614 THE nTACINTII. 



of the spike, the lower end Lent outwards till it reaches the cir- 

 cumference of the pot, winding it round the outside of the pot 

 beneath the rim to keep the spike upright and steady. Plenty of 

 water should be given from the time the leaves begin to grow 

 till the flower shows symptoms of decay, when a gradual diminu- 

 tion should take place. When the leaves turn yellow, water 

 Bhould be entirely withheld, and the bulb should be taken from 

 the pot at the end of July, and stowed away in a dry place for 

 planting in beds the following year. The same bulbs can scarcely 

 be recommended for planting in pots or glasses a second year, 

 but are very good for planting out of doors. Masses of Hyaciatbs 

 may be planted in ornamental pots or baskets, forming the whole 

 mass of one colour, or the centre and circumference of different 

 colours ; and thus ordered, they are at once elegant and 

 effective. 



2. Hyacinths in Glasses. — Under this form of culture we 

 have in the Hyacinth the most beautiful of house plants in 

 winter and early spring, arriving at the same degree of perfec- 

 tion in town md, country. The single kinds, to my eye always 

 the most beautiful, are especially preferable for glasses, on ac- 

 count of their greater earliness and hardihood. Soundness of 

 bulb, at all times important, is more than commonly important 

 here. Set the bulb in the glass so that the lower end, whence 

 the roots are emitted, is almost, but not quite, in contact with 

 the water. Use rain or pond water. Keep the glasses filled up 

 as the water sinks by the feeding of the roots and evaporation. 

 It is a general practice to place Hyacinths in glasses in a dark 

 cupboard or some other place where the light is excluded, and a 

 very good practice it is, for the roots feed more freely in the 

 dark, and thus the system of the plant becomes better stored 

 with food. They may remain in this situation for one or two 

 months, according to the temperature in which they are placed, 

 and should not be too suddenly transferred to the light- Here, as 

 with Hyacinths in pots, when the flowering is over, the bulbs 

 may be brought gradually into a state of rest by a diminution of 

 the supply of water. This done, dry them, store them away, 



and in due season plant them in beds out of doors to bloom there 

 the following year. 



S. Hyacinths in the open Gbound. — I have never yet 

 seen so much done with the Hyacinth, as an out-of-door plant, 

 as I conceive might be done on principles similar to those which 

 have been so admirably carried out in regard to "bedding 



