290 THE FLOWER-GARDEN, [chap. viii. 
a mixture of peat and river sand, with about 
the proportion of a third to the whole of 
vegetable mould. The other treatment is 
the same as that detailed above. In all 
cases the soil should be very light and fine, 
and only cow-dung should be used as a 
manure. The roots should also always be 
watered very sparingly, and with a mixture 
of cow dung and water, though not so thick 
as that used for coating the bed. When the 
bulbs are planted, and again when they are 
taken up, they should be carefully examined, 
and all that are at all specked or mouldy, 
should be laid on one side, as they would 
infect the others. When the infected part 
is large, the bulb should be thrown away, or 
burnt with the stalks; but where the speck 
is small it should be cut out with a sharp 
knife, and the bulb planted, in not more 
than four-and-twenty hours after the piece 
has been cut out. Hyacinths are propagated 
by offsets, by dividing the bulb, and by 
seed, in which last case they are five years 
before they flower. When planted in pots 
or boxes, the pot or box should be half filled 
with broken potsherds, or some other mate- 
