Ctiltivation of the Hyacinth in Haarlem. 27 



could not alter it ; but, as you have discovered it to be a true 

 Echinocactus, you may, consistently with botanical usage, adopt 

 the name of Echinocactus Staples/f^, and affix that of Cereus 

 senilis as a synonyme. Dr. Hooker, in his Botanical Miscel- 

 lany^ mentions that Mr. Cruikshanks discovered one in Peru, 

 which I suppose you mean as the Brazilian species. 



When Mr. Staples left Mexico for England, wishing to 

 carry into effect my request of importing the hand plant 

 [Cheirostemon j^latanbides H. et B.\ he obtained several living 

 plants, and planted them in a tub. Two days previous to his 

 departure, he sent off a muleteer with a box of Cacti slung on 

 one side, and the tub of hand plants on the other. The fel- 

 low, finding that one side of his load was considerably heavier 

 than the other, emptied the major part of the earth, so as com- 

 pletely lo destroy the young plants. You may perceive it was 

 well the Cacti were not the heaviest, otherwise he would have 

 taken them out, to do justice to his beast. On the arrival of 

 Mr. Staples at Xalapa, he found all his hand plants dead. 

 Howevei-, as it happened, I brought the first hand plant to this 

 country from Mons. Cels of Paris, in the autumn of 1832, and had 

 it in the market twelve months before Mr. Staples left Mexico. 



Late in the evening, Mr. Staples, walking out in the suburbs 

 of Xalapa, discovered the plant which has since borne his name, 

 Petrea Staples/i^; and he was so delighted with it, that he in- 

 stantly dug up some young plants with the point of a sword, 

 and made several dried specimens of its racemes of flowers 

 upwards of 3 ft. long, which are now in the herbarium of 

 Mr. Lambert. He (Mr Staples) also found the Solandr« gut- 

 tata of the Botanical Register at the same place, full in flower, 

 and imported it with the Petrea. 



Although Humboldt had the credit of first describing most 

 of the plants above mentioned, and enriched various herbariums 

 with fine specimens of each, the British public and Europe 

 owe their early introduction in a living state to the generous 

 disposition of Mr. Staples, who must have expended a consider- 

 able sum in transporting them from Mexico to England. 



Botanic Garden^ Sloane Street, Sept. 16. 1839. 



Art. VIII. Practical Observations on the Cultivation of the Hi/a- 

 cinth in Haarlem. 



(Translated from the " Verhandlungen des Vereins," &c,, of Frankfort on 

 the Maine. By J. L.) 



The hyacinth likes a very sandy, well-prepared, fine, and 

 light soil, without any appearance of stones or gravel, and which 



