222 



THE HYACINTH AND NARCISSUS. 



I do not find it best to endeavor to exclude 

 the air entirely. Decay takes place sooner 

 when that is done. For the same reason I 

 have found it better to choose small boxes, 

 such as may be opened every week, as 

 wanted for use, rather than larger ones. 



As it is considered by my family no mean 

 addition to the dessert, these grapes in abun- 

 dance in winter, I have no doubt there are 

 numerous readers of the Horticulturist who 

 will put this simple process of preserving 

 them into practice. I ought to add, before 

 closing my letter, that the boxes should be 

 kept in a dry airy place, free from frost. 

 Your obedient, W.Williams. 



New- York, Oct. 11, 1847. 



[We will add a single practical sugges- 

 tion to the foregoing remarks. Our corres- 

 pondent does not state in what for?n the 

 cotton is to be employed. We have been 

 in the habit of preserving these native 

 grapes much in the same way, for winter 

 use, ifor ten or fifteen years past, and we 

 find that the prepared sheets of the cotton 

 wadding, to be found in all dry-goods shops, 

 are much preferable for the purpose to the 

 cotton batting generally employed. The 

 former is equally soft, and its glazed sur- 

 face prevents the fibres of cotton from ad- 

 hering to the grapes, which is always the 

 case when the later is used. — Ed.] 



THE HYACINTH AND NARCISSUS. 



BY MR. GLENNY.* 



The soil in which the Hyacinth is so suc- 

 cessfully grown in Holland is doubtless, 

 the alluvial soil of the place, but much is 

 done by dressing it. Naturally, a grey, 

 sandy and not very rich earth, it requires 

 then twice its bulk of manure, which is 

 three-fourths cow dung, and one fourth ve- 

 getable mould. In England, the nearest 

 we can get to perfection, in the way of 

 compost is rotted turfs, not cut more than 

 three inches thick originally, and allowed 

 to lay in heaps till the vegetable parts have 

 become mould ; this should be rubbed 

 through a coarse sieve that would let a 

 marble through, and as it falls through on 

 the heap, some one ought to be on the 

 watch to detect the wireworm or grub, for 

 they show very plainly as the earth falls 

 through on the heap, and runs down the 

 sides. One half of this compost, and the 

 other half made up of two parts cow dung, 

 and one part clean, well-washed sand, will 

 grow the Hyacinth as well as they are 

 grown in Holland [The common white 

 sand of the sea-shore, is much the best for 

 bulb composts. — Ed.] The compost must 



* From the London Horticultural Magazine. 



be well mixed, and should lay together all 

 the warm months, in a: situation where it 

 can have all the sun, and be turned over 

 several times. 



Preparation of the Bed. — In September 

 dig out a space four feetjinSvidth, and as 

 long as the number of bulbs to be planted 

 in one bed require, reckoning that fourteen 

 grow in every foot of length, namely two 

 cross rows of seven in a row. Let the 

 depth be two feet, and the place well drain- 

 ed. At the bottom, put three inches' thick- 

 ness of cow dung, or horse dung rotted into 

 mould or thoroughly decomposed ; the dung 

 from an old melon or cucumber bed will 

 answer; upon this put the compost from the 

 heap already described, and fill it up three 

 inches above the surface of the ordinary 

 ground, for the compost will subside ; tow- 

 ards the end of the month, it will have sunk 

 a good deal, and more must be put on, so 

 as to make it quite level with the surface 

 of the other ground. 



Arrangement of the Bulbs. — To make a 

 bed look to the best advantage, you must 

 choose such bulbs as will all blow in one 

 season, that is to say, at one time, for no - 



