September 8. 
THE COTTAGE GARDEN EE. 
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ol tiie rarest British plants. This railway gives great i 
facility to the botanical collector, bringing him, in a \ 
tow hours, to the very locality where these rare plants I 
are growing wild. I longed to stay for a while in these 
solitudes; but business, business! called, and 1 could 
not disregard the summons. 
Between Wortley and Manchester, not far from the 
secluded town of Glossop, there is a very long tunnel, 
through which the railway-train and engine rush 
over, in some places, unseen depths of water, which 
causes a very peculiar loud sound, very terrifying to 
the nerves of the ladies, aye, and of many of the 
stronger sex too. I have travelled some thousands of 
miles on railways, both on level ground and on lofty 
arches, as w r ell as through the bowels of mountains, but I 
1 never heard such fearful noises anywhere else as in j 
the long tunnel of the Sheffield and Manchester Rail¬ 
way, which said rail runs through the so-called “ back¬ 
bone of England.” T. Appleby. 
(To be continued .) 
THE HYACINTH. 
As the season for potting, glassing, and planting this j 
lovely spring flower is fast approaching, I think a few 
remarks on its culture will be acceptable, and, possibly, 
useful, to many of the readers of The Cottage Gah- 
bf.nek. It is grown by all ranks of people, from the j 
window of the cottage to the conservatory of the royal ! 
palace. It is a somewhat remarkable fact, that with all I 
our skill in gardening we are obliged to send to our 
neighbours, the Dutch, for an annual supply, not 
only of this root, but also of the Narcissus, and many 
others. The soil and climate of Holland seems to be 
peculiarly favourable to the culture of bulbs. There 
they are quite a commercial affair, just as much as 
the Carnation, the Pink, and Picotee, are here. The 
sums of money drawn from this country, for bulbs 
alone, are very considerable. I have been ci’edibly 
informed, that one house alone receipts between six and 
seven thousands a-year. Whether some of our flat lands, 
near the seashore, would grow these roots, is, as yet, 
unknown; but, in a proper situation, with proper soil, 
and a due attention to management, I have no doubt 
they might be grown quite as well here as in Holland. 
At all events it is worth a trial. 
In describing my experience in the culture of the ! 
Hyacinth, I shall, for the sake of perspicuity, divide the 
subject into three sections:—1st. Culture in glass. 2nd. 
Culture in pots. 3rd. Culture in beds. This arrange¬ 
ment will meet the wants of all classes of growers. 
In Glasses. —Bulbs, as our friend Beaton tells us, 
form their flower buds on spikes the previous season. 
Elence, if this is properly effected, they are sure to 
flower; hence, any bulb so perfected will flower either in ; 
or out of the earth, or even in water, This, in the case 
of the Hyacinth, is well known, and practised every¬ 
where, and has, in course, led to a large manufacture in 
the shape of glasses, popularly and properly known by 
the name of Hyacinth-glasses. They are so well known 
that I need not describe them ; but I may just mention, 
that last year I observed some made of various coloured i 
glass, and with the lower part blown out a little wider. 
This is an improvement, for, in the ordinary shape, the 
bottom of the glass is crowded with roots, which cannot 
be so well as if there was in that part a little more 
room. I have also remarked that short glasses are, for 
the same reason, objectionable; and, for another, when 
the roots are strong in a short glass, they will lift up 
the bulb, and, if in flower, very likely destroy it, by 
tumbling it over out of the glass. The glasses, then, 
ought to be at least nine inches long, with a cup at the 
top to contain the bulb. 
The bulbs should be put into the glasses at two or 
three times, if a lengthened season of bloom is desired; 
the glasses should be filled with soft clean water, just 
up to the neck, but not actually to touch the bulb. The 
time to do this depends upon the wishes or wants of the 
cultivator. If wanted early, they should be put into 
the glasses as soon as the bulbs arrive from Holland. 
When they are so placed, and at whatever time, they 
should be put into a dark, cold room for a fortnight, to 
cause roots to be formed previously to the bloom-buds 
appearing, by which care the success will be more 
certain. Examine them occasionally, and remove gently 
any scales that may be decaying, but be very careful 
not to injure the young roots, which will soon be seen 
breaking through the skin at the base of each bulb. 
Should the water become foul, let it be changed, keep¬ 
ing each glass filled up to within a quarter-of-an-inch of 
the bulbs, but do not let it actually touch them. When 
the buds and leaves have made a little growth, they 
should be brought into the full light of the window, 
but even then, if possible, avoid a window facing the 
mid-day r sun, or one in a room where there is a fire. 
These precautions are to be attended to for the purpose 
of inducing a gradual growth, and, consequently, a 
much stronger foliage and liner bloom. 
When the roots have nearly reached the bottom of 
each glass, if they are carefully observed, there will be 
seen, at the extremity of each, a pellicle or covering of 
mucous matter. This soon stops up the spongelets, or, 
as I may say, the mouths of the roots, by which the 
food of the plant is conveyed to the leaves; these 
spongelets, being thus prevented from performing their 
functions, perish, and often the whole set of roots are 
destroyed also. To prevent this serious disaster and 
destruction of plants (for I consider the clear white 
roots of the Hyacinth, in glasses, are exceedingly beau¬ 
tiful), the roots should be drawn carefully out of the 
glasses, a wide vessel should be placed hardly filled with 
clean water. In this immerse the roots of a bulb, and 
draw the mass carefully through the hand, pressing 
them gently. Do this two or three times until the roots 
appear quite clean, and perfectly white. Whilst one 
person is doing this, let another be washing out the 
glass, and wiping it quite clean and dry. Then gra¬ 
dually work the clean-waslied roots into the clean- 
washed glass, before putting in any water, without, if 
possible, breaking one. To get them in when they are 
numerous, it will be found necessary to twist them 
round and round till they reach their old quarters at 
the bottom, and the bulb rests upon the neck of the 
glass. Then fill the glass with clean water, and replace 
it in the window. It will generally be found that once 
washing will be sufficient to carry the bloom through. 
After this no more care will be necessary, excepting 
occasionally changing the water. Bulbs bloomed in 
glasses afterwards are only fit for the border; the roots 
do not take up sufficient nutriment to perfect strong 
leaves and blooms for the next year. As soon as the 
bloom is over, the bulbs should be taken out of the 
glasses, preserving all the roots. Lay them in a border 
in the garden, and give a good watering. Here they 
will gradually ripen the bulbs, and the leaves will as 
gradually turn yellow and decay. Then take them up 
and keep them dry and cool until October, and they 
may then be planted in the borders in the flower-garden. 
T. ArPLEBY. 
(To be continued .) 
OCCUPATION OF VACANT GROUND. 
As the season has now arrived in which many crops 
are cleared off, it becomes the skilful cultivator to con¬ 
sider in what way his ground can bo most advanta- 
