, with 

 a brush. Some difficulty will be found at 



first in doing this without, at the same 

 time, breaking the fibro-vascular network; 

 but a little practice will soon render it 

 easy of accomplishment. The adoption 

 successively of simply fresh water, and a 

 stream of the same, applied by means of a 

 syringe, will be frequently found desirable. 

 The pulpy portions having been removed, 

 andthe fibro-vascular network obtained, the 

 latter must be then bleached. For this pur- 

 pose, prepare a weak solution of chloride of 

 lime, by adding about an ounce of a strong 

 solution of that substance to a quart of 

 distilled water ; then soak the skeletons 

 in this solution for some hours ; generally 

 three or four will suffice, but when they 

 are very thick a longer period will be 

 necessary. After this operation has been 

 performed, wash the skeletons thoroughly 

 in pure water, and, lastly, dry them by 

 freely exposing them to light and air. — 

 Ph'irmaceutical Journal. 



