October.'] crocus — hyacinths. 117 



never making a tuber sufficient for another year's planting. 

 Several hundred varieties are cultivated in England with 

 great care and complete success. They are planted in a 

 deep rich soil, using a considerable portion of cow manure 

 and decomposed leaves, covering the crowns of the roots 

 about two inches. The tubes are flat, but the eye from 

 whence the flower stem arises is apparent on one of the 

 sides, which must be laid uppermost. During the severity 

 of winter, they should be protected by a frame, and have 

 a sprinkling of very dry leaves strewn among them. 



Crocus. There are upwards of one hundred varieties of 

 this vernal flower in cultivation, attended with universal suc- 

 cess. They delight in rich soils, and may either be planted 

 in beds or rows, at least two inches deep, and six inches 

 from row to row — they seldom require removal ; every three 

 or four years will be sufficient. They can be purchased at 

 from seventy-five cents to two dollars per hundred, according 

 to quality. When they are done blooming, the foliage 

 should not be removed till perfectly decayed. 



Fritilldi'ia, or Crown Imperial. See last month. 



ITt/acinths. The ground that was prepared for these last 

 month should all be divided into beds four feet wide, leav- 

 ing between each alleys of twenty inches. Skim off" four or 

 five inches of the surface of the former into the latter, level 

 the bed smoothly with the rake, and mark it ofi" in rows 

 eight inches apart. Plant the roots in the row eight inches 

 asunder. Thus they will be in squares, and by planting the 

 difi'erent colors, alternately, the feed will be beautifully di- 

 versified. Cover each bulb with sand, when it can be pro- 

 cured. Put about four inches of earth over the crowns, 

 which will make the beds from two to three inches higher 

 than the alleys. The beds before and after planting should 

 be gently rounded from the middle to each side, to let the 

 rain pass off. Finish all by raking evenly, straighten the 

 edgings with the line, and clear out the alleys or pathways. 



We have grown Hyacinths in great perfection, when, in 

 addition to the above, we covered them with two to three 

 inches of cow manure. The Dutch florists name nearly two 

 thousand varieties of this flower, and have large fields de- 

 voted to their culture. When the double varieties were first 

 brought into notice, they sold at from one to two thousand 

 guilders a root (about from four to eight hundred dollars). 



