288 THE FLOWER-GARDEN, [chap. viii. 
of cow-dung and water. In April, an awning 
of thin canvass, is erected over each bed, 
under which the plants are to flower; and 
by the middle of this month they will be in 
all their beauty. As soon as the flowers 
begin to fade the flower-stalks should be cut 
off and instantly removed. They should 
never be suffered to lie on the bed, and 
should not even be put where by any chance 
they can mix with the earth intended for a 
hyacinth bed in another year, as the exuda¬ 
tions proceeding from them in their decay 
would cause the bulbs to rot. This is not 
only because the exudations from the hya¬ 
cinths are of course poisonous to other bulbs 
of the same genus; but because the flower- 
stalks appear to contain a kind of corrosive 
juice, as the labourers employed in Holland 
to cut them off the bulbs, frequently find 
their hands and bodies become red and in¬ 
flamed, and sometimes so painful as to pre¬ 
vent them from sleeping. 
When the leaves turn brown at the points, 
which is generally about the middle of June, 
the bulbs should be taken up. When this 
is to be done the leaves are first pulled off. 
