294 
THE LADIES* FLORAL CABINET. 
•of bulbs under consideration possess one important 
•character—which is nearly universal amongst bulbs— 
namely, that during winter and spring they are in 
-active growth, and during summer and autumn they are 
in a dormant condition. These bulbs are usually con¬ 
sidered hardy, from the fact of their being able to with¬ 
stand any amount of freezing without apparent injury. 
While such is the case, they should all be protected by 
mulching sufficient to keep them from frost, in order 
that they may make their growth at the appointed time, 
which they cannot do if the ground is hard frozen, in 
fact, if frozen at all. 
We fiud the best plan with Hyacinth and Tulips is to 
plant fully six inches deep, and not disturb them for 
two or three years, and as soon as the weather in spring 
is suitable for putting out bedding plants, or annuals, 
to fill the beds with whatever is most desirable. Pe¬ 
tunias cover up the dying forms of the Hyacinths and 
'Tulips in a short time, and make a desirable mulch 
for the bulbs during summer. This is a better plan 
than the usual practice of lifting the bulbs annually 
as soon as the foliage begins to fade, and storing them 
away until autumn, as it not only saves labor, but 
room, for most spring flowering bulbs are not sufficiently 
ripe to take up as soon as the beds are required for other 
plants. 
Crocuses look best when used as border plants, and 
for this purpose they should bo planted not more than 
three inches apart in the rows, and three rows for a 
border. Colors wo prefer being white for the outer row, 
yellow for the middle, and striped white and purple for 
the inner row; these can remain a number of years in 
the ground without being disturbed. A few Crocus 
should be planted in some warm cozy corner near tho 
house, where, if out of reach of cold winds, they will 
come into flower early in Starch, and nothing gives us 
more pleasure than when, in tho early spring, we catch 
sight of the first Crocus bloom in the garden; it is a liv¬ 
ing witness to the truth that spring has come, and 
though winter may make us a few more visits, the Cro¬ 
cus softens its chill. So with the Snowdrop, which 
usually flower's first; it is a fit companion for the Cro¬ 
cus. With the two should be planted a few bulbs of the 
Scilla Siberica, which flowers quite as early as the others, 
and its beautiful intense blue flowers, contrast richly 
with the Crocus and Snowdrop. 
We must close this article with a plea for the Crown 
Imperial. This is a very effective and stately spring¬ 
flowering plant. It usually attains a height of two or 
three feet; bearing its clusters of bell-sliaped yellow or 
red flowers with tufts of fresh green leaves on the tops 
of its stalks. It succeeds well in ordinary garden soil, 
and comes iuto flower just before the Hyacinth and 
Tulip. 
THE DAHLIA. 
The rage for novelties and flowers is, at the present time, 
in the direction of single Dahlia, which is certainly an in¬ 
dication of good taste. But few plants ha ve had so many 
enthusiastic admirers of its various forms, as the Da h l i a. 
As a florist’s flower, it has received all the attention the 
hybridiser could bestow on any plant, and as many 
varieties have been sent out under name as there has 
been of any other flower. In the history of plants, we 
have no record of any that changed so quickly from the 
single to the double form, neither is there one that will 
return to its original form in so short a time as the 
Dahlia, under certain conditions of growth. The best 
of our, double varieties, sent from here to tropical 
countries will return to its single form the second year. 
The history of the Dahlia is so interesting, that we give 
the following, written by Robert Hogg, Esq., London: 
“For ages before even the New World itself was dis¬ 
covered, there existed on the mountain plains of Mexico, 
a wild, neglected weed, called by the natives Acocotli. 
There, in its native prairies, it performed its part in the 
great chain of creation, year by year blooming and 
fading, and dying, but it attracted no interest, excited 
no admiration, and imparted no pleasure, unless, per¬ 
haps. its large fleshy tubercles furnished at some period 
a rude meal to the wild and barbarous Toltecans. In 
course of time the Spaniards occupied Mexico; a new 
field was opened up for conquest and for science, and 
accordingly, we find that every facility was afforded for 
investigating the natural production of the newly- 
acquired territory. Of these, the vegetable kingdom 
furnished numerous and interesting examples. 
“The first naturalist who was sent to explore the hith¬ 
erto unknown treasures of the New World, was Fran- 
ciscus Hernandez, physician to Philip the Second, of 
Spain, under whose patronage and at a great cost the 
mission was undertaken. In such a country, where 
no botanist had ever trodden, the success which attended 
his labors was of course very great. So extensive 
were his discoveries, and so new and varied were the 
forms of a nima l and vegetable existence which he de¬ 
scribed, the scientific men of that age regarded his 
statements with suspicion, and in some instances did 
not fail to express their incredulity in what they sup¬ 
posed to be the traveler’s fabulous assertions. Notwith¬ 
standing however the opinions which at the time were 
current, it was found tllht in every particular he was 
correct in what he had stated. Hernandez did not live 
to superintend the publication of his discoveries, but 
after his death they were collected into one large folio 
volume, profusely illustrated with wood-cuts, and en¬ 
titled ‘Resum Medicanum Novae Hispaniae Thesanius.’ 
In this work the Acocotli is figured in three different 
forms, and described at considerable length. It is 
stated to be an herb, bearing leaves similar to those of 
the Mountain Spikenard, (Valeriana Tuberosa, wild,) 
which are divided into five leaflets, of which some are 
sinnated. The flower stalks, which are nine inches 
long, are slender and smooth, and the flowers pale red 
and stellate. To this is added an account of its medic¬ 
inal virtues, which we suspect are more imaginary than 
real. This, then, for one hundred and fifty years after¬ 
wards was all that was known of this plant. Those 
who believed the report of the traveler knew that such 
a one existed somewhere in the mountains of Quauhna- 
