36G 



JOUBNAL OP HORTICULTUBE AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



[ KoTember 4, UM. 



hia ekilfal advice bo freely given, the enconragomeDt bestowed, 

 and the little inducements leading people on so continnonsl; 

 at play, Mr. Thomson has done more to engender a love of 

 gardening, to popularise and eitend the oaltiTation of Grapes, 

 in Scotland than any man ever did. Scotchmen, therefore, 

 one and all, owe him a deep debt of gratitude. I believe I am 

 not doing any harm in stating that the famous vineries and Vine 

 borders at Castle Kennedy, so ably managed by Mr. Fowler, 

 were formed from Mr. Thomson's plans. Then, again, the 

 vineries and borders at Glamis Castle have been made by 

 Mr. Fowler after the same model. I can also point to some 

 vineries at Mr. Lindsay's, near Dalkeith, '200 feet in length, 

 with the most enormous crop of good fruit I have ever seen, a 

 perfect mine of wealth to their possessor, and to another lot at 

 Mr. Christie's, Craigend, which will next year astonish the world 

 unless I am much mistaken. Such rods of only one season's 

 growth I could never have believed possible to be produced. 

 At Hopetoun Uouse, also, the Grapes are most meritorious, 

 and highly creditable to Mr. Niven, although produced under 

 disadvantageous circumstances. Those at Lochryan House 

 may also be noted as praiseworthy, and lastly, the production 

 of that Erobdingnagian bunch of Syrian at Askelton Gardens 

 by Mr. Dickson, weighing 16i lbs. ! the largest bunch ever 

 produced since the famous one of Speechley, which required 

 two men to carry it. 



At another time I shall have more to say in detail on some 

 of the Grapes in Scotland. At present I call my brethren's 

 attention to our defeat. The mantle lies on the other side of 

 the Tweed at present. ^Vho is the southron bold enough and 

 strong enough to take it up, and wear if? Let ns try ; for, in 

 the immortal words of Nelson, "England expects that every 

 (garden) man (with Grapes) will do his duty." — Abchameaud. 



THE CULTIVATION OF HYACINTHS IN THE 



OPEN GROUND. 

 This is a continnatiou of the subject of spring decoration 

 touched ou in the preceding papers. Actually the Hyacinth is 

 but little known as a border plant, probably for two reasons — 

 First, because it is thought to be an expensive bedder ; and, 

 secondly, because the flowers are so liable to be injured by ex- 

 posure to adverse weather. No doubt the lirst is the great 

 difficulty, and yet the display is so great, and so thoroughly 

 enjoyable, as to serve as a set-clf in a remarkable degree to the 

 matter of expense. This last item is apt to be unduly magnified, 

 and many are thereby deterred from making an attempt. 

 There is also the impression abroad that the climate of Eng- 

 land is unsuited to their growth, except for the first year of 

 their importation. There is much reason to doubt the correct- 

 ness of this conclusion, and one who has visited Holland has 

 left on record the results of his observations, as follows : — "I 

 question the correctness of this opinion : first, because the 

 neighbourhood of Haarlem, the great region of their pro- 

 duction, is on the same parallel with the centre of England, 

 nor is the difference of climate at the season of the year when 

 Hyacinths are under its influence, perceptible in other things ; 

 secondly, because the method of curing the bulbs pnrsued by 

 the Dutch, is never, so far as I have been able to learn, fairly 

 tried in England, nor is the soil or place of their growth out of 

 doors regulated by a due knowledge of the wants and habits of 

 the plant ; and, lastly, because under certain circumstances it 

 has happened, that persons who plant their forced Hyacinths, 

 after flowering, in the open borders, and leave them undisturbed, 

 have found in a year or two, that the self-acclimatising power 

 of Nature has restored some of these exhausted bulbs to their 

 original powers of blooming. Now, if this happened but once, 

 it would show the recovery to be possible; but, in fact, it 

 happens often, and when no particular care is taken, leaving us 

 to suppose that it arises from the bulb meeting with some 

 peculiar soil and locality which agrees with its constitution. 

 And this I take to bo the true cause of the restoration : so that 

 auflieient encouragement is really given to those who have the 

 opportunity and the will to attempt the native growth of this 

 beautiful and fragrant flower in England." This passage is a 

 suggestive one, and certainly contains much to arrest attention 

 and challenge consideration. To the rich — those who can afford 

 to purchase yearly several hundred Hyacinths for bedding pur- 

 poses — the matter is but of small moment ; to those who cannot 

 afford to purchase yearly, and who would be glad to know some 

 mode of utilising their bulbs, so as to render service for a few 

 years in sucoession, the matter is one of importance. 



I am of opinion that the constitution of the soil is of the first 

 moment in the cultivation of the Hyacinth in the open gronnd. 

 The soil of the bulb fields of Haarlem is either a light bat 

 rich sandy peat, or pure sea sand rich in saline matter. It is 

 in this that the bulbous and tuberous plants thrive bo stu- 

 prieingly, "and I believe that it is the soil and the mode of 

 cultivation " (so says an observant risitor), " not the climate, 

 that make the difference between the English and the Dntch- 

 grown Hyacinth." It is a fact that in this Haarlem soil the 

 roots of the Hyacinth have been known to penetrate to the 

 depth of .S feet. This suggests a depth of soil admitting of the 

 Hyacinth rooting deeply, though a depth of .3 feet would not 

 nearly be reached as a general rule. Some drainage is requisite; 

 perhaps nothing could be better than a thin eubstratum of 

 brick rubble similar to that used by Mr. Gibson for a like pai- 

 pose at the bottom of those glorious subtropical beds in 

 Battersea Park ; for though drainage may seem to be of Uttle 

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

 would be found a mistake, as in cold, sodden earth the roots 

 canker, decay, and perish, as soon as those of any other plant. 

 Depth, pabulum, freedom, are the watchwords of a flne old 

 cultivator of the Hyacinth in the open ground, and they are the 

 secrets of the cultural process that assuredly lead to BuccesB. " 



Some twelve years ago one of the most successful cultivatera 

 of the Hyacinth in the open ground was the ilev. W. Le Poer 

 Trench, b.D., of Moylough Rectory, Ballinasloe, Ireland. Pro- 

 bably the climate was to some extent favourable, but the cir- 

 cumstance teaches how much can be done by paying some 

 attention to the requirements of the plant. Only fancy "flower- 

 ing the same root for fifteen consecutive years to a degree of 

 perfection tit for any show stand;" and yet this is what Dr. 

 Trench did at the time I have stated, and for aught I know to 

 the contrary, may be doing still ; and what was equally remark- 

 fible. Dr. Trench also brought forward offsets to a flowering 

 state equal to the best imported roots. The mode of culti- 

 vation adopted by Dr. Trench can be best given in his own 

 words. " I empty out the bed in the first week in October, 

 fully two spades deep. I then fill it up, one spade high, with 

 pure fresh cow dung, separated as much as possible from straw, 

 mixed with an equal portion of half-decayed leaves — say one 

 year old. The remainder of the bed is then filled up with 

 well-decayed leal mould (two years old) three parts, and fine 

 pit sand (if I could get it I would use sea sand) one part. Of 

 course, the bed is raised to the usual height in the centre, and 

 the substratum of cow dung and leaf mould is raised in pro- 

 portion, so as to bring it in the centre, as well as at the edges, 

 within about 10 or 18 inches of the surface. I plant in the 

 tirst week in November. I empty out, with the hand, the space 

 in which each root is to be deposited, removing the compost to 

 such a depth that the crown of the root, be it large or email, 

 shall be '2 inches below the surface. The hole being thus 

 opened, I sprinkle some sand, about the fourth of an inch in 

 depth, on the bottom; I then deposit the root upon the sand, 

 and cover it all round and over with sand. If there are any 

 promising offsets, I plant in the same way round the parent, 

 only, of course, placing them nearer to the surface. In every 

 future year after the first, when the bed is emptied out, the 

 bottom and top stuff are carefully mixed together, and one- 

 eighth part of sand is incorporated with them, and that is used 

 for the top-filling, instead of the leaf mould and sand. I never 

 permit offsets to flower imtil the bulb has attained the full size. 

 I do not protect in any way until the florets are beginning to 

 expand, and then I cover with an awning, which is not re- 

 moved until the bulbs are taken up. Every flower-stem is cot 

 off as soon as the beauty of the bloom is past. The bulbs are 

 taken up when the foliage turns yellow, and dried in an airyi 

 shady loft. The withered fohage and all offsets are then 

 removed, the bulbs cleaned, and put by in silver paper, in a 

 paper bag, duly labelled, until the ensuing planting time." 



I trust the re-appearance of these admirable rules will induce 

 many of your readers to attempt the cultivation of the Hyacinth 

 in this manner, as it is quite certain that there is no neceBsitj 

 for abandoning the bulbs after the first year's flowerini?. A 

 dry and airy part of the garden should be selected as the 

 situation for the bed ; a southern aspect is to be preferred, and 

 if there can be added some shelter on the north and east sides, 

 either by trees or buildings, or evergreens, the beauty and 

 duration of the bloom will be benefited thereby. It need 

 scarcely be stated that the bed should be beyond the reach of 

 any drip from the trees. 



The earlier-blooming sorts of Hyacinths, information regard- 

 ing which can only be obtained by experience, should be 



