656 General Notices. 



Jlrgryostignia Splendens, deep-purple with a fine ■nhite throat, and the 

 foliage beautifully striped ; a fine variety. 



Baronne de Vriere, mottled lilac. 



Carminata Splendens, fine rich crimson, large flower. 



Daphne, pink, edged with white. 



Godfroi de Bouillon, fine blue. 



Grandis, blush, with carmine throat. 



Madam Malihran, bright-rose, fine. 



Spedabilis, fine large purple flower. 



Victoria Regina, lilac blush, with intense purple throat. 



The above list embraces some of the best, and merits a place in every 

 collection. For a larger collection other beautiful distinct varieties may be 

 obtained, there now being one hundred and forty kinds in cultivation. — 

 {Flor. Cab., 1853, p. 135.) 



Hyacinths grown in the Open Bed. — I hasten to fulfil my promise 

 by rendering an account of the method observed by many amateurs and 

 florists in cultivating Hyacinths in beds and pots, and which is adopted by 

 me as being the most preferable. The observations I am about to oflTer 

 thereon should be as succinct as the manner admits, and be strictly confin- 

 ed to practicable results, for mere theoretical statements in this, as in near- 

 ly all other matters bewilder rather than instruct. Being an enthusiastic 

 admirer of the flowers, I have taken no ordinary pains to produce a good 

 bloom, and can, therefore, the more confidently suggest a few hints respect- 

 ing the culture of it. It has always appeared to me, as well as to many 

 witli whom I have conversed upon the subject, to be a matter of regret that 

 comparatively so little attention should be bestowed on this flower : the 

 Tulip has numerous fanciers, and so have Carnations and Auriculas, whilst 

 the Hyacinth, though not inferior in beauty, seems, as to blooming it in 

 beds, to be too generally neglected ; and yet a more beautiful object amongst 

 all those which attract the eye in a flower garden is rarely seen. The 

 effect produced by a glance at an assemblage of so beautiful a flower, 

 especially when well arranged, is dazzling, and a close inspection will be 

 found to increase the gratification derived therefrom, added to which the 

 fragrance emitted by them is peculiarly sweet, and is not surpassed by the 

 Mignonette or the Tuberose. 



The most eligible part of a garden for a bed is that with a southern as- 

 pect, and considerably distant from trees and large shrubs, as the droppings 

 to which plants beneath are subjected, prove extremely prejudicial ; the 

 season for planting is during this and the following month, the precise time 

 being indicated by the appearance of the root itself, which I noticed in my 

 remarks that were inserted in a late Number ; a repetition of it therefore 

 in unnecessary. The portion appropriated should be excavated to the 

 depth of about two feet, the earth at the bottom loosened and rendered fine 

 to about six inches deeper, and then raked smooth. This process will take 

 but little time, and may be attended with advantage ; the hollow should then 

 be filled with the following compost: one-third of good garden eartli: one- 

 third of sea or river sand, as coarse as can be obtained ; one-fourth rotten 

 dung, about three years old ; and the remainder vegetable mould. 



