21S 
THE HYACINTH. 
ARRANGEMENT OF THE BULBS. 
To make a bed look to the best advantage 
you must choose such bulbs as will all blow in 
one season, that is to say, at one time, for 
nothing looks worse, or more completely mars 
the effect of a bed, than to have some bloom- 
ing and others not showing colour in the early 
season, and some decayed while the others are 
in flower when it is later. The colours should 
be diversified according to arrangement, and it 
would be well to get all the varieties of the 
same length or near it. The arrangement 
that would be most effective is that described 
below ; it is impossible to give a better con- 
trast in each row, or from row to row. It is 
also desirable to limit the varieties to one of 
each colour, that is to say, the dark blue only 
one sort, the light blue only one sort, and so on, 
each colour being represented by only one kind. 
The subjoined is the arrangement proposed : — 
dark 
red 
white 
light 
red 
dark 
blue 
light 
red 
white 
dark 
red 
light 
blue 
dark 
red 
white 
h xed ^^ 
dark 
red 
light 
blue 
yellow 
light 
blue 
dark 
red 
white 
dark 
red 
light 
blue 
yellow 
dark 
blue 
yellow 
light 
blue 
dark 
red 
light 
blue 
yellow 
dark 
blue 
light 
red 
dark 
blue 
yellow 
light 
blue 
yellow 
dark 
blue 
light 
red 
, ., light 
^ lte red 
dark 
blue 
yellow 
dark 
blue 
light i , .. 
j l white 
red 
The 
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3- By 
rights the bed should be boarded round with a 
six-inch rim to fix on, for then the compost to 
cover in with would be so easily regulated. 
Have hoops or irons across the bed, to enable 
you to cover them against frost and heavy falls 
of snow or hail, and it is worth while to have 
a stage over them, and a cloth like those for 
tulips and carnations. 
MANAGEMENT TJP TO BLOOMING TIME. 
The only necessary attention now is to pro- 
tect them against bad weather through the 
winter months, and for this purpose litter of 
any kind will answer all November, December, 
and January. In February, or March, accord- 
ing to the season, they will be above ground, 
and then the mats or cloths must be used ; 
because the bloom buds, if affected no other 
way, will be greatly stunted in size by frost. 
As the blooms begin to show colour, they must 
be shaded from the violent heat of the sun and 
from strong winds ; it may be necessary to place 
sticks and tie up the stems of the taller kinds, 
but they cannot be too dwarf for beds. As the 
bloom advances, they must be shaded from the 
sun, for it would materially shorten the period 
of their flowering if they were exposed to its 
scorching rays. 
AFTER BLOOMING. 
The whole of the covering should be removed 
as soon as the perfection of the bloom has 
gone, and the plants must have the benefit of 
all the rain and air until the leaves turn yellow. 
They may then be taken up in as many baskets 
as there are sorts, and as a simple mode of 
doing it, perhaps the best way would be to 
take up one sort at a time, because there can 
then be no mistake ; the kinds all form lines 
in particular directions, and the roots are so 
large that there is no danger of missing any, 
like tulips, which occasionally elude our vigi- 
lance, however careful we may be. The bulbs 
should be taken to a shady place under cover, 
and be laid out to dry off, and remain there 
until the foliage is completely dead, after which 
they should be trimmed, that is, the stalks and 
leaves should be cut close, and the fibres pulled 
off, and the offsets taken away ; they may then 
be put away for the season of rest. 
TREATMENT OF OFFSETS. 
Prepare beds similar to those for blooming 
the finer bulbs, and plant the offsets in the same 
number of rows, but they may be three inches 
instead of six inches apart, one of the ways, 
whether across or lengthways is immate- 
rial in respect to the bulbs, but probably it 
is best to have them close in the cross rows, 
instead of the long ones, on account of their 
being easier kept clear of weeds. Plant them 
so as to be four or five inches covered. "When 
they are up, any that show bloom should be 
deprived of all the buds but one or two at the 
