H O R T I C 
fpring; when being moved with good balls of earth, they 
will not be much checked. 
Of Perennials.— This clafs of flowers are propagated, 
many of them by their roots, according to their nature, 
as fibrous, bulbous, &c. forne byjayers, fuckers, offsets, 
flips, cuttings, and a few by feed only. All forts- bear¬ 
ing feed are occafionally propagated this way, for the 
purpole of producing new varieties, or to raife finer plants, 
as thofe from feed generally prove. It happens, how¬ 
ever, when they are propagated from feed, that, though 
fometimes a better, yet more frequently a lefs' beautiful, 
flower is produced of many forts ; and this is the reafon 
why the other modes of propagation are fo much adopt¬ 
ed, by offsets, &c. as thus they come identically the fame 
with the mother plant. Another obftacle againft fbme 
forts being fown is, that they are feveral years before they 
come to blow, as all bulbous and tuberous-rooted flowers. 
The Dutch have made themfelves famous by their pa¬ 
tience and peffeverance in railing bulbs and tubers, and 
fow every year fome of each kind, which pays them well, 
when they meet with an eminently,good flower. A new 
fort of anemone, auricula, carnation, ranunculus, and even 
a polyanthus, will frequently fetch a guinea; and a tulip, 
or a hyacinth, fometimes ten. 
To raife 'bulbous and tuberous-rooted flowers, they 
fhould be fown in boxes, about three feet long, two wide, 
and fix inches deep, filled with light rich earth, about the 
middle of.. Augufi, or September, and letting them in a 
funny fheltered place not under cover. Sowings may take 
.place alfo in March or April, removing the boxes in May 
to where they may have only the morning fun. Thin them 
a little if they come up thick; and, when the ftalks die, put 
on half an inch of fine frefh mould ; and, after the decay of 
the leaf next fummer, they mull be planted out in nurfery- 
beds, two or three inches afunder, according to their na¬ 
ture; and fome will blow' the following year, as the ane¬ 
mone and ranunculus, &c. though the hyacinth will be 
four, or five, and the tulip feven or eight, firft. Thele 
mult be removed from the firft nurfery-bed to another, 
as loon as their tops are decayed, and planted at fix inches 
diftance; and ever after treated as blowing plants. Keep 
them very clear of weeds, particularly the feedlings; which 
proteft in fevere weather from frolf, or heavy rain, by 
mats and hoops. 
Fibrqus-rooted'perennials, if propagated from feed, are 
to be treated as biennials ; but they are rnoftly increafed 
other ways, with lei's trouble, chiefly by parting the roots 
in autumn and fpring, or by rooted flips or offsets, fhort- 
ening their ftraggling fibres. Many of them have creep¬ 
ing roots, and increafe fo faft, that it is neceffary to take 
them up every three or four years ; and a removal of this 
fort is proper for moll: perennials, in order to greater 
neatnefs, and a fuperior cultivation; for, though large 
tufts look handfome, they may be. too bulky, and fome 
kinds are apt to rot when thick, the ftalks and flowers 
come weak, and the leaves, toward the bottom, turn yel¬ 
low. 
The general culture of bulbous and tuberous roots is, 
to take them up annually, foon after they have flowered ; 
when their leaves and ftalks turn yellow and decay, then 
the root is at reft, and its fibres die. When firft taken up, 
lay them covered in dry ground for a few days, and clean 
and harden them in the fun; after whiclrthey mull be 
ftored in a dry place, till wanted : damp is apt to . rot 
them. It is not indeed abfolutely neceffary to take bulbs 
and tubers up every year, as every fecond or third may 
do ; but it is the common praflice of gardeners to do lb, 
becaufe it gives an'opportunity to remove the offsets for 
propagation, and the mother bulbs are.thus ftrengthened, 
as alio from the renew'ed foil they meet with by a frefh 
plantation. Some people foffer them to remain many 
years without taking up; but then they ftarve one ano¬ 
ther, and go off from their original beauty. 
Autumn-flowering bulbs are to be taken up in May, if 
their leaves are decayed. Spring-flowering bulbs fhould 
Vol. X. No. 671 = 
U L T U R E. 405 
be replanted in September or October ; thofe of the fum¬ 
mer in Oftober or November; and thofe of autumn, in 
July or Auguft. The fcaly bulbs, as lilies, &c. fhould 
not be kept out of the ground above a month or fix 
weeks. Thofe that flower in fummer hiay be put in the 
ground at different times, as early and late in autumn, 
and early in the new year, but not later than February, 
to obtain a lucceffion of blow. If -any are put in at the 
end of February, or beginning of March, they fhould re¬ 
main two years for increafe. This is a common practice 
with the anemone and ranunculus ; but, when planted in 
winter, the foil fhould be a dry one, or made fo, by dig¬ 
ging in a good quantity of fine fea-coal alhes, and coarfq 
or drift land; elfe they are apt to rot, if much wet falls, 
before they have ftarted fibres, elpecially when followed 
by fharp froft. Offsets of bulbs, and weak tubers, fhould 
be planted a month before the full-fized roots; and, as 
they are not expefted to flower the firft year, fhould be 
difpofed of in nurfery-beds, where they may grow a. year 
or two, according to their ftrength. Thofe taken from 
fcaly bulbs will not endure to be kept out of ground, 
and mull therefore be planted almoft immediately. 
The foil that belt fuits bulbous and tuberous-rooted 
flowers, is a fandy loam ; but rnoft of the forts are not 
very nice. The ground for them fhould however be well 
dug, that their fibres may flioot freely, and wet be com¬ 
pletely drained from them, when much of it falls. This 
work fhould be done a week before planting, that the 
ground may fettle. In alight foil, roots of the .ranunculus 
have been known to ftrike a yard deep, which may ad- 
monilh, that in a clay bottom it is proper today a body 
of ftones about eighteen inches deep, that too much 
moifture may not be detained to ficken the roots. The 
depth at which bulbs fhould be planted, rnuft be accord¬ 
ing to their fize, three or four inches deep, from their top, 
Tabers alfo according to their fize; anemones and ranun- 
culufes at two or two and a half inches, See. Some bulbs 
will come'up even when a foot below the ground, as 
crdwn-imperials, See. fome perfons, therefore, plant them 
deeper than the above rule, in order to be able to ftir the 
{urface qf the ground without damaging them ; but it is 
not advifable. 
The proper difpofition of bulbous and tuberous roofs, 
is either in beds of from three to four feet and a half- 
wide, for the curious forts ; or in patches, to form cluf- 
ters of three, four, or five, agreeable to the room they re¬ 
quire. There fhould be only one'in a place of the white 
or orange lily, crown-imperial,.and fuch-like large bulbs. 
In beds, the fancy forts of bulbs, and tubers, may be fet 
in rows, eight or nine inches afunder, and from five to 
feven inches in the rows, according to their fize. The 
diftance of four inches apart is, however, by fome florifts, 
thought fufficient for anemones and ranunculufes; but cer¬ 
tainly more room is advifable where a llrong blow is de- 
fired. Hyacinths fhould be 'planted at leven or eight, 
though they are more commonly let at fix, inches. Tu- 
lips Ihould be at eight or nine, though fix is often all 
that is allowed them. When planted, if rain does not 
come in about four or five days, beds of bulbs and tubers 
fhould be watered, to fet them growing, that they may 
not mould and rot. 
Spring-flowering bulbs may be brought forward by 
planting them in pots, or in water-glafles, and fetting 
them in warm rooms, or hot-beds ; and thus, even in 
winter, we miry'have ornaments and fvveets that court our 
admiration. The-great variety of hyacinths and polyan¬ 
thus narciflu's, furnilh us amply in this way; but other 
early bulbs may alfo be thus forwarded. Pots placed in 
a light warm kitchen-window, may be brought forward 
to make their blow in the parlour; or, if placed in any 
window open to the fouth, it will forward them. Theie 
fhould be potted in October, and have a light dry'foil, 
occafionally giving water. Bulbs may.be put in glades 
at this time, and once a month after, to February, for a 
fitccefliou. Let the-bu'lb Juft touch the water, which 
5 L fhould 
