covered with willow earth, or any light vegetable 

 mould. The boxes are of course to be kejrt under she - 



HORTICULTURE. 301 



part of the juice in their thick succulent leaves and 

 stems evaporates, instead of returning into the bulbs. 



AeTirTteTr but in" good weather the seed- This is called ripening the roots." When choice hya- 

 ould have plenty of air; they must not, how- cinths are cultwated ,n pots as is commonly the case 

 ere? be .xposed direct! v to the sun's rays, which would in th;s country the pots are hud on their sides after the 

 i short time at least the more weak- flowering till the leaves decay. Bulbs four or five 

 1 w2ch .! -e always of the greatest promise. When of years old, flower most strongly in Britain, and they then 

 a nrooers^e they ire tranJUrUed into other boxes, and gradually fall off ; but in Holland they endure a great 

 d till they be fit for pots. If one plant in thirty number of years. It is remarked that they succeed 



unroMs best n situations near the sea. It w curious that bulbs 



Flower 

 Guden. 



prove worthy of a place in the collection, the success 

 fc> e,- -- . thf rfuf. may be planted out as border flowers, 

 where they continue very TJI u. i fnr a few years. 



Hyacinth. 



515. The garden Hyacinth ( Hyacinikia orient alii, L.) 

 is one of the flowers to the culture of which florists have 

 particularly devoted themselves. It is originally from 

 the Levant, but has been brought to its present im- 

 proved state in the Low Countries. Double hyacinths 

 are now the only kind prized, though formerly these 

 were as little sought after as double tulips are now, the 

 beauty of the flower being then regarded as consisting 

 in the regularity of the shape and disposition of the 

 bloe*omi. and in the richness of the colour. Whole acres 

 of nursery ground are covered with this flower near 

 I I<u>i_ '>.') r>r*<-ht in Holland. Here new varieties 

 are annually produced from the seed, which is collected 

 from multiplicate or semi-double flowers, and from very 

 fine single flowers. When a new variety of good qua- 

 lities is procured, it i* named and enrolled in the se- 

 lect list. The choice flowers are divided into classes, 

 according to their colour*. John Kreps and Sons of 

 Haarlem enumerate near 1000 varieties in their cata- 

 logue, classed in this way : Red* ; rosy and flesh-co- 

 loured; white, with rosy sod flesh coloured eye*; 

 yellow ; white with yellow eye* ; white with redeye* ; 

 pure white ; white with violet and purple eyes ; dark 

 blackish blue ; dark blue ; porcelain and pale blue. 

 The names of the finest and newest kinds are, as usual, 

 high-sounding, and calculated to attract English curio- 

 sity, the Monarch of the World ; the Honour of Am- 

 sterdam ; the Princess Charlotte ; the Earl of Lauder- 

 dale, tec. Ac. 



516. The properties of a fine hyacinth are the fol- 

 lowing: the stalk tall, strong and upright ; the blossom i 

 umerous, large, well filled with petals, so as to appear 

 father convex, suspended in a horizontal direction ; the 

 whole flower having a compact pyramidal fr>ru, with 

 the uppermost blo*~- -|-u. .e plain colour 

 should be clear and bright, and strong colours are 

 preferable to pale ; when the colour* arc mixed, they 

 should blend with elegance. 



The hyacinth grows best in a light sandy, but fresh 

 earth. If manure of any sort be given, it must be 

 placed far below the bulb. The time for planting it 

 from the middle to the end of September. Old tan- 

 nen-bark is kept spread over the beds during win- 

 ter, unless when mild weather seems to set in for some 

 days. W hen the plants come into flower, a slight awning, 

 which can easily be removed, i* placed over them ; and 

 by this mean* they continue a month in glory. Hya- 

 cinth* in bed* never require any watering. When the 

 flowering is over, the Dutch MOM their hyacinths with 

 the spade, so a* to break the root-fibres, and prevent 

 farther nourishment, but do not raise them completely 

 from the ground fur a fortnight. Even then they are 

 bid in a bed nearly ' 

 leave* and it 



best in situations near the 



imported from Holland flower more beautifully in this 



country the first year, than they ever do afterwards. 



I'oii/anlhus- Narcitsus. 



517. The Polyanthus-narcissus (Narcutus taieita) Polyanthtu. 

 is a native of Spain and other parts of the south of *""** 

 Europe. The flowers are very ornamental, and come 

 early. The plant has long been a favourite with the 

 florists of Holland and Flanders. There are several 

 principal varieties : Some have yellow petals, with cups 

 or nectaries either orange or sulphur coloured, other* 

 have white petals, with orange, yellow or sulphur co- 

 loured nectaries; in a third set, both the petals and the 

 nectaries arc white ; and there are double flowers- of all 

 the varieties. The subordinate varieties are more than 

 a hundred in number. A double variety called the 

 Cyprus Narcissus, is curious and beautiful ; the outer pe- 

 tals are white*; those in the middle partly white and 

 partly orange ; and it has a very agreeable scent. A 

 pure white variety is called the Paper Narcissus. 



The florist* of this country generally depend on the 

 supply of bulb* imported from Holland. The seed, 

 however, often ripens in good seasons here, and there is 

 no peculiar difficulty in raising the plants in this way. 

 The seed i* sown in shallow vessels in the manner of 

 tulip seed. The seedling bulbs are not raised or trans- 

 planted till the third year; in other two yean, the 

 flowers make their appearance. The beds containing 

 young bulbs require to be defended from severe frost 

 by means of a covering of peas-haulm, straw, or IVrn. 



Full grown bulbs are planted in the beginning of 

 September. They do not require to be raised every 

 year ; it is better indeed not to remove them oflcner 

 than once in three years. They flower in April and 

 May ; and if they be choice kinds, they should be 

 saved from sun and rain by an awning, as practised in 

 the case of tlip*. 



*rly in a horizontal position, with their 

 * lying outwards ; in this way, a great 



Crocut. 



518. The CTOCUJ, though a well known flower, ha* Crow. 

 only of late years been accurately studied as a genus. 

 Miller admit* only two species, the autumnal or saffron 

 (C. offfcinalii), and the spring crocus, (C. vrrnut). 

 Sir J. E. Smith mentions three species as natives of 

 Britain, C. vcrnus, nudi florin, and sativus. Of the for- 

 mer there are several varieties, blue and purple, yellow 

 and white, and striped ; and besides these, the follow- 

 ing species are cultivated in crocus beds : C. versioo- 

 lor, or party colour crocus, a kind which require* 

 light loam, while most of the others grow best in sand ; 

 bitlorus, or yellow bottomed ; msesianus, or common 

 yellow ; susianus, or cloth of gold ; and aureus or true 

 gold. The Scuts crocus is a beautiful striped variety. 



The bulbs may be planted in any light soil ; but 

 they succeed best in sand ; and some cultivators to the 

 westward of l.< i 'on have been at the pains to carry 

 sea-sand fifty miles for this purpose. They should not 



