v "' : W) 

 ( 159 ) rw*mr 



tury, by Peter Voorhelm, from which all the fine dovjble va- 

 rieties we now possess may be traced. So great was the 

 value of a fine Double Hyacinth formerly in Holland, that 

 from two to ten thousand florins were given for a single root ; 

 and Mr. Dutens mentions, that in his travels in that country 

 in 1771, he saw ten thousand florins (S 4,000) refused for a 

 single Bulb. So extensive has their cultivation, however, 

 now become, that many acres are occupied by individuals 

 solely for that purpose, and many hundred thousand roots 

 are annually exported to other countries ; and the prices 

 have been so reduced, that no Hyacinths are sold at more 

 than one hundred florins each, and few higher than from 

 two to five guineas, and by far the greater number at much 

 less rates. Single Hyacinths are held in less estimation 

 than double ones; their colours, however, are more vivid, 

 and their bells, though smaller, are more numerous : they 

 are preferable for flowering in winter to most of the double 

 ones, as they bloom two or three weeks earlier. 



It has been supposed by many that Hyacinths, Tulips, and 

 other Bulbous Flowers, are difficult of culture, and that our 

 country being unfavourable to their growth, they would 

 dwindle- and decline after a few years cultivation. This is 

 altogether a mistaken impression ; and if it ever occurs, 

 must be owing to improper treatment, as no country in the 

 world possesses a climate more congenial to the culture of 

 Bulbous Flowers than the middle states; for the disadvant- 

 ages of great fogs and a humid atmosphere, which are so 

 much complained of by the Dutch as appertaining to 

 their climate, do not exist in ours. The great ascendency 

 which Holland has ever held in the culture of Bulbous 

 Flowers is the result of its soil, which is of peculiar forma- 

 tion, being a combination of marine sand made fresh by cul- 

 tivation and bog mould ; the proper means, therefore, to 

 succeed equally in their culture, is to form a soil as near as 

 possible ot the same component parts, which is by no means 

 a difficult task. And, in fact, after all that has been said 

 and written on the particular cultivation of Bulbous Roots, 

 we often see the finest flowers in gardens where little or no 

 attention is paid to them ; and perhaps there is no class of 

 plants which affords us so many delights, and so richly re- 

 pays us for each litile care bestowed on them. 



The collections of Bulbous Flowers have been so greatly 

 extended within these several years past, by a careful and 

 scrutinizing selection of the most exquisite flowers of every 



