SPRING FLOWERS. 



377 



SPKING 'FLOWEKS. 



A LADY, who expresses much pleasure at the notice 

 we gave of the Hyacinth, &c., in the last number, re- 

 quests us to notice more particularly spring flowers, 

 which we take pleasure in doing. First, then, we 

 give the 



Htacinth. — This is one of the most beautiful of 

 the bulbous plants. It bears highly fragrant flowers 

 on a spiliC, as botanists call it, forming a pyramid or 



NARCISSUS. 



column of bloom, which is composed of as many as 

 twenty or thirty, or more, individual flowers, each on 

 a separate foolstallv. The best sorts have so many 

 flowers that they touch each other all the way up, 

 and the column of bloom grows smaller and smaller 

 until at top there is only a single flower, though at 

 the bottom there may be six or eight round the stem. 

 The colors are all the shades of red, blue, buff; yel- 

 low, and pure white; and many kinds are variously 

 marked with pink or blue eyes on a white ground ; 

 some flowers are double and very large, and of these 

 there are fewer on a stem. The bulbs should be 



placed three inches un- 

 der ground, and when 



they appear above 



ground they should be 



preserved against the 



effects of severe frost 



by a covering of litter 



or an inverted flower- 

 pot; but they are by 



no means tender. 

 The Narcissus. — Of 



this pretty spring flow- 

 er there are many vari- 

 eties; those which bear 



a number of flowers on 



a single stem are known 



by the general name of 



Polyanthus NarcisMS, 



and are best suited to 



gardens, being fragrant 



and showy. One of 



those which we have 



given has bright yellow 



flowers, the other white 



with yellow cups. They are large bulbs, and r 



to be planted so that the top may be three 



under ground. 



The Ckocus. — This is the gayest of all the 



flowers, affording a great 



variety of brilliant colors, 



such as pale gold, deep 



orange, dark and light 



purple, pure white, and 



many that are curiously 

 striped. They are annu- 

 ally imported in large 

 numbers from Holland. 

 They are usually planted 

 three inches deep in the 

 ground, and come up 

 very early in the spring. 

 Each bulb throws up 

 several flowers shaped 

 somewhat like a tulip, 

 but smaller, and destitute 

 of a stem; that which ap- 

 pears to be a stem is the 

 tube of a very long co- 

 rolla. Every root pro- 

 duces two or three new 

 ones in a season, and 

 therefore you soon get a 

 good stock. 



equire 

 inches 



prmg 



