APEIL. 
67 
had acted injuriously on many of the varieties of Hyacinths. I noticed at the 
recent Hyacinth show at Liverpool (which by the way completely distanced 
in extent any spring exhibition that I ever witnessed in London), a want of 
that “mass of physique” that was observed in the spikes of last year : yet 
Mr. Wm. Paul said, he thought his bulbs promised to be as fine as he had 
ever produced them. I have seen the flowers of one or two northern growers 
of some considerable local reputation, and they are illustrations of the truth of 
the opinion advanced by Mr. Cutbush. 
Tulips and Narcissi, and their allies, come on towards blooming very 
slowly. How can they “ make haste to appear,” while these biting east winds 
prevail ? Within-doors I have some Polyanthus Narcissi that will be in 
flower in a very few days, and Tulips and Jonquils are pushing on rapidly 
the work of developing their blossoms; but out of doors the march of vege¬ 
tation appears to have halted in the face of the piercing eastern winds. The 
little unassuming Snowdrops are shrivelled up ; Crocuses, but yesterday 
radient with the beauty of life, are lying prostrate, never again to 
“arise and shine;” Bulbocodiums keep firmly closed their curious-looking 
buds; the frail forms of the Dogstooth Violets piteously, but unsuccessfully 
expostulate with the rushing winds, and their delicate blossoms are wrecked 
by the torrent as it sweeps wildly by :—all, Aconite, and Daffodil, Polyanthus, 
Scilla, and Hepatica, wait hopefully the termination of the “ reign of terror.” 
Just where the fury of the storm seems to concentrate its force,—where 
waves of sand are gathered up as it were by handfuls and scattered around, 
just there is a clump of Primroses, the blossoms of which screened by strong 
outworks of foliage seem to defy the worst effects of the unfriendly blast.. 
Verily, quaint preachers occasionally speak to us along the path of life ! 
“ Milder gales and warmer beams 
May the gaudier flow’rets rear ; 
But to me this Primrose seems 
The worthiest of the mountain year. 
I 
“ Bright, brave flow’r ! like thee may I 
Dauntless view the tempest rise ; 
Danger neither court nor fly, 
Fortune’s bleakest blasts despise; 
Oppression’s threats regardless hear, 
Nor past regret, nor future fear.” 
Quo. 
THE ADVANTAGES OF DEEP TRENCHING. 
I eelieve there are few, if any persons, either gardeners or farmers, who 
are not fully sensible of the beneficial effects of thorough drainage and deep 
trenching ; they are the groundwork of good cultivation. Draining is becom¬ 
ing pretty general, but I fear many clay lands are anything but thoroughly 
drained. Deep trenching is not, I regret to say, so universally practised as it 
ought to be. If deep trenching had been generally adopted, we should not 
have heard so many complaints about the failure of crops last season as w r e did. 
So long as people are satisfied with merely stirring a few inches of the surface 
soil, leaving a hard “ pan” unbroken beneath, they will have cause to complain 
of deficient or failing crops in dry seasons. The one is the inevitable result of 
the other. Some people, and very many farmers in particular, have quite a 
horror of bringing any of the subsoil to the surface; and hence they go on 
year after year turning over a few inches of the surface soil, and reaping often¬ 
times not even one-fourth part the crop they would if the land was properly 
cultivated. 
The roots of all crops will, under favourable circumstances, descend to a 
considerable depth. They do so in quest of food; and the crops are in general 
