NAR 



OR, BOTANICAL DICTIONARY. 



NAR 



163 



have many flowers xipon a stalk, that flower tall, and have 

 beautiful cups to their flowers, from such you may expect 

 to raise good flowers; but if ordinary seed be sown, there 

 can be no hope of procuring any valuable flowers. Having 

 provided good seed, either procure some shallow cases, or 

 flat pans, made on purpose for the raising of seedlings, which 

 should have holes in their bottoms, to let the moisture pass 

 off"; these must be rilled with fresh, light, sandy earth, about 

 the beginning of August, that being the season for sowing 

 the seeds of most bulbous-rooted flowers : the earth in these 

 pans must be levelled very even; then sow the seeds thereon 

 pretty thick, covering them over with the fine sifted light 

 earth about half an inch thick, and place the cases or pans 

 in a situation where they may have only the morning sun till 

 about ten o'clock, where they should remain till about the 

 beginning of October, when they must be removed into a 

 warmer situation, placing them upon bricks, that the air may 

 freely pass under the cases, which will preserve them from 

 being too moist. They also should be exposed to the full 

 sun, but screened from the north and east winds ; and if the 

 frosts should be severe they must be covered, or they will 

 be indanger of being destroyed; in this situation they may 

 remain until the beginning of April, by which time the plants 

 will be up, and must be carefully weeded, and frequently 

 watered in dry seasons. The cases should also now be 

 removed into their former shady position, or shaded in the 

 middle of the day, for the heat of the noon-day sun will be 

 too great for the young plants. At the latter end of June 

 when the leaves of the plants are decayed, take off" the upper 

 surface of the earth in the cases, as by that time it will 

 have contracted a mossiness, which, if suffered to remain, will 

 greatly injure the young roots. In doing this, observe not 

 to take it so deep as to touch the roots; and afterwards sift 

 some fresh light earth over the surface, about half an inch 

 thick, which will greatly strengthen the roots; the same 

 should also be repeated in October, when the cases are 

 moved again into the sun. During the summer season, if the 

 weather should be very wet, and- the earth in the cases appear 

 very moist, they must be removed into the sun until the earth 

 be dry again; for if the roots imbibe much wet during the 

 time they are inactive, it very often rots them; therefore 

 they must not be watered after their leaves are decayed, but 

 should be placed in the shade, as before directed. This 

 management will be proper during the two first seasons, until 

 their leaves are decayed; but the second summer after sow- 

 ing, the roots should be carefully taken up, by sifting the 

 earth through a sieve, by fine which the roots will be easily 

 separated from the earth : then having prepared a bed or 

 two of good, fresh, light earth, in proportion to the quantity 

 of roots, plant them therein, about three inches deep, and 

 three inches apart every way. These beds should be raised 

 above the level of the ground, in proportion to the moisture 

 of the soil, which, if dry, three inches will be enough; but 

 if it be wet, they must be raised six or eight inches high, 

 and laid a little rounding, to shoot off the wet. If these beds 

 are made in July, which is the best time to transplant the 

 roots, the weeds will soon appear very thick, and the surface 

 of the ground must on that account be gently hoed to destroy 

 them, taking care not to cut so deep as to touch any of the 

 roots. This hoeing should be repeated as often as the grow- 

 ing of the weeds renders it necessary, observing always to 

 perform it in dry weather, that they may be effectually 

 destroyed; and towards the latter end of October, after 

 having entirely clearedjhe beds from weeds, sift a little light 

 earth about an inch thick over them ; this being washed down 

 to the roots by the winter's rain, will greatly promote their 

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shooting in the spring. If the cold should be very severe 

 in winter, cover the beds either with old tan or sea-coal ashes, 

 or with pease haulm, or some such light covering, to prevent 

 the frost from penetrating the ground to the roots, which might 

 greatly injure them while they are so young. In the spring, 

 when the plants, begin to appear above ground, gently stir 

 the surface of the ground, clearing it from weeds, but be 

 very careful not to injure the plants, and in dry seasons 

 refresh them with water. When their leaves are decayed, 

 clear the beds from weeds, and sift a little earth over them 

 as was before directed, which must also be repeated in Octo- 

 ber in like manner; but the roots should not remain more 

 than two years in these beds, by which time they will be. 

 grown so large as to require more room; they should there- 

 fore be taken up as soon as their leaves are decayed, and 

 planted into fresh beds, dug deep, with a little very rotten 

 dung buried in the bottom, for the fibres of the roots to strike 

 into. Then the roots should be planted at six inches' dis- 

 tance, and the same depth in the ground. In the autumn, 

 before the frost comes on, if somie rotten tan be laid over the 

 beds, it will keep out the frost, and greatly encourage the 

 roots; and if the winter should prove severe, it will be 

 proper to lay a greater thickness of tan over the beds, and 

 also in the alleys, to keep off frost, or to cover them 

 over with straw or pease haulm, or otherwise they may all 

 be destroyed by the cold. In the spring, these coverings 

 should be removed as soon as the danger from hard frost 

 is over, and the beds must be kept free from weeds during 

 the summer. At Michaelmas they should have some fresh 

 earth kid over them, and covered again with tan, and so 

 every year till they flower, which is generally in five years 

 from the seed, when you should mark all such as promise 

 well, which should be taken up as soon as the leaves decay, 

 and planted at a great distance in prepared beds; but those 

 which do not flower, or are unpromising, should be permitted 

 to remain in the same bed; therefore in taking up the best 

 roots, care must be taken not to disturb those that remain : 

 the earth should be again levelled, and some fresh earth sifted 

 over the beds as before; this will cherish the roots, for it 

 often happens in the seedlings of these flowers, that at their 

 first time of blowing they seldom appear half so beautiful as 

 as they do in the second year; on this account none of them 

 should be rejected until they have flowered two or three 

 times, and a fair judgment can be formed. Having laid 

 down directions for sowing and managing these roots until 

 they are strong enough to flower, we shall proceed to give 

 particular instructions for managing the roots afterwards, so 

 as to cause them to produce large fair flowers. All the sorts 

 of Narcissus which produce many flowers upon a stalk, 

 should have a situation defended from cold and strong winds, 

 otherwise they will be subject to be injured by the cold in 

 winter, and their stems will break down while in flower; for 

 though their stalks are generally rather strong, yet the num- 

 ber of flowers upon each renders their heads weighty, espe- 

 cially after rain, which lodges in the flowers, and if suc- 

 ceeded by stormy winds, frequently destroys their beauty 

 when they are exposed; so that a border under a hedge 

 which is open to the south-east, is preferable to any other 

 position for these flowers. The morning sun rising upon 

 them will dry off the moisture, which had lodged upon them 

 the preceding night, and cause them to expand fairer than 

 when they are planted in a shady situation; and if they arc 

 too much exposed to the afternoon sun, they will be hurried 

 out of their beauty very soon ; and the strong west and south- 

 west winds will greatly injure them, if they be exposed to 

 their fury. When a proper situation has been selected, pro- 

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