THE HYACINTH. 



569 



ties of the soil and climate, tlie same bulb has 

 been known to produce blossoms twelve or thii-- 

 teen times, nor is it ever known to die merely 

 with age. The bed on which they are to be placed 

 should have a dry and airy sheltered situation; 

 two feet of the surface soil should be taken 

 away, and the inferior portion trenched to the 

 depth of nine inches. The earth above is to be 

 replaced with a compost of one-third coarse 

 sea or river sand, one-third fresh earth, and 

 one-fourth rotten cow dung, at least two 

 years old, and the remainder earth of decayed 

 leaves. This compost is to be placed in a 

 sloping direction towards the sun. The roots 

 are to be planted from the middle of October 

 to the middle of November. On planting the 

 roots, the surface of the bed should be covered 

 with a little fresh sandy earth about an inch 

 thick, raked perfectly smooth, and have the 

 exact situation for every bulb marked upon it 

 regularly, mingling the colours of red, and blue, 

 and white, the yellows being classed with the 

 latter. On planting the roots they should be 

 surrounded with a little clean sand to prevent 

 the earth adhering too closely to them, the 

 whole are then to be covered with fresh sandy 

 earth from three to four inches deep, according 

 to the size of the bulb. The bed is to be pro- 

 tected from severe frosts or heavy rains by some 

 covering. The plants begin to show their flowers 

 about the beginning of April. 



Those which thus blow early should be shel- 

 tered from the influence of the sun, for if too much 

 sun falls on the flower, it bleaches and tarnishes 

 the colour, particularly the red and blue varieties. 

 By judicious shade this is not only prevented, 

 but the flower is kept back so that it will be in 

 fuU bloom with others which come out later. 

 It is necessary to afford support to the stems, 

 and this is done by inserting small sticks or 

 wires, painted green, immediately behind the 

 bulbs, either in an erect position, or leaning 

 a little backwards, to which the stems are to be 

 rather loosely tied with small pieces of green 

 worsted as soon as they begin to bend, or are in 

 danger of breaking with the weight of the bells. 

 This operation must be repeated as the stems 

 advance in height. When the greater part of 

 the bed comes into blow, a covering or awning 

 should be stretched over the whole, so as to pro- 

 tect the flowers from the too great influence of 

 the sun, and the effects of wind and rains. 

 This awning should, however, be so constructed 

 as to fold up, or be opened at the top so as to 

 allow air and the tempered influence of the sun 

 in slightly clouded weather, and in the morn- 

 ings and evenings. The bed never requires to 

 be watered at anj' period, the natural rain which 

 falls being sufficient after the time of planting 

 both for the roots and the flowers. After the 

 bloom is over, the dryer the plants are kept the 



better. As this sheltering, however, has a ten- 

 dency to weaken the bulbs, it should not be 

 continued more than a couple of weeks at most, 

 and as soon as the full blow begins to decline 

 the bed should be again exposed to the full 

 action of the sun and air. In Holland, about 

 three or four weeks after the bloom, when the 

 plants begin to assume a yellowish decayed 

 appearance, they take up the roots, and cut off 

 the stem and foliage close to or within half an 

 inch of the bulb, but leave the fibres attached to 

 it. They then place the bulbs again on the same 

 bed sidewise, with their points towards the north, 

 and cover them about half an inch deep with 

 dry earth or sand in the form of a ridge, or little 

 cover over each. In this state they remain 

 about three weeks longer, and dry or ripen 

 gradually, during which time as much air is 

 admitted as possible, but the bed is preserved 

 from heavy rains and too hot a sun. At the 

 expiration of this period the bulbs are taken up, 

 and their fibres, which are become nearly dry, 

 gently rubbed off. They are then placed in a 

 dry room for a few days, and are afterwards 

 cleared from any soil that adheres to them; their 

 loose skins are taken oif, with such ofiBets as 

 may be easily separated. When this dressing 

 is finished, the bulbs are wrapped up in separate 

 pieces of paper, or buried in dry sand, where they 

 remain till the return of the season of planting. 

 An easier though not so safe a. practice is to 

 keep the bed airy and rather dry for about two 

 months, tiU the stems and foliage appear nearly 

 dried up, or consumed. The bulbs are then to 

 be taken up, cleaned from the fibres and soil, 

 and preserved in sand or papers. The bulbs 

 should be placed in an airy store-room, and not 

 suffered to touch each other; they are best aired 

 when placed in an open movable lattice work. 



Hyacinth bulbs are liable to various diseases, 

 one of the most common is what is known as 

 the ring sickness. When this occurs the diseased 

 part must be cut out, and if the disease has not 

 penetrated beyond the outside coat, the bulb will 

 survive this operation, but it is now only fit for 

 producing offsets. This disease is very pre- 

 valent in Holland, and is attributed to a fun- 

 gus, the spawn of which comes from the cow 

 dung used as manure. The hyacinth delights 

 in a sandy soil, and saline atmosphere, and on 

 this account it succeeds best near the sea coast, or 

 situations adjoining the sea. In more inland 

 parts it wiU, generally, be found necessary 

 to procure an annual supply of fresh imported 

 bulbs, in order to make good the losses. Her- 

 bert remarks, "my experience enables me to 

 say, that the nursery man in the neighbourhood 

 of London may produce hyacinth bulbs equal, 

 if not superior, to those imported from Holland, 

 though perhaps with greater loss from disease, 

 owing to his not being able to procure the dung of 

 4 c 



