H Y A 



H Y D 



Jingspcr dozen ; they are of the bottle kind, but 

 vith ^t^.'■.i!rht upright bodies narrowinea little up- 

 ward gradually to the tops, vvhtrc they tcrmluate 

 in wide, concave mouths, to contain each one 

 root or bulb. They should be llllcd with solt, 

 clear water, u]-> to the nceks, and a little way in the 

 concavity of the niouilis ; one bulb placed in each 

 glass, wiili the bottom or root part a little in the 

 water, the tup upright; and the bottles set 

 either w ithin a room window, which it' towards 

 thesun,\\illl,eofereaicr advantage, or placed on 

 a chimney-piece, or shelves of a light room, 

 where a tire is kept, to bring the bulbs forwarder 

 in growth. 



They soon put forth strong root-fibres down 

 into thu water, .ind push leaves and tlower-buds 

 at top, which advance regularly for flowcrinir in 

 their peculiar manner. The water should be 

 renewed oecaiiotiaily when it becomes I'oul or 

 fetid, discharging the old, and immediately fill- 

 ing up the bottles with fresh water, which is all 

 the culture they require. When the stalks and 

 flower-spikes are considerably advanced, a neat 

 small stick should be placed to each, to support 

 it in an upright growili. But to obtain them in 

 bloom at the most earlv period, some glasses 

 containing the bulbs should be placed in a hot- 

 house or foicing-hou.-e, Sec. 



In the glasses, the bulbs flower in about six, 

 eight, or ten weeks, accordingly as they are 

 placed. They continue three or four weeks in 

 bloom. 



By planting some bulbs in pots or neat boxes 

 «f light earth or sand in the autumn, and pla- 

 cing ihcm in a dwelling-room, green-house, 

 See. they will flower at an earlv season. 



But they flower most early, as has been just ob- 

 served, in a hot-house, or forcing department, 

 under glasses, worked either by fire or bark-bed 

 heat, kc. Some middling small pots should be 

 provided for this use, or small, neat, oblong boxes, 

 six inches deep, tilling them halfway, or a little 

 more, v> ith dry light earth, or that of a sandy na- 

 ture, rr with sand; planting one, two, or three 

 bulbs in each pot, according to the size ; pressing 

 the bottom gently into the earth, and filling up 

 with more earth or sand over the crown of the 

 bulbs; or, in boxes, several may be planted in 

 each, in the same manner. When thus planted, 

 place the pots or boxes in the house, giving mo- 

 derate waterings with soft water, when the earth 

 appears dry. They will flower in six or eight 

 weeks. When the flowering is past, and the 

 stalks and leaves decaved, the bulbs should lie 

 takva up, cleaning and u ying them, and they 

 may afterwards be planted in the full ground for 

 the future year, to recover strength, and produce 

 some good oflsets. 



- The sorts generally used for glasses and pot«. 

 Sec. are prineipally any varieties of the oriental 

 kind, especially for blowing in water. 



In procuring them, care should he taken to 

 choose perfectly souiul, linn biiiljs, with the 

 root jiart at bottom, full, plump, and firm. 



They are all very beautiful and ornamental 

 plants. The more hardy and common sorts in 

 patches of five or six in the fronts of borders, 

 clumps, and other paits ; and the finer double 

 sorts in beds, pots, boxes, and tjlasses. 



HYDRANGEA, a genus containing plants 

 of the shrubby and flowerinsr perennial kinds. 



It belongs to the class and order Decundria 

 Digi/iiia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Siicculctilce. 



The characters are : that the calvx is a onc- 

 Icafed perianthium, five-toothed, permanent, 

 small : the corolla has five petals, ctjual, round- 

 ish, lirger thau the calyx : the stamina have ten 

 filaments, longer than the corolla, alternately 

 longer and shorter: anthers roundish, twin: the 

 pistillum is a roundish germ, inferior : stvlc* 

 two, short, distant : stigmas blunt, permanent : 

 the pcricarpium is a roundish capsule, twin, 

 two-beaked with the double style, angular, with 

 several nerves, crowned with the calyx, two- 

 celled, with a transverse partition, opening by a 

 hole between the horns: the seeds numerous, 

 angular, acuminate, very small. 



The species cultivated are : \. H. arhorescins. 

 Shrubby Hydrangea; 2. H. horteiisia. Garden 

 Hydrangea, or Chinese Guilder Rose. 



The first has a spreadiiKj woody root, which 

 produces several soft, pithy, woody stems, from 

 three to four feet high ; thev are four-cornered 

 when young, and ha\e a green bark, but as they 

 grow older they become taper, and liave a light- 

 brown bark : the leaves at each joint opposite, 

 three inches long, and two broad near the base, 

 pointed, serrate ; thev are deep green above, and 

 pale underneath, with manv transverse veins; 

 the petioles are abput an inch long: the flowers 

 terminating in a cyme : the corolla small, \\ hite, 

 having an agreeable odour. It is a native of 

 \ irginia. See. flowering towards the end of July, 

 and in August. 



The second species h.is a fibrous root, much 

 branched, whitish : the stems several, growing 

 together, erect, shrubby, branched, round, with 

 a smooth brown bark : the branches opposite, 

 each pair crossing the others, rouii.j, smooth, 

 leaf\', green, with dark purple spots, flo'vcringf 

 at the top : the leaves are opposite, spreading, 

 and curved backwards, obtusely pointed, entire 

 towards their base, bright green, pale beneath : 

 foot-stalks short and tliick, smooth, p"!e, chan- 

 nellcdabove : the cymes terminating, the sizcaiid 



