ON THE CULTURE OF DUTCH BULBS. 
v 
109 
year, before using; it should, moreover, be frequently turned, 
in order to pulverise and sweeten it. It is important that the 
cow-dung should be as pure as possible, without any admixture 
of horse-dung, or litter of any sort, as these are found to be 
favourable to the growth of a sort of fungus, which greatly 
injures and often destroys the bulbs. 
The Tulip.— The tulip is one of the choicest among florists* 
flowers, and its cultivation has accordingly been long an object 
of extraordinary attention. M. Trippet observes that the tulip 
grows naturally on the Savoy mountains, and in the neighbour¬ 
hood of Nice. As observed respecting the hyacinth, the Dutch 
have also been long celebrated for their skill in the cultivation 
of the tulip. This flower is supposed to have reached Europe 
in 1559, and we are informed that it was cultivated in England 
as soon after as 1577, but not with that enthusiasm which 
characterised the cultivators on the Continent. 
Planting the full-grown Bulbs . A good tulip bulb ought to 
be solid, and rather bulging at the lower end and somewhat 
tapering and pointed at the crown, or other extremity, with¬ 
out any mouldiness or soft points, and covered with a brown 
skin : a portion of this brown skin, immediately before planting, 
should be peeled off, so as to leave the crown white and fresh; 
and great care must be taken not to wound or bruise the bulb, 
or the crown, for this will infallibly produce canker, and pro¬ 
bably occasion the rotting away of the whole bulb. 
The aspect most advantageous for flowering is one that is 
open and airy, so that the plants may have the full benefit of 
sunshine during the whole day, in the early stages of their 
growth. At the same time, it ought not to be exposed to the 
north and east -winds, which would tend much to injure the 
leaves in the spring, and would consequently affect the beauty 
of the blooms. 
The bed should be excavated to the depth of two feet; 
then place a stratum of well rotted cow-dung about six inches 
in thickness, and well mix it with the mould below that depth ; 
then fill the bed with compost, prepared in the same manner as 
recommended for the hyacinth: when quite ready for planting, 
strew over the bed, about one inch in thickness of sand, mark 
out the rows about six inches asunder, and then press your 
bulbs lightly in the soil, and around each bulb place a little 
clean sand: after the whole of this task is completed, cover 
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