312 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



HAEDY CYCLAMENS. 



BY WILLIAM BKADBUET. 



iiF late years a large amount of attention has been paid to 

 the lovely Cyclamen persicum., but the hardy kinds 

 which maybe most successfully cultivated without the aid 

 of glass have been somewhat neglected. Many amateurs 

 do not appear to be aware of the fact that there are at 

 present in cultivation a considerable number of species, all of which 

 are, in their way, exceedingly beautiful ; and of some of these there 

 are several distinct varieties. In the excellent bulb catalogue 

 recently issued by Mr. Ware, of the Hale Farm Nurseries, Totten- 

 ham, who pays special attention to this class of plants, there will 

 be found ten species, bearing flowers ranging from deepest rose on 

 the one hand to the purest white on the other. They are all cer- 

 tainly well worthy of a place in the garden, and may be considered 

 especially valuable to those who are unable to grow the more 

 showy Cyclamen persicum and its varieties. In selecting from the 

 lovely Erythroniums, Primulas, Doronicums, and the rest of the 

 spring flowers, the hardy Cyclamens might claim pre-eminence for 

 their beauty. We shall endeavour to carry the thoughts of our 

 readers forward by proposing the more extensive cultivation of 

 them as a task admirably adapted to the range of practice and means 

 of the majority of amateur cultivators, and as some of the best 

 of all plants known for the entertainment of lady gardeners. The 

 hardy kinds, it should be known, show their bloom in the borders 

 in the first flush of the spring, and during a deluge in February or 

 a howling March wind, enable us to antedate the summer when it is 

 yet very far off, and experience some of the warmth and fragrancy 

 already in our plants. What a matchless grace is there in these plants, 

 their deep green and shining leaves are like a cluster of fairy shields, 

 and their delicately-tinted and delicious odorous flowers, elegantly- 

 poised on their slender stems, like banners and beacons for Puck and 

 his playmates. The wonder is that they have not some such a place, 

 in story and sons, as the Violet, the Eose, and the Primula ; and, 

 indeed, they would have had a first place, had nature but sprinkled 

 their blossoms on our plains, as she has sprinkled them among the 

 slopes of the Alps and Pyrenees, and among the woods and wastes 

 of Georgia and Cyprus. Indeed, we can almost claim Cyclamen 

 hederaefolium, the Ivy-leaved Sowbread, as a native, for it is said to 

 be found growing wild in some Welsh localities, and in Dt akin's 

 " Florigraphia " habitats are assigned it at Bramfield, Suffolk; 

 Sandhurst Green, and Goudhurst, Kent. Dr. Deakin says of this 

 species, " It is frequent in the woods and shady places in various 

 parts of Italy ; and so profuse in some districts about Pisa, as to 

 give the surface of the ground an apparent clothing, at a distance, 

 of a delicate pink tissue." 



In speaking of the cultivation of these flowers, it must, first 

 of all, be said that it would be a folly to deal with hardy Cycla- 

 mens as we deal with most other hardy spring flowers, because if 



