76 THE FLORIST. 



of April, you may look down upon a sea of Hyacinths, of all colours, 

 in bloom, covering hundreds of acres with their beauty, and filling 

 the air with their perfume. At this time it is that the annual sales 

 take place ; and any one attending them may not only revel in the 

 delight of inspecting this beautiful flower in all its varieties in their 

 now naturalised locality, but, by purchasing a quantity, may make it 

 worth his while to take the trip. And if he returns without having 

 a bed of his own the next season, he will exhibit a deficiency of floral 

 enthusiasm for which I should not envy him. 



Should any one be inclined to try the experiment, a few hints 

 may be acceptable. 



1. The roots of the Hyacinth are known to penetrate to the 

 depth of three feet ; and though drainage may seem to be of little 

 consequence to a plant that grows well in water alone, yet this would 

 be found a mistake. In sodden earth the roots canker, decay, and 

 perish, as soon as those of any other plant. The soil in which they 

 are to grow must therefore be three feet in depth, below which there 

 must be a sufficient drainage. It should be managed, in short, just 

 as the pit of a Tulip-bed is ; only it is to be remembered, that the 

 Hyacinth must not, as the Tulip may, be planted afterwards in open 

 ground where there is not sufficient depth, pabulum, freedom ; other- 

 wise all previous labour on that bulb is lost, and it must begin again 

 de novo. 



2. The offset bed must be prepared in the same manner, and with 

 at least equal care with, if not quite so deep as, that of the principal 

 bed. The soil at Haarlem is so sandy, that iron spades are all but 

 unknown there. Wooden spades are used ; and with one of these I 

 have dug to the depth of above four feet without coming to anything 

 that could impede the further penetration of the Hyacinth root. No 

 wonder, therefore, they thrive like the free citizen of Athens of old ; 

 there is nothing to cramp or hinder them from thriving. In England 

 this must be procured artificially ; but I do not think this will involve 

 trouble or expense to an amount prohibitory of growing them for 

 profit. 



3. The soil, as I observed, is either a light but rich sandy peat, 

 or pure sea-sand rich in salts ; so rich, indeed, that the oak flourishes 

 there, as may be seen in the valleys in the midst of the sandhills 

 between Haarlem and the sea. It is in this that the bulbous and 

 tuberous plants thrive so surprisingly ; and I believe it is the soil 

 and the mode of cultivation, not the climate, that make the difference 

 between the English and the Dutch-grown Hyacinth. Make the 

 soil, therefore, approximate to that of Haarlem ; let half or two- 

 thirds be sea-sand, and one-third peat or leaf-mould, the whole 

 sufficiently watered with ocean salts — chloride of sodium, sulphate 

 of soda, and sulphate of magnesia ; to which may be added with 

 advantage a little nitrate of soda and muriate of ammonia ; the whole 

 of which salts, sufficient to impregnate compost for a bed to grow 

 one thousand Hyacinths, would not amount to five shillings ; and 

 the compost will last from seven to ten years without changing. 



4. To ripen its seed the plant exhausts itself; therefore those 



