H Y A 



H Y D 



lings per dozen ; they are of the bottle kind, but 

 with straightuprightbodies narrowing a little up- 

 ward gradually to the tops, where they terminate 

 in wide, concave mouths, to contain each one 

 root or bulb. They should be filled with soft, 

 clear water, up to the necks, and a little way in the 

 concavity of the mouths ; onebulh placed in each 

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

 water, the top upright ; and the bottles set 

 either within a room window, which if towards 

 the sun, will beof greater advantage, or placed on 

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

 where a fire is kept, to bring the bulbs forwarder 

 in growth. 



They soon put forth strong root-fibres down 

 into the water, and push leaves and flower-buds 

 at top, which advance regularly for flowering in 

 their peculiar manner. The water should be 

 renewed occasionally when it becomes foul 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 growth. But to obtain them in 

 bloom at the most early period, some glasses 

 containing the bulbs should be placed in a hot- 

 house or forcing-house, &c. 



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 v neat boxes 

 of light earth or sand in the autumn, and pla- 

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

 &c. they will flower at an early 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, &c. Some middling small pots should be 

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

 six inches deep, filling them halfway, or a little 

 more, with dry light earth, or that of a sandy na- 

 ture, or 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 decayed, the bulbs should be 

 taken up, cleaning and drying them, and they 

 may afterwards be planted in the full ground for 

 the future year, to recover strength, and produce 

 6ome good offsets. 



The sorts generally used for glasses and pots, 

 Sec. are principally any varieties of the oriental 

 kind, especially for blowing in water. 



In procuring them, care should be taken to 

 choose perfectly sound, firm bulbs, with the 

 root part 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 parts ; and the finer double 

 sorts in beds, pots, boxes, and glasses. 



HYDRANGEA, a genus containing plants 

 of the shrubby and flowering perennial kinds. 



It belongs to the class and order Decandria 

 Digynia, and ranks in the natural order of 

 Succulentce. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a one- 

 leafed perianthium, five-toothed, permanent, 

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

 ish, larger than 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 : styles 

 two, short, distant: stigmas blunt, permanent : 

 the pericarpium 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 : 1 . H. arlorescens ^ 

 Shrubby Hydrangea; 2. H. kortensia, Garden 

 Hydrangea, or Chinese Guilder Rose. 



The first has a spreading woody root, which 

 produces several soft, pithy, woody stems, from 

 three to four feet high ; they are four-cornered 

 when young, and have a green bark, but as they 

 grow older they become taper, and have a light- 

 brown bark : the leaves at each joint opposite, 

 three inches long, and two broad near the base, 

 pointed, serrate ; they are deep green above, and 

 pale underneath, with many transverse veins ; 

 the petioles are about an inch long : the flowers 

 terminating in a cyme : the corolla small, white, 

 having an agreeable odour. It is a native of 

 Virginia, &c. flowering towards the end of July, 

 and in August. 



The second species has a fibrous root, much 

 branched, whitish : the stems several, growing 

 together, erect, shrubby, branched, round, with 

 a smooth brown bark : the branches opposi'e, 

 each pair crossing the others, round, smooth, 

 leafy, green, with dark purple spots, flowering; 

 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 thick, smooth, pale, chan- 

 nelled above : the cymes terminating, the size and 



