THE HYACINTH. 85 



3. The foot-stalk should be strong, and hold the flower out 

 stiff in a vertical position, that is, facing the spectator ; and 

 by no means weak, to allow the pip to hang with the face 

 sloping towards the ground. The foot-stalks should also be 

 of a length to make the pips touch each other, and no more. 



4. The pips should be large : for, unless the pips be large, 

 they cannot touch each other without very short foot-stalks ; 

 and the flowers would be so close to the stem, that the truss 

 itself would be no size. 



5. Double flowers should have the rows of petals above 

 each other very regularly imbricated, so as to throw up the 

 centre. 



6. The outer petals, therefore, of a double flower, need 

 not reflex, and should not reflex, so much as a single one, 

 because the centre is raised by the second and third rows 

 of petals. 



7. The spike should be bold, round, compact, and pyram- 

 idal, with a number of flowers at the bottom, gradually 

 diminishing to a single flower at the top. 



8. The flower-stem should be very strong and upright ; 

 and no part of it should be seen from the lowest flowers to 

 the top, in consequence of the closeness of the pips to each 

 other. 



9. The colors should be bright, clear, and dense, what- 



