456 THE GARDENER. [Oct. 



saturated, nor permitting the soil to get extremely dry. Should tie 

 appearance of the plants, as the show-time approaches, indicate their 

 being too far advanced in flower, remove the sashes in the daytime, 

 weather permitting, and only protect the flowers by a canopy of 

 hexagon net or screen. Should the reverse be the case — namely, the 

 flowers too late — the frames must be kept closer ; or else, which is pre- 

 ferable, the plants put into a greenhouse near to the glass, where all 

 the necessary requirements, such as tying, stacking, and dressing can 

 be performed without exposing them to the wind. 



As the flowers approach opening it is well to supply the roots with 

 weak liquid manure as a stimulant to growth, which acts at once with 

 good eff'ect upon the pips, expanding them to greater dimensions, as 

 well as displaying in them higher colours than if only fed by water. 



Dressing the Jiower-spikes. — Whether for exhibition purposes or 

 not the appearance of some hyacinths may be very much improved 

 by having their pips thinned and arranged neatly. The doubles are 

 mostly improved by this, as in many instances their pips are so heavy 

 that they hang slovenly, showing their outline to disadvantage. In 

 proceeding to arrange a spike, the wire support or stake ought to be 

 brought neatly up amongst the pips without disarranging any of them. 

 The top of the wire should only reach the upper extremity of the foot- 

 stalk of the topmost pip. When it is placed erect the pip is tied in 

 this position, and the main stem is also tied securely to the wire sup- 

 port; then the set of pips immediately below the crowning one is 

 raised up and secured in position by means of the crowning pip over- 

 lapping their margins ; the next series of pips are in their turn raised, 

 so that the one above them overlaps them and supports them in position, 

 and so on ; one series of pips is made to support that below it, until 

 all are secured, making a symmetrical whole when completed. Another 

 mode of securing the uppermost series of pips in position is to insert 

 pieces of fine steel wire into the centre of each flower, securing the 

 wire in the main stem, then hanging all the lower flowers to one 

 another. 



List of Exhibition Sorts. 



DouUe Blues. — Laurens Koster, Indigo, Lord Wellington, porcelain shades; 

 Van Speyk, pale blue. 



Doubles of the Redsto Crimson shades. — Koh-y-Noor, rich pink; Lord Wel- 

 lington, delicate blush; Susanna Maria, salmon rose; La Tour d'Auvergne, 

 double pure white. 



Single Blues of various shades. — Argus, bright blue, white eye; Auriculus 

 Oog, purple violet, white eye ; Baron Van Tuyll, dark ; Charles Dickens, delicate 

 pale blue ; General Havelock, dark purple ; Grand Lilas, azure blue ; Haydn, 

 mauve ; King of the Blues, deep blue ; Lord Melville, deep blue ; Marie, deep 

 purplish-blue, striped indigo ; Prince Albert, black, with a glow of purple. 



