THE MANUAL OP GARDENING. 87 
feet high. It blooms all the summer, either red, purple, or white, 
and is propagated by parting the roots in autumn, 
Hedysarum, or French Honeysuckle. — A native of Spain and 
the south of France, is a biennial, rising about two feet high, 
bearing a very pretty red flower in July and August. It is pro- 
pagated by sowing the seeds in the spring, and transplanting 
them where they are to grow in the autumn. They blossom the 
second year. 
Hyacinth, — is a native of the East. The varieties amount 
to some thousands; and fine ones have been sold as high as two 
or three hundred guineas for a single bulb. It is a florist’s flower, 
one of our earliest flowering bulbs, and makes a very pretty ap- 
pearance in the parlour window, when blown, in flower-glasses: 
for the method of doing this, see bulbs in glasses, p. 19. New varie- 
ties are raised from seed. The best time of sowing is in the autumn, 
but not later than the first week in October : it may be sown in 
the open border if the soil is rich, iight, and dry ; but it is better 
to sow in pans or boxes, which can be conveniently shifted ac- 
cording to circumstances. The vessels in which they are sown 
must have a good drainage of broken potsherds at the bottom, 
and be filled rather above the brim with rich light soil, laid very 
smoothly. The seeds must be scattered thinly and evenly, and 
covered lightly not more than half an inch at most. The boxes 
or pans must be plunged up to the brims in a dry spot of ground, 
and there remain till the severe weather begins, when they 
must be removed under shelter, or be protected with dry litter, 
exposing them to air and light whenever the weather is mild, 
and not too wet. When the seed-leaves appear above ground, in 
the spring, they are very small : keep them free from weeds; and 
if any green moss appear on the surface of the earth, sift a little 
fine mould or sand over it. When the leaves die off 1 about mid- 
summer, an additional covering of this kind must be given to the 
whole. Precisely the same management must be pursued during 
the second year, till the leaves die down, when the young bulbs 
may be taken up; but must be re-planted by the end of August, 
or they may dry and shrivel. They should be re-set in drills about 
three or four inches apart, and two inches deep, covered with a 
layer of sand of about a quarter of an inch thick. Some of the 
strongest bulbs will probably flower the third year ; but the whole 
will not flower before the fifth year. The bulbs which are four 
or five years old from their first flowering, are in their greatest 
perfection: after this they gradually decline. When a good 
bulb has been wounded, the part should be pared with a sharp 
knife, and then left some days to dry before planting, or the whole 
root may canker and die. 
Hyacinths should be planted in an open and airy situation, but 
