OF GARDENING 
Feb. One Load of Mould from underthe Turf ina Feb. 
: og Sage! Be ay. ets 2 oe rich Pafture; half a Load of Pond-Mud, and ‘a 
; Ligne? this HYACINTH. quarter of a Load of Earth from under an old 
We have obferv’d already, that to give this Wodd-Pile. Let thefe be mix’d and fcreen’d to- 
Plant its perfect Beauty, more Care is neceffary gether, and the Whole thrown into the Bed. 
than is ufually beftow’d upon it; but even this is Let the Surface be levell’ds and let it lie a 
not much. Week to fettle: then rake it again, and 
It is a Native of the warmer Parts of Europe, — fcatter over the whole Surface the Seeds. Sift 
and is found principally in loofe rich Soils, by the | Upon them a quarter of an Inch of the fame 
Sides of Woods, where it has Shade and Shelter. Mould, and give a gentle Watering. . 
This fhould be our Direction for raifing it; | In the fucceeding Winter draw a Mat upon 
and upon this Plan alone the Stalk can be brought Hoops over the Bed, in the fevereft Weather ; 
to its true Strength and Height, and the Flowers | and in Spring the Plants will appear. 
to their full Number and Beauty. Let them be thit’d where they rife too clofe ; 
The Plant muft be rais’d from Seeds, in order | and after this nothing need be done but keeping 
to attain its true Charaéter of Excellence; for | them clear from Weeds in Summer; and at Au- 
Off-fets, with the beft Management, will only | tumn fifting over the whole Surface a little frefh 
be made more ftrong than their old Roots, but | Mould. | 
will never attain a better Colour. When they flower there will be 4 ereat Differ- — 
Let not the Gardener be difheartened at our | ence in the various Plants; let the meaner Kinds : 
naming the raifing it from Seed: we fhall not tax be remov’d into other Places, and the beft left at 
him fo highly as for the Oriental Kinds: he needs | a proper Diftance. They will flower with their 
only fow it upon a well prepar’d Border, and | full Strength, and need not be at any Time taken 
‘keep the Plants clear frotn Weeds: this is but little | out of the Ground, except once ifi three Years, 
Trouble ; and the ref{t is Patience. to take off the Off-fets. | 
Let him procure Seeds if he can from Jtaly or This Method of letting them flower where they | 
Spain ;, if not, let him fave with due Care what | rife from Seed, is the grédt Settet in their Cul- 
are ripen’d from the Plants in our own Gar- | ture; and this makes it neceflary to fow them in 
dens. | = the Border, where they are to remain; not in 
Let thefe be fpread upon a paper’d Shelf to | Boxes, nor in the Nurfery. 
harden, and then ty’d up in a Bag till} Let not the practical Reader catry this Method 
Auguft. | farther thati we mean: it fuirs’ this and the other 
Let him chufe a warm and fhelter’d Part of the | Hyacinths of Eurcpean Origin; but another Me: 
Garden, and there dig out the Mould from a | thod muft be ufed with the Oriental : of thefe we 
Border. fhall treat in a fucceeding Number; and deliver 
~ Let him make, for the filling up its Place, the | the Management of them at large. 
following Compott : 
5. Single and Doble GOLDEN CROCUS. , 
Plate We have obferv’d before, that moft of the | The Flowers are large and beautiful ; they rife 
XXIII. Crocus’s of our Gardeners, however dignify’d by | from the Root with a long Tube, furrounded with 
Fig. 5. peculiar Names, and diftinguifh’d as feparate Spe- | a thin and ragged Membrane; and they are of a 
cies, are no more than V arieties, owing, to the 
Force of Culture. | 
‘This which we treat of here, whether in the 
fingle or double State, is nothing more than a 
Variety of the common Spring Crocus: but, al- 
lowing this, we may recommend it to the Atten- 
tion of the Curious in Flowers ; tho’ the Botanift 
will find in it nothing new with Regard to Sci- 
ence. , 
- The Root is onhdith: covered with a brown 
bres. 
The Leaves are numerous and very narrow ; 
they have confiderable Length , they terminate in 
a Point; and they rife, together with the Stalks, 
furrounded by a fine pale Membrane. 
Bark, and furnifhed at the es with many Fi- 
moft beautiful gold yellow: the Divifion, as in 
the other Crocus’s, is into fix long and large Seg- 
ments, refembling fo many Petals; and of thefe 
three ftand more outward than the others. 
The three outer Segments have each a Rib of 
Purple running all their Length, deeper toward 
the Bottom, and paler upwards; and the inner 
Segments have the Tips purple. Within the 
Flower ftand three Filaments of a yellow Colour, 
and tip’d with golden Buttons; and in the Midft 
of thefe a fingle Style. 
The Scabbard or Film furrounding the lower 
Part of the Tube of the Flower, is form’d of a 
fingle Piece; and from the Body of the Flower 
there run down this tubular Part fix Lines of 
Purple, continu’d from thofe which run along the 
Their Colour is a lively but not very deep Segments. 
green ; 
Middle. 
IN? 23, 
and they have a faint white Rib along the 
This is: the Condition of the Flower in its 
common fingle Appearance ; but when the Gar- — 
Z2z 
dener’s 
