836 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
the largest, best formed and well-defined colors, together 
with foliage of the most positive markings, the im¬ 
provement in this flower has been simply wonderful. 
Our illustration of the variety known as Cyclamen per- 
sicum giganteum, is an enlarged and greatly improved 
type of the Persian Cyclamen. It is in all respects true 
to life, showing plainly what can be effected by persist¬ 
ent and well-directed labor iu the development of plants. 
The propagation and culture of the Cyclamen is very 
simple. The only method of propagation, that can be 
termed successful, is from seed, which should be sown 
as soon as ripe, which is in January or February, in 
gentle heat, in pans filled with a compost of well-rotted 
manure, leaf-mould and coarse sand thoroughly in¬ 
corporated. The seed will soon germinate, and as soon 
as the plants have made two leaves, prick out into 
thumb-pots filled with the same compost, and place 
upon the shelf iu the green-house, near the glass, and 
shade from direct sunlight. Great care should be exer¬ 
cised in watering; to dry them or drown them is equally 
fatal. As soon as the pots are filled with roots, shift into 
three-inch pots, observing the same instructions in all 
respects. By the first of November they will require a 
five-inch pot. With proper care and attention, they 
will be iu fiower iu January following planting. They 
require a more even temperature than is usually given 
green-house plants, not,above 00° nor below 50°; with 
it, bulbs two inches in diameter can be grown iu one 
year. After flowering they should bo gradually ripened 
off. but never allowed to become thoroughly dry. Dur¬ 
ing summer keep them in a frame, shaded, and occa¬ 
sionally give them a little water. They should bo re¬ 
potted again in October without breaking the ball, and 
the next flowering will be their perfection of bloom. 
The conns (bulbs) will continue to increase iu size for a 
number of years longer, and the number of flowers from 
a single plant is simply enormous, though they are 
never so large as those of the second year's flowering. 
FLOWERS FROM HEAVEN. 
,The late Governor Jewell made provision that fresh flowers be sent to his youngest daughter, in her 
western home, every Saturday, as long as she lives.) 
Emblems of a father's love, 
• From the heart's soil springing, 
Like the olive-bearing dove, 
Hope and comfort bringing, 
Messengers from Heaven sent, 
Buds, blossoms, leaflets vernal, 
On a beauteous mission bent. 
Telling—“ Love’s eternal .” 
They will still in value grow, 
Death's gift to the living. 
While the swift years come and go, 
Richer fragrance giving. 
Mingling with the joys of life, 
Yielding a completeness. 
And the soul with rapture rife, 
Gathers all Its sweetness. 
Or. if sorrow casts its shade, 
Like a voice caressing 
Pretty flow’rets as they fade, 
Then will breathe a blessing, 
Whispering, “My child, I know 
All thy earthly anguish, 
But be brave ! God wills it so, 
Else thou wouldst not languish.” 
And when Death at last draws near, 
Still the blossoms singing, 
Drive away each grief and fear, 
And the freed soul winging 
Then its happy upward flight, 
To the Heavenly bowers. 
Sees with wond’rous two-fold sight, 
A fathers face and floicers. 
— Mrs. Findley Braden in “Courant. 
HYACINTHS IN GLASSES. 
The following rules, given by Wm. Paul, Esq., of 
London, will, if followed out, enable anyone to grow 
Hyacinths successfully in glasses, which are exceedingly 
elegant and appropriate ornaments for the living-room: 
1. If you choose your own bulbs, look for weight as well 
as size; be sure also that the base of the bulb is sound. 
2. Use the single kinds only, because they are earlier, 
hardier, and generally preferable for glasses. 
3. Set the bulb in the glass so that the lower end is 
almost, but not quite, in contact with the water. 
4. Use rain or pond-water. 
5. Do not change the water, but keep a small lump of 
charcoal at the bottom of the glass. 
6. Fill up the glasses with water as the level sinks by 
the feeding of the roots and by evaporation. 
7. When the bulb is placed, put the glass in a cool, dark 
cupboard, or in any place where light is excluded, 
there to remain for about six weeks, as the roots 
feed more freely in the dark. 
8. When the roots are freely developed, and the flower- 
spike is pushing into life (which will be in about 
six weeks), remove by degrees to full light and air. 
9. The more light and air given from the time the 
flowers show colors, the shorter will be the leaves 
and spike, and" the brighter the colors of the 
flowers. 
•Jkj. 
