THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, March 20, 1860. 
377 
Sale, Mdllc. Bachel, and Belle Quirine, all single also, 
and the last the newest. 
Salmon. — Best three, Koh-i-noor (double), Norma 
(single, and very rich), and Cavaignac (single ditto). 
Three second best, Johanna Christina, Duke of Welling¬ 
ton, and Florence Nightingale, all single. 
With peculiar tints of blue Lord Nelson and Bleu 
Mourant ; the former a violet-blue, and the other violet 
and grey. These two would come after Argus iu running 
shades. 
The darkest is the new one, called Black .Prince, and 
at a little distance looks like the Pcrilla Nankinensis 
colour ; the next is Prince Albert ; and the last, General 
Havelock, when in its prime, but it opens a dark blue. 
Solfaterre (single), Konig van Holland (ditto), Bouquet 
d'Orange (double), are the best three orange and crimson, 
as in some of the Ghent Azaleas. The first is the best 
and is very beautiful, the second follows it, the other 
is third best. 
The best clear yellow is Anna Carolina; and the 
second best yellow is Heroine. The latter is tipped with 
green when it first opens. 
The best double whites are Prince of Waterloo and 
To ur d’ Auvergne. 
The best double blues are Comte dc St. Priest, Laurence 
Coster, and Sir Colin Campbell. 
And the best of all the rest of the colours is the first 
kind in each case of the above arrangements. 
The next question is, which is the best list for a poor 
man, who can only dive the depth of a dozen, or at the 
farthest stretch to the bottom of two dozen, always 
bearing in mind, that from 9s. to 12s. is the furthest 
pull he can give his purse for the first dozen ; and 
not a fraction over a sovereign, if he takes as many 
as two dozen; that is, fresh, sound, plump-looking 
“roots” in the autumn. The price of flowering Hya¬ 
cinths I never inquired after, as it may change yearly, 
owing to a very hard, or a very mild winter. Also, the 
time of buying—early spring, middle season, and late ; it 
stands to reason that these things must rule the market, 
fix it how you may. But forty years’ experience has 
proved the great economy of buying plants and roots by 
the dozen, or score, or hundred, instead of by dribs and 
drabs, which is the dearest way of all. Many of the 
Hyacinths in the following list are as old as I am, and 
as good as the best; the only difference is, they are not 
quite so fashionable, nor so fussy about the strain, or the 
tint, or the shining metallic lustre of this or that part of 
the tube, or bell, or limb, or lobes of the limb, or density 
or laxity of the said bells, or individual blooms on the 
flower-scape,—the fashionable fancy name for the flower- 
stalk of all bulbous plants. Changes of opinion on one, 
or two, or several of these points, constitute the fashion 
at the time ; but fashion can never hurt, or reach the 
natural beauty or perfume of a Hyacinth, or any other 
flower. Therefore, this selection of the very best kinds, 
including old and new, which are remarkably cheap as 
compared with the dashing and peerage ladies, and the 
gallant namesakes in the lists of high-priced selections. 
Double lied. —Waterloo and Bouquet Tendre. 
Double White. —Prince of Waterloo, Tour d’Auvergne, 
and Don Gratuit. 
Double Blue. — Laurence Coster and Comte de St. 
Priest. 
Single Bed. —Amy, Monsieur de Fcesch, Lady Sale, 
Madam Hodson, and Robert Steiger. 
Purplish-Mauve Colour. —T Unique. 
Single White, very good old. sorts. —Elfrida, Grand 
Vidette, Grandeur aMerville, Victoria Regina, Tubiflora, 
and Voltaire. 
Single Blue. —Baron von Tuyll, Charles Dickens, 
Grand Lilas (extra), and Orondates. 
Single Black. —Prince Albert. 
Single Yellow.-- Heroine. 
The whole of these twenty-five sorts could be bought 
for £1, or a selection of one-half of them for 12s., and 
from what has been explained to me by Mr. Cutbush 
and his foreman, this time, and last year, added to my 
own “ aid warld lore,” as Mr. Rivers would say, I pledge 
my word that every one of them is as good as I say it is, 
and that a duchess might be proud of the lot, if the 
“ roots ” were well forced. That reminds me of some 
most amiable ladies who, to my own personal knowledge, 
have the very notions of a duchess in matters of taste 
and fashion, but cannot go to the expense. Por them, 
and for others who may understand my meaning, the 
following short list is made on purpose ; and with a care¬ 
ful hand at potting early in September, covering the' 
bulbs in the pots, and plunging the pots and covering 
them till they were full of roots, and then not to hurry 
the bulbs too much in forcing; they, the plants in 
bloom, might look even better than those of the duchess 
after all. 
Single Yellow. —Anna Carolina. 
Single Blue. —Argus and Grand Lilas. 
Single White. — Lady Franklin, Madame Van der 
Hoop, and Mont Blanc. 
Single Purple-Lilac, or Purple Mauve. —l’Unique. 
Single Bed. — Queen Victoria, Mrs. Beecher Stowe, 
Circe, and Desdemona. 
Double Bed,. —Susannah Maria ; and those who have 
higher notions of their conditions of life, must ask for the 
7s. 6d., 10s. 6d., and 21s. sorts, and take none from my 
list except Argus, V Unique, and Anna Carolina, the 
finest blue, the strangest colour, and the best yellow. 
But every one I have named, and hundreds besides, can 
now be seen at this early Exhibition, by Mr. Cutbush, of 
Highgate, to which the “ Favourite ” omnibuses go from 
all parts of London ; and from the Houses of Parliament 
members could, each, ride to Highgate, for the small 
price of one penny per mile, and that distance is six 
miles. 
Early Tulips. —The early Tulips in great numbers for 
setting off the Exhibition, are of the very best kinds for 
early forcing. The best of them were— Cottage Maid, 
as gay as could be, rosy pink, and a clear healthy white 
skin in stripes ; Bruid Van Haarlem, white and red 
striped ; Scarlet Due Van Thol, and Vermilion Brilliant, 
these the crack ones. The following very good—the 
three Pottebakkers, yellow, white, and striped, and the 
yellow and white Due Van Thols. 
Then there were whole rows of Polyanthus Nar¬ 
cissus, of which Soleil d’Or, Grand Mbnarque, and 
Double Boman, are the three best known, and most 
generally forced, the earliest; but the old Bazelman 
major was here the best of all the whites, and Soleil 
d’ Or the best of the yellow ones. 
Then there was a front row all round one side of 
Crocuses in yellow and white kinds alternately, and on the 
opposite side an entire edging of upright Mignonette in 
pots ; and on the middle or centre stages w ere forced 
Geraniums, as Crimson King, Blanche Fleur, and Alba 
multiflora, six pots of each of these two were put into 
the stove on the 1st of December, and Blanche was in 
first, and on the 13th of February, the other a few days 
later. 
Old gardeners know, or knew, five-and-twenty years 
back that Alba multflora might be plunged in the front 
row of a Pine-pit in October, November, or December, 
and would stand Pine Apple top and bottom heat the 
whole winter without looking any more drawn than if it 
were in a common greenhouse ; and Blanche Fleur seems 
as if on purpose to have been made for growing in winter, 
like many bulbs—say from the end of September to the 
end of May, and to rest all summer ; that is exactly its 
nature as proved in the Experimental Garden. 
I saw 7 there, for the first time, evidence establishing a 
new fact, that certain of the fancy strain of Geraniums 
are capable of being so managed as to bring them in as 
early forcers on equal terms with Alba mult flora, Blanche 
