THE riOEIST-FLOWER GARDEN. 539 



favourite has long been known in our gardens as tlie wild hyacinth of our 

 woods and shady places, and we have a recollection of hearing a well-knowu 

 naturalist dilate on the delight he once experienced after a fatiguing ramble 

 over the Grampians, to find himself unexpectedly landed in a sunny glen, sur- 

 rounded by a little colony of wild hyacinths perfuming the air with their fra- 

 grance. The hyacinth is thus widely spread over the world ; very different, 

 however, in appearance from Mr. Glenny's hcau ideal, which requires that the 

 flowers of the double hyacinth should be " thick enough to conceal the stalk, 

 without disturbing the round form of the individual blooms ; the truss or 

 spike pyramidal ; the pips, or individual flowers, round in the outline, half- 

 round upon the face; the petals imiform and symmetrical." The single 

 varieties should have the corolla reflexed, and in all i-espects perfect as the 

 double ; the petals wide enough to touch and give a round outline to the 

 entire flower. ''A few varieties only approach this ideal, but it is thought 

 best," Mr. Glenny adds, "to describe what would be a perfect thing." 



1686. Hyacinths are grown in pots made on purpose for them, six inches 

 across and nearly twelve inches deep. In the absence of these, take 

 a 32 ; fill the pots within four inches of the top with one-half sand and 

 one-half cow-dung rotted into mould ; place the bulb in the centre, and press 

 it an inch into the soil ; then fill to the brim with the same compost ; thus 

 covering the crown three inches. Set the pots out of doors till it is required 

 to push them on. If wanted to bloom in succession, and to begin early, and 

 there is the means of forcing at hand, bring forward a few in November, 

 a few in December, and a few more each successive month. They require no 

 burjdng in tan, but, the soil being very porous, they require occasional 

 watering. 



1687. Hyacinths in glasses should be put in them about October, the 

 glasses filled with rain or river water, and kept in the dark until then* fibres 

 shoot forth, protecting them from frost. Change the water every six weeks, 

 filhng it up to the bottom of the roots every time : when they begin to grow, 

 keep them in the strongest light, giving as much air as possible. If grown 

 In sand or moss alone, half-fill the vase used with silver-sand, wetted ; place 

 the bulb upon that, and fill up the pot with good green moss. The quantity 

 of water required is just sufficient to keep the sand moist. Once in two 

 or three waterings give liquid manure, made by mixing a peck of rotted cow- 

 dung in twelve gallons of water, and allow it to settle, using the clear liquid 

 only. With this stimulant, the plants will come up short, strong, and well- 

 coloured. 



1688. Hyacinths in the open ground require a well-drained spot. To form a 

 bed, dig out the soil two feet deep and four feet wide. At the bottom of this 

 trench put six inches of well-decomposed cow-dung ; over that a compost of 

 one-half sea-sand, with the salt well washed out, or any other coarse clean 

 sand, in its absence, adding one-half cow-dung thoroughly decomposed. Fill the 

 bed with this compost well mixed, and let it settle a few days ; after that 

 level it, and plant the bulbs si:c inches apart, all over the bed — there will bo 



