TREATMENT OF HYACINTHS. 



ON THE TREATMENT OF HYACINTHS, WITH RE- 

 MARKS ON THEIR CULTURE BY THE DUTCH. 



BY E. L. 



Having had some experience in the treatment of this bulb, and a good know- 

 ledge of the Dutch system of culture, I forward you a few hasty remarks. The 

 mode in use in Holland has been pretty clearly laid down in a work by St. Simon, 

 published at Amsterdam some years ago, in which everything that can be, and a 

 great deal more than need be, said on the subject is contained ; it is now a scarce 

 work, and may not be accessible to many who would otherwise be glad to con- 

 sult it. 



The compost used at Haarlem is rotten cow-dung, decomposed leaves, and fine 

 sand. In making this compost, the Dutch gardeners prefer the softer leaves of 

 elm, lime, and birch, rejecting those of oak, ash, chestnut, or beech, which do not 

 rot so quickly. The cow-dung is from stall-fed cattle, without any mixture of 

 straw or other litter. The sand is procured in the neighborhood of Haarlem, 

 where the soil is a deposit of sea-sand upon a compact layer of hard undecayed 

 timber, the remains of an ancient forest which has been submerged by the sea. 

 The best sand is that procured by digging some depth. St. Simon imagines this 

 sand possesses some peculiar virtue by the admixture of salt, and in this he is pro- 

 bably correct. The leaves are laid in a large heap, in a situation not much ex- 

 posed to the sun, and not liable to stagnation of water, which is carefully drained 

 from them. When fit for use, the compost is made thus : first they place a layer 

 of sand, next dung, and then leaves, each stratum about eight inches thick, and 

 they are repeated until the heap is about six feet high, a layer of dung being 

 uppermost, sprinkled over with a little sand, to prevent the too powerful action 

 of the sun upon it. After the heap has lain about six months it is mixed, and 

 thrown up afresh, in which state it remains some WTeks, to settle, before it is car- 

 ried to the beds. This compost retains its qualities about six or seven years, but 

 the Dutch avoid setting Hyacinths in it two years successively; in the alternate 

 years they plant Tulips, Jonquils, Narcissuses, Crocuses, Fritillarias, Irises, etc., 

 in the same beds ; neither do they plant Hyacinths in the compost the first sea- 

 son, when the fresh manure might be injurious to them. The choice bulbs are 

 taken up every year, and the soil that lay amongst the fibres is then carefully 

 brought up to the surface. The beds should be deep enough to prevent the fibres 

 coming near the subsoil. I believe that English sea-sand will suit the Hyacinth 

 as well as that of Haarlem, and that old tan, if thoroughly decayed and pulverized, 

 may be used instead of leaves, and I know some Dutch gardeners who use it them- 

 selves. The cow-dung should be as free from straw as possible, and without the 

 admixture of any other kind, and completely decayed before it is used. The mis- 

 chief occasioned by the fermentation of half-rotten straw, and the too great heat 

 of horse-dung, etc., is a contagious decay amongst the bulbs, which will spread 

 throughout the bed. 



The beds should be made about three feet in depth with the compost, consisting 

 of about one-sixth of rotten leaves or tan, two-sixths of pure sand, and three- 

 sixths of rotten cow-dung. The comi)Ost should not be trodden down hard ; but, 

 the bed being opened, the bulbs may be ranged, and then carefully covered from 

 three to five inches deep, but not pressed into the compost. If the situation be 

 JJ wet in winter, the beds may be raised six inches, or even more, above the level of 

 the soil, to prevent the evil effects of moisture. The Dutch cover their beds 



