NARCISSUS. 
feeds of mod bulbous-rooted flowers.) The earth in 
thefe mult be levelled very even ; then low the feeds 
thereon pretty thick, covering them over with fine-lifted 
light earth about half an inch thick, and place the cafes 
or pans in a fituation where they may have only the morn¬ 
ing fun till about ten o’clock, where they fliould remain 
until the beginning of Oftober, when they mult be re¬ 
moved into a warmer fituation, placing them upon bricks, 
that the air may freely pafs under the cafes, which will 
referve them from being too moilt. They fliould alfo 
e expofed to the full fun, but fcreened from the north 
and ealt winds ; and, if the froft fliould be fevere, they 
mult be covered, otherwife there will be danger of their 
being deltroyed 5 in this fituation they may remain until 
the beginning of April, by which time the plants will be 
up, when you mult carefully clear them from weeds, and, 
if the feafon fliould prove dry, they mult be frequently 
watered : the cafes fliould alio now be removed into their 
former Ihady petition, or lhaded in the middle of the day, 
for the heat of the noon-day fun will be too great for the 
young plants. The latter end of June, when the leaves 
of the plants are decayed, you fliould take off the upper 
furface of the earth in the cafes, (which by that time will 
have contrafted a moflinefs, and, if fuffered to remain, 
will greatly injure the young roots,) obferving not to 
take it fo deep as to touch the roots ; then fift fome frelli 
light earth over the furface, about half an inch thick, 
which will greatly ftrengtlien the roots 5 the fame fliould 
alfo be repeated in Oftober, when the cafes are moved 
again into the fun. During the fummer feafon, if the 
weather fliould prove very wet, and the earth in the cafe 
appear very moilt, yon mull remove them into the fun till 
the earth be dry again 5 for, if the roots receive much wet 
during the time they are inactive, it very often rots them ; 
therefore you mu ft never give them any water after their 
leaves are decayed, but only place them in the Iliade, as 
was before directed. 
Thus you fliould manage them the two firft feafons, 
till their leaves are decayed; but, the fecond fummer 
after fowing, you fliould carefully take up the roots ; 
which may be done by lifting the earth in the cafes 
through a fine fieve, whereby the roots will be eafily fepa- 
rated from the earth ; then, having prepared a bed or two 
of good frelh light earth, in proportion to the quantity of 
your roots, you fliould plant them therein, at about three 
inches diftance every way, and about three inches deep in 
the ground. Thefe beds Ihould be raifed above the level 
of the ground, in proportion to the moifture of the foil, 
which, if dry, three inches will be enough ; but, if it be 
wet, they mu it be railed fix or eight inches high, and laid 
a little rounding, to flioot off the wet. If thefe beds are 
made in July, which is the belt time to tranfplant the 
roots, the weeds will foon appear very thick ; therefore 
you Ihould gently hoe the furface of the ground todeftroy 
them, being very careful not to cut fo deep as to touch 
any of the roots ; and this fliould be repeated as often as 
may be found neceflary, by the growth of the weeds, ob¬ 
ferving always to do it in dry weather, that they may be 
effectually deltroyed; and, towards the latter end of Oc¬ 
tober, after having entirely cleared the beds from weeds, 
you Ihould fift a little rich light earth over them, about 
an inch thick, the goodnefs of which will be vvafhed down 
to the roots by the winter’s rain, which will greatly en¬ 
courage their ihooting in the lpring. If the cold fliould 
be very fevere in winter, you fliould cover the beds either 
with old tan or fea-coal allies, or in want of thefe with 
peafe-haulm, or fome fuch light covering, to prevent the 
froft from penetrating the ground to the roots, which 
might greatly injure them while they are fo young. In the 
lpring, when the plants .begin to appear above ground, 
you muft gently ftir the furface of the ground, clearing it 
from weeds, &c. in doing of which, you fliould be very 
careful not to injure the plants; and, if the feafon fliould 
prove dry, you Ihould now and then gently refrefli them 
with water, which will ftrengthen the roots. When their 
leaves are decayed, you fliould clear the bed from weeds. 
579 
and fift a little earth over them (as was before directed), 
which muft alfo be repeated in OCtober, in like manner; 
but the roots fliould not remain longer in thefe beds than 
two years, by which time they will have grown fo large 
as to require more room; therefore they fliould be taken 
up as foon as their leaves are decayed, and planted into 
frelh beds, which fliould be dug deep, and a little very 
rotten dung buried in the bottom, for the fibres of the 
roots to ftrike into. Then the roots fliould be planted at 
fix inches diftance, and the fame depth in the ground. In 
the autumn, before the froft comes on, if fome rotten tan 
is laid over the beds, it will keep out the froft, and greatly 
encourage the roots 5 and, if the winter Ihould prove fe¬ 
vere, it will be proper to lay a greater thicknefs of tan 
over the beds, and alfo in the alleys, to keep out froft, or 
to cover them over with ft raw, or peafe-haulm, other- 
wife they may be all deltroyed by the cold. In the fpring 
thefe coverings fliould be removed, as foon as the danger 
of hard froft is over, and the beds muft be kept clean from 
weeds the following fummer: at Michaelmas they Ihould 
have fome frelh earth laid over the beds, and covered 
again with tan, and fo every year continued till the roots 
flower, which is generally in five years from feed, when 
you Ihould mark all fuch as promife well, which Ihould be 
taken up as foon as their leaves decay, and planted at a 
greater diftance in newly-prepared beds; but thofe which 
do not flower, or thofe you do not greatly efteem, Ihould 
be permitted to remain in the fame bed ; therefore, in 
taking up thofe roots which you marked, you muft be 
careful not to difturb the roots of thofe left, and alfo to 
level the earth again, and fift fome frelh earth over the beds 
(as before) to encourage the roots; for it often happens 
in the feedlings of thefe flowers, that, at their firft time of 
blowing, their flowers feldom appear half fo beautiful as 
they do the fecond year; for which reafon none of them 
fliould be rejected until they have flowered two or three 
times, that fo you may be allured of their worth. 
Thus, having laid down directions for the fowing and 
managing thofe ro'ots, until they are ftrong enough to 
flower, we are next to give fome inftruftions for planting 
and managing the roots afterwards, fo as to caufe them to 
produce large fair flowers. All the forts of narciffus 
which produce many flowers upon a ftalk, fliould have a 
fituation defended from cold and ftrong winds, otherwife 
they will be fubjeCl-to be injured by the cold in winter, 
and their Items broken down when in flower; for, not- 
witliftanding their ftalks are generally pretty ftrong, yet 
the number of flowers upon each renders their heads 
weighty, efpeciaUy after rain, which lodges in the flowers, 
and, if fucceeded by ftrong winds, very often deftroys 
their beauty, if they are expofed thereto; fo that a border 
under a hedge, which is open to the fouth-eaft, is prefer¬ 
able to any other pofition for thefe flowers. The morning 
fun riling upon them will dry off the moifture which had 
lodged upon them the preceding night, and caufe them 
to expand fairer than when they are planted in a Ihady 
fituation 5 and, if they are too much expofed to the after¬ 
noon fun, they will be hurried out of their beauty very 
foon ; and, the ftrong winds ufually comingfrom the welt 
and fouth-weft points, they will be expofed to the fury of 
them, which frequently is very injurious. 
Having made choice of a proper fituation, you muft 
then proceed to prepare the earth neceflary to plant them 
in ; for, if the natural foil of the place be very ftrong or 
poor, it will be proper to make the border of new earth, 
removing the former foil away about three feet deep. 
The belt earth for thefe flowers is a frelh light hazel loam, 
mixed with a little very rotten neats dung: this Ihould 
be well mixed together, and often turned aver, in order 
to fweeten it; then, having removed away the old earth 
to the before-mentioned depth, you Ihould put a layer 
of rotten dung or tan in the bottom, about four o? 
five inches thick, upon which you muft lay fome of 
the prepared earth, about eighteen or twenty inches 
thick, making it exaCtly level; then, having marked 
out by line the exaCt diftances at which the roots are to 
be 
