240 THE FLOWER-GARDEN. [CHAP. Tin. 



allowed every autumn to retain their leaves till 

 their new bulbs are matured. Hyacinths that 

 have been flowered in glasses or pots, seldom, 

 however, flower so well afterwards, at least not 

 for several years, as they scarcely ever quite 

 recover the shock they have sustained, from the 

 unnatural position of their roots ; whereas the 

 Dutch florists, by allowing the roots of their 

 hyacinths plenty of room to descend perpen- 

 dicularly, and taking up the bulbs every autumn, 

 have been known to keep bulbs of their finest 

 flowers twelve, or even twenty, years, and to 

 have them produce splendid flowers every year. 



It must be observed, that hyacinths very 

 soon exhaust the soil ; and for this reason, the 

 Dutch never grow their hyacinths in the same 

 bed two years consecutively. The usual rota- 

 tion is, first year, hyacinths ; second, tulips ; 

 third, polyanthus-narcissus; fourth, crocuses; 

 and, fifth/hyacinths again. The Guernsey Lily, 

 the bulbs of which are generally thrown away 

 in England as soon as they have flowered, 

 will live many years if treated like the hyacinth. 



Crocuses may be grown in the open ground, 

 and they do not require taking up every year 

 like hyacinths or tulips. If they are taken up 

 and replanted every fifth or sixth year, it will 

 be sufficient. There are above a hundred 

 named varieties, and they will produce a very 

 good effect if planted so as to form figures 

 with their various colours. When this is the 

 case, however, the corms should be taken up 

 and replanted every year; to prevent the figure 

 from becoming confused by the spreading of 

 the offsets. Crocuses may be grown in glasses, 



