232 
THE FLOWER (IARDEN. 
some sorts will rise from a considerable depth, 
as six inches or more, and others from still 
greater^ which has induced some persons to 
pl&nt them to such depths as are sufficient to 
prevent their being injured by digging over 
tho surface ground. 
" Different methods are employed in plant- 
ing bulbs, such as putting them in by the 
dibble, or in drills drawn by a hoe. The 
latter is in general to be preferred, as they 
are apt to be hollow in dibbling, while by 
placing them in n drill they may be gently 
pressed into the soil, and be perfectly covered 
up. "When they are set in beds, the best 
method is to draw off the mould of a sufficient 
depth to one side, leaving the surface perfectly 
level, watering it a little in dry seasons, and 
then forming it into proper squares, placing a 
bulb in the middle of each, and covering them 
with the mould drawn off so as to leave the 
bulbs in an upright position. After the 
bulbs have been put into the earth, if the 
weather continue very dry, a little Water 
should be sprinkled over the beds or other 
places, to forward their vegetation and prevent 
their rotting. 
" Occasional protection will be neces- 
sary in raising the more choice sorts of bulbs; 
and before they appear, during the winter, 
the beds should be sheltered from too much 
wet, in order to guard against the effects 
of succeeding frosts. When they first pre- 
sent themselves above the ground also, they 
should have the protection of an awning of 
cloth, mats, or other contrivances at night, 
when the weather is severe ; but these should 
not remain on in the day time when the wea- 
ther is tolerable. Some sort of covering of 
the same sort is likewise necessary when they 
are in bloom, to shield them from the sun and 
rain, and continue them much longer in a 
perfect state of flowering."- — Pp. 134—138. 
The author then proceeds to give us lessons 
on the cultivation of the Tulip, in which the 
important parts are sound, but where any- 
thing is borrowed from others, he is not 
happy in his choice. Hogg may be one of the 
best to quote (of the old authors) on Carna- 
tions, but he is the worst on Tulips. It must 
here be remarked, however, that very few 
practical gardeners, even of the most ex- 
perienced, knew much about florists' flowers 
till of late years; and there are not many who 
can teach the culture of them so well as some 
of the Spitalfields and Bethnal Green artisans 
and mechanics. The illustrations of the 
Tulip-bed, and other subjects appertaining to 
their culture, are very good. The catalogue 
of sorts with their prices, is of no service, as 
it forms no guide whatever to the quality, and 
many of those which from time to time prove 
faulty, are discarded every year. In attempting 
to give the properties of a Tulip the author 
fails altogether. The standard laid down by 
old authors has been exploded ever since 1832. 
The culture of other interesting flowers follow 
in succession ; and the chapters on what are 
termed florists' flowers are evidently compi- 
lations, and those not from the best sources. 
The difference between corms and bulbs is 
explained, and a section devoted to their 
culture. 
TUBERS bring us to the Ranunculus, Ane- 
mone, Dahlias, &c. The two former are open to 
all the objections Ave have raised; the latter 
we must speak of alone, for the catalogue 
attached is the most extraordinary one we 
ever saw, the whole article on this flower 
being compiled chiefly from Sabine, in the 
Horticultural Transactions. Now, the late 
Mr. Sabine was so exceedingly curious in his 
notions of Dahlias, and his mode of labelling 
them, that he considered his label incomplete 
without the raiser's name ; so that everybody 
who called on him was taxed for the raiser's 
name to any that were not already complete 
in that respect. The consequence was, that 
although nobody could boast of a larger col- 
lection of varieties, nor of so many raisers' 
names, one-half were wrong. In looking 
over the catalogue reprinted in the present 
work, which ought, with all its faults, to be in 
every florist's hands, we are struck with the 
singular mistakes. Scores of Dahlias are at- 
tributed to persons who never raised one in 
their lives to send out, and we are doubtful 
whether Mr. Glenny, who was successful, ever 
let out half-a-dozen, though there are no less 
than forty attributed to him. We mention 
this, because, independently of the name being 
strange to us as a raiser, the flowers are strange 
also, though we have now before us catalogues 
from 1833 to the present time. The fact in- 
duced us to ask rather an extensive grower, 
and he thinks he remembers in some publica- 
tion suggestions for the names of Dahlias ; 
and if real, instead of imaginary, flowers 
' have been attributed to the author, it will be 
curious enough. We mention these things 
in the spirit of true criticism, and if Mr. 
MTntosh were not a first-rate gardener, and, in 
some points, a first-class author, we should not 
enter so fully upon the subject. The culture 
of the Auricula, and other fibrous-rooted peren- 
nials, brings us from the flowers to the flower- 
ing shrubs, the section including which we 
shall reserve for a further notice hereafter. 
In conclusion, we cannot but recommend 
the volume as a highly useful book to the 
amateur, as well as the professional gardener; 
for it is no disparagement to the class to say, 
Mr. MTntosh stands high among the soundest 
and best of the practical gardeners of the 
kingdom, and whenever he trusts to his own 
