THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 26, 1861. 
381 
been in moisture and darkness for two months and lying on a 
cold clayey soil fully exposed to the north-east. Reasoning from 
this, I feel no doubt but that Lemons and Oranges may be 
grown in pots, not only in cold orchard-houses where they will 
be cultivated by thousands, but also trained to walls with 
southern aspects, the pots being plunged and taken up annually 
early in November, then laid on the surface in a shallow trench 
at the foot of the wall, and parallel to it, and covered with mat3 
and straw in frosty weather, uncovering them during the winter 
in continuous mild weather. About the first week in May, 
unless the season be unusually late and cold, the trees may be 
raised and trained to the wall, the pots being plunged, as in the 
preceding season, following the same practice annually. I have 
used the small ‘ Petersburg mats ’ for covering, as they are 
more closely woven than the large mats, but some other material 
will, doubtless, be found, such as thick painted canvass, or, 
perhaps, some thick and cheap woollen fabric, so as to retain 
and thus take full advantage of earth heat, hitherto so little 
thought of, although well known to exist.” 
EXHIBITION OF FORCED HYACINTHS. 
MESSES. CUTBUSH AND SONS, HIGHGATE NURSERY. 
Forcing Hyacinths, like growing Cucumbers in wintei’, does 
not depend nearly so much upon the nature of the winter as 
upon the practical experience of the manager. I recollect the 
first turn of the fashion for having Cucumbers the whole winter, 
and I know that some first-rate gardeners were excelled in the 
winter-forcing of Cucumbers by a set of “ Cucumber growers,” 
many of whom could scarcely write their own names, or even 
read them if they were written in a different hand. And down 
about Ipswich it is not considered safe to trust a young man 
with a pair of their sorrel horses, or hardly to get married, until 
he has shown his fitness for such responsibility by his practice 
on the Cucumber. Although the Hyacinth, above all other 
dowel's, may be forced during a very severe winter, and come out 
of the ordeal in first rate style of bloom and leaf, there are yet 
but very few indeed who can attain to the mark—-a fact which is 
just being proved at the March Meeting in the Botanic Gardens, 
Regent’s Park, at the very time I am writing this about it. 
But, lest it should appear to the slowcoaches that I put 
more stress on the practical experience of clever men in our 
calling than on their education, allow me to say that Mr. William 
Cutbush could as easily construe every verb in the iEneid as he 
can force all the Hyacinths in his own catalogue. I only doubt 
the power of the Jfeneid, the Odyssey, and the Iliad, avlien they 
are crammed into shallow heads, or are confined there by extra 
thicknesses of the skulls ; and when either of these crowns a man, 
the more you educate him the more cruelty you compel him to 
bear on his jouimey through life :—he can never force Hyacinths 
as they ought to be forced, although he may be able to tell you 
the reason of his bad luck if you would but believe him. But 
the power of education on the brains of a naturally clever man, 
or even on ordinary men of sound practical experience, is great 
indeed, and greatest when it prompts him or them into the lists 
of public competitions for practical skill. Sell all your bulbs, if 
good luck will have if; so, but never lose the chance of the lists as 
long as there is a bulb in Holland, for that seems to be the creed 
of Mr. Cutbush and of most nurserymen. Sell everything that 
will sell, and enter the lists on the same level with your cus¬ 
tomers, and if you get beaten it shows that you have dealt in a 
good article, or if you take the prize you stimulate the rest to 
increased exertions. We shall, probably, have many Hyacinths 
at the next meeting of the Floral Committee, but the 26th of 
March is rather too late for nurserymen’s competition in forced 
Hyacinths, seeing that Mr. Cutbush has kept from the be¬ 
ginning to the 12th of March for opening his show of them, 
and, of course, will sell them all before some others are in the 
market with them. 
This exhibition of forced Hyacinths is much more interesting 
this season than hitherto — not so much from the increased 
numbers of bulbs and kinds, as from two new and distinct 
features which are carried out most admirably in detail. The 
one is a representation of a ribbon-border all made of Hyacinths 
on a classical model, one-half Bucollic, and one-lialf Georgic, at 
and across the top end of the Exhibition ; and the second is a 
happy idea of growing so many of the finest sorts in water in 
Tye’s registered opal and most beautiful glasses, or bottles 
rather, for these are more in the shape of fancy bottles for per¬ 
fumery than the rigid cones and cups of the old races of 
Hyacinth glasses. 
Well, there is a neat bracket under every rafter, and against 
the uprights of the front sashes, on which are placed some of 
the finest specimens of Hyacinths in these beautiful new bottles, 
which look more like chinaware than like glass, and these Mr. 
Cutbush sells as well as the “ roots ” in them, or without roots. 
These drawing-room ornaments—and they are so in the full 
meaning of the phrase—are figured this season in Mr. Cutbush’s 
catalogue ; and you have only to imagine these shapes to be of 
like substance with the finest vases from the palace of the 
Emperor of China, and as variedly ornamented, and there is a 
Tye in earnest, a tie to know which is the best-looking—Miss 
Burdett Coutts, Sir Colin Campbell, or Tye’s ornamental glasses. 
The ribbon-border arrangement of common bedding Hyacinths 
is in seven rows. Two rows of two shades of blue, two rows of 
two shades of red, one row of the purest white, one of blush 
white, and one of very deep blush or light rose, and all packed 
in moss like the rest of the Exhibition. If I were a duke or even 
an earl, and was giving a large dinner party in London, I would 
engage so many Hyacinths for the evening, and stipulate for 
the colours to be kept separate in placing them in groups against 
the walls. I would put the dark blues and mauve purples in 
the back row, then the deep blush or light rose next the blue, 
then the scarlets, and crimsons in front of them, making three 
rows ; the fourth row would be of light blush flowers in front of 
the scarlets, and a fifth or last row in front would be pure ivory 
white; and if each of these rows were only one yard long, any 
lady of rank in the three kingdoms, or any gentleman with his 
eyes tutored for colours, would find more real enjoyment from 
the effect than she or he could experience from five hundred 
Hyacinths placed in the mixed style, or on our old herbaceous- 
border or Tulip-bed style of planting. So much depends on 
massing colours, and rendering them pleasant to the eye in 
combination and contrasts. A long border or a circular bed of 
any size over 4 feet across could be planted better than I placed 
them for an evening party, because you might have three shades 
of blue in the centre of the circle, and two row r s—one of rose and 
the other a blush between the blues and the scarlets. Then 
there might be two rows of creams or scarlets—that is, one row 
of crimson scarlet, and one in front of it of pink and scarlet, 
then three rows of light in front, two shades of blushes, and a 
pure white in front. 
These bedding Hyacinths are, of course, the very cheapest 
that can be bought in quantity ; but as no one that I am aware 
of has yet taken up the subject of planting them in beds accord¬ 
ing to the colours, it would be of little use to give the names. 
However, if any one asks for the names for that purpose, I shall 
most willingly give them, and also the proper way of preparing 
the beds for them, and how to plant them in more ways than are 
here indicated, for that subject has been familiar to me for many 
years in my own practice. 
This collection with Mr. Cutbush consists of over one thousand 
pots set up for exhibition, and the sight is well worthy of a ride 
up to Highgate to see them from any part round London. 
Like many other popular flowers, there are too many sorts of 
Hyacinths, and it will be a welcome day to purchasers when 
some one w T ill undertake to grow and exhibit the very best kinds 
in large masses, and merely growing a few of the very commonest 
kinds, and of the newest and high-priced sorts. The following 
are the very best sorts of each class of single and double kinds, 
and of the classes of coloui’3 ; but the shades of blue, purple, 
reds, and blushes vary much more than the names of the classes 
will fairly cover. 
Beginning with the highest colour and double flowers, we 
have in Double Red Duke of Wellington as one of the very best, 
a deep red blush or pale rose ; a beautifully brilliant spike of 
large, well-arranged bells. Koh-i-noor, a bright salmon, fresh as 
from the Beauly river, and one of the very highest priced. 
Noble par MGite, a new light rose, and of the best points. 
Princess Royal, rose, and striped with a deep pink line in the 
centre of each lobe. Susannah Maria, a fine, large, rosy salmon 
flower. Waterloo and Bouquet Tendre are the two best bedding 
double reds. 
Single Red, a very rich class, of which Amy is certainly the 
very best and brightest. Florence Nightingale, pale pink ; Lina, 
bright crimson; Milton, deep shaded crimson; Sirs. Becher 
Stow, deep rosy pink; Norma, a splendid pink; Queen 
Victoria, two shades of bright red ; Robert Steiger, a splendid 
crimson; and Solfaterre, an orange scai'let, are all of first-rate 
