THE FLORIST-FLOWER GARDEN. 641 



•usually severe weather, it may be well to cover the bed with a few inches of 

 tan. Always take a dry day for planting, and into every hole, before the 

 bulb is put in, shake a little fresh dry sand to serve as a bed for it. Of 

 ■course, all tan or other covering must be removed before the bulbs begin to 

 show themselves in spring. Hyacinths grown in pots will be greatly improved by 

 growing three or four roots together : in glasses, of course, only one bulb can 

 be placed. The water used should be clear rain-water, and the vessels should 

 be filled to within a quarter of an inch of the bulb. To promote vegetation 

 they should be set in a closet, cellar, or other dark, cool situation, till they 

 have rooted freely. As soon as this is the case, remove them to moderate 

 light : a close, heated atmosphere is unfavourable to the development of 

 handsome flowers. While in active growth, the glasses should be kept as near 

 the windows in which they are set as possible, and turned occasionally, to 

 preserve the growth upright. The water should not be changed often, unless it 

 becomes unpleasant : add more water as required, so as to keep the surface 

 within a quarter of an inch of the bulb. A very useful stimulant may be 

 given to the bulbs, by dissolving about an ounce of guano in a quart of rain- 

 water, and jaouring a teaspoonful of this, about once a fortnight, into each 

 glass ; but it is not desirable to give this until the flowers have started. 



1693. The most favoured varieties may be gathered from the results of 

 Messrs. Henderson's show of unforced hyacinths in March of the present 

 year, when the Comtesse de la Costa, a deep rose ; the Duke of "Wellington, 

 a shade lighter ; the Groot Voorst, a deep blush ; and Regina Victoria, of a 

 waxy peach blossom ; and Waterloo, a dark rosy red, were distinguished 

 among many beautiful double reds. 



1694. Among the double whites were Laurens Coster, Sir Colin Campbell, 

 Rembrandt : Van Speyk among the double blues and purples. Among the 

 single reds, I'Ame du Coeur, Diebitsch, Sabalskanski, Madame Hodson, Amy, 

 Florence Nightingale, Mrs. Beecher Stowe, Apellis, Cavaignac, Circe, 

 Xina, and Robert Steiger ; among the small whites, Grand Vainqueur, Madame 

 Vander Hoop ; among the blushes, Dolly Varden, Elfrida, Gigantea, Grande 

 Vidette, and Orondates, clear whites ; and Enricus, Argus, Baron von 

 Humboldt, Von Tuyll, Charles Dickens, and Mimosa, among the single 

 blues and purples. Messrs. Henderson find that the double hyacinths do best 

 in pots, in boxes, or in the open ground ; single varieties they recommend for 

 glasses, vases, china-bowls, and for early flowering. 



1695. Narcissus. — September is the time for sowing seed, in order to obtain 

 new varieties of this most interesting class of flowers. For the mode of proceeding 

 we cannot do better than quote the words of Mr. Leeds, of Manchester, who has 

 been one of the most successful amateur cultivators of the narcissus. Mr. Leeds 

 says, — " To obtain good varieties, it is needful, the previous season, to plant 

 the roots of some of each kind in pots, and to bring them into the green- 

 house in spring to flower, so as to obtain pollen of the late-flowering kinds 

 to cross with those which otherwise would have passed away before these 

 were in flower. With me the plants always seed best in the open ground. 



