H3)J THE CULTURE AND PROPEETIES OF THE HYACINTH. !)!) (JP 
I ' of disposing of the colours is indicated in tlie annexed arrangement. We need hardly say, that DB -> 
and DR mean dark blue and red ; LB and LR, light blue and red ; W, white ; Y, yellow. The sorts, 
as well as the colours, may be varied, but always contrive so that every row may be planted in dupli- 
cate, the same on one side as on the other, of the middle flower. 
The best season for planting is October, and the operation should take place in dry open weather, 
between the iirst and the middle of the month. Put fully three inches of compost above the crowns of the 
bulbs, and leave them to their fate. They are by no means tender, but when they begin to open and 
show their trusses, which in some kinds is almost as soon as they come through the ground, it would 
be well to cover in frosty weather with loose litter, such as peas haulm or long straw, as the buds wUl 
be damaged by sudden fi-osts or thaws. The period of floweruig is lengthened by covering from the 
sun ; but the roots are thereby weakened. When the bloom has faded, they are no longer interesting, 
and should be thrown ojjen to all weathers. As soon as the leaves turn yellow and die down half-way, 
the bulbs may be lifted, and laid in by the heels for a fortnight, when they may be taken up, the leaves 
screwed off, the roots removed, and the bulbs put into a cool shady place for two or three weeks, after 
which they may be cleared of all loose skin and fibre, and the offsets, .and aU split roots, sorted away 
from the best bulbs. 
Those bulbs which are handsome and full sized may be treated the same as imported varieties. 
The ofi'sets and split roots may be treated in the same way as beds of full-grown bulbs for show, 
except that they may be closer, and the whole of each sort may be planted together, without reference to 
uniformity or order. When the offsets send up their small trusses of bloom, pick off all the buds but 
one or two at the top ; when these die down, let them be treated as the roots of the show-bed. At 
the taking-up time, there will be found, each season, a number of full-grown handsome bulbs, to be 
placed among the best ; and no one can possibly tell the Dutch grown from the English grown, when 
properly managed and in good trim. In this way, the offsets will, in due time, increase to the full 
size ; and, every year, the bed in which they are nm'sed, wiU afford some. These beds once made, 
will only require trenching once a-yeai', and the top six or eight inches dressed with a good layer of 
cow-dung ; that wliich was placed at the bottom is only turned over and left there, and the roots 
find then- way down the whole depth every season. In Holland, the only di'essing necessary is cow- 
dung, or, if this cannot be had, horse-dung, but it is well rotted ; and a fresh dressing of this every 
year is necessary even in the most favourable soils and situations. 
Properties of the Hyacinth. — The leading points of a perfect Hyacinth have been described, but 
small hopes can be entertained of ever attaining them. The new system of laying down rules for the 
guidance of judges, appears to have been unpopular until well understood. The prmciple was, to state 
what would make a thing perfect, even though there was no chance of reaching it, that the compara- 
tive merits of all varieties might be judged by the degree in which they approached the imaginary 
perfection. 
The double Hyacinth, to be perfect, must have the pips, or individual flowers, round in the outline, 
half-round upon the face, and the petals, or di\'isions of the flower, should lie uniformly and symmetrical. 
The truss of bloom, or spike, should be pyi'amidal ; the foot-stalks of the lower blooms being longer 
than those of the upper ones, gradually becoming shorter as they rise. 
The flowers should be close enough to conceal the stalk, and yet not crowded so as to distm'b the 
round form of the individual blooms. 
The single varieties should have the corolla reflexed enough to form a handsome face ; and, in all 
other respects, must be as perfect as the double ones. The petals or segments of the coroUa, should 
be wide enough to touch, and form a romid outline to the entire flower. 
Those who have noticed a few of the particular kinds, will observe, that Groot Voorst, Anna Maria, 
Lamrens Korster, and some others, really possess a good many of the points of excellence ; but the 
pyramidal form of the truss, though finely carried out, is chiefly produced by the crowding of the petals 
and pips. 
There is but little symmetry in the blooms of the sorts that are good upon the whole ; though there 
are some very nobly-formed pips in kinds which are too open in the truss to form a good whole. We 
may, by-and-bye, in a descriptive list of fifty, show the nearest approaches to what we reqmi-e ; or, at 
least, point out those particular excellences which are to be found among the extensive list of varieties 
at present cultivated. 
