168 



On the Culture of Hyacinths. 



wide, made to turn like the laths of a Venetian blind ; and when 

 damp westerly winds prevail, the shutters must be nearly, if 

 not entirely, closed. The bulbs in this place should be ranged 

 on tables or stands raised one above the other, with an inter- 

 val of between two and three feet in heighth between the tiers, 

 to give free access to the air. Before they are planted in the 

 autumn they ought to be again carefully examined, and all 

 decayed parts and withered coats removed. 



My own experience enables me to say that any nurseryman 

 in the neighbourhood of London, who will take the trouble of 

 following the directions given in this letter, may produce Hy- 

 acinth bulbs, equal, if not superior, to those imported from 

 Holland ; though, perhaps, with greater loss from disease, 

 owing to the quality of the dung he may be necessitated to use. 

 I have no doubt but that nurserymen might cultivate Hya- 

 cinths, and Cape bulbs alternately, with great success in the 

 compost described, using the precaution of placing white sand 

 round the Cape bulbs, which would otherwise be cankered by 

 the manure, and, when diseased, would become the prey of 

 centipedes and small maggots. Pure sand placed in contact, 

 with the Hyacinth bulbs might be a preservative to them 

 also: and if the dung cannot be obtained without a mixture 

 of rotten straw, perhaps a larger proportion of sand may be 

 adviseable. I should not be surprised if watering the com- 

 post before it is used, with salt water or brine, should prove 

 of some use, supposing a fungus to be one of the causes of 

 mischief ; for after trying many other things in vain, 1 found 

 salt to be the only remedy for the tanner's fungus, which is 

 so troublesome in tan beds, and in the pots of earth in the 

 stove. Those who still use tan, which I have not admitted 



