THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
141 
Hyacinths in Glasses 
are an elegant and appropriate ornament to the draw¬ 
ing-room, and for this purpose occasion little trouble. 
The bulbs should be large and sound, and should be 
placed in the glasses as early in the season as possible; 
do not let the water cover more than the base of the 
bulb; keep them in the dark until their roots reach 
nearly or quite to the bottom of the glasses, after 
which the lightest position possible, avoiding the direct 
rays of the sun, should be given them. The water in 
which they grow should be changed two or three times 
a week; and in severe weather the plants must be re¬ 
moved from the window to be secure against frost. 
The Tulip 
needs no description at our hands, having long held a 
prominent position in the flower-gardens. The best soil 
for the culture of the Tulip is a rich, rather light loam. 
A bed of sufficient size for planting the bulbs should be 
dug at least twelve inches deep, and good drainage 
secured. The Tulip should then be planted six inches 
apart each way ; pressed deep enougli to keep them in 
their places, and covered with mould to the depth of 
three inches on the sides of the beds, and five inches in 
the center. Tliis precaution is necessary, that water 
may not stand on the bed during winter. When the 
bed is planted and covered, it may be left to the weather 
until the Tulips come up, on or about the first of March. 
A slight protection of litter is then required, as the 
frost has a tendency to check the bloom. Our chmate 
is so variable—cold at night and hot at mid-day—that it 
will well repay the cost to cover at night, and remove 
in the morning. Leaving them covered during the day 
has a tendency to draw them up and otherwise weaken 
them. When the flowers appear, if they are protected 
from the sun by a light canvas, the period of bloom may 
be kept up three or f our weeks. The colors are generally 
better if not shaded, at all, but in that case the bloom 
would soon be over. Sometimes a single day’s hot sun 
will completely spoil them. When the flowers begin to 
fade they should be cut away, and removed from the 
bed; this precaution is vital to the bulb. 
The Selection 
of Tulips must depend altogether upon the taste of the 
grower. For our own grounds, we plant in about equal 
quantities mixtures of single early Parrot, and single 
late Bybloemens, Poses, and Bezarres, always avoiding 
the double varieties. Tulips can remain some years 
without disturbing, and after flowering, the beds can 
be raked off and annuals sown, or bedding plants put 
in, which will keep in flower the entire summer. Once 
in three years the bulbs had better be taken up soon 
after flowering, and stored in some dry, cool room un¬ 
til after the frost has killed the summer-flowering plants, 
the places of winch the Tulips are to occupy. 
Crown Imperials and Narcissus 
require the same treatment as is to be given the Tulip; 
and they well repay all the care that is given them. The 
Narcissus makes a beautiful border plant, and does 
much better if not disturbed for many yearn after plant¬ 
ing. It makes an excellent edging to a bed of Gera¬ 
niums, Petunias, or in fact any plant that is grown in 
masses; as its leaves can be cut away soon after flower¬ 
ing, it does not mar the beauty of the summer-flower¬ 
ing plants. 
LILIUM CANDIDUM. 
We have from time to time been asked more questions 
in regard to this lily, and listened to more complaints 
because of its failure to grow well and flower freely, 
than about all other lilies combined. Why? Because it 
is the most beautiful of the family, in the first place, 
consequently the most sought after: and lastly, because 
of the want of knowledge as to its habits, it rarely suc¬ 
ceeds when planted. But a short time since, an es¬ 
teemed friend asked us, in the most tearful manner, 
“ how to make the old white lily (Lilium Candidum) of 
the garden grow,” and that she had planted every 
Spring for the last five years, and as yet she had not 
been rewarded with a single flower. We said to her, as 
we now say to all our readers, if you want that lily, you 
must not plant it in the Spring. The proper time is 
note, while the bulb is at rest, and the longer you delay, 
the more likely will be your chances for failure. Tliis 
lily should be planted in good, rich ground, from the 
middle of August to the middle of September. There 
is no lily less particular about soil or situation than this; 
wherever any common garden vegetable will grow, it 
•will grow and succeed finely. A situation partially 
shaded from the mid-day sun, will secure a longer con- 
People, like plants, grow pale and puny if the sun is 
shut out. Good health is the sunshine of the body; a 
cheery disposition is the sunshine of the soul. 
The out-door sunshine gives us health, not only for 
tinuance of bloom, and the flowers will be larger and of 
greater substance. 
The Lilium Candidum is nearly an evergreen bulb, 
and conunences a growth early in September, and upon ' 
which in a great pleasure depends its flowering the 
coming season. If the situation is favorable, and the 
bulb is strong and healthy, when planted, it will, before 
the ground is hard frozen, make a vigorous growth, and 
its flowers the coming season will be proportionately 
numerous and strong. For this reason, if kept out of 
ground during the winter, as is usually the case for 
purpose of sale, the bulb exhausts itself in its efforts for 
reproduction, which it will always, under any and 
all circumstances, make. Whether in a suitable bed 
prepared for it or on the seedsman’s shelf, it will make 
its growth, and if in the latter place, it ■will become so 
weakened from want of nourishment, that it will never 
recover. To get flowers next season, order your bulbs at 
once, and plant soon as received. About the first of 
December throw over the bed a few evergreen branches, 
or any brush that will collect the falling leaves that are 
drifted by the wind, which will make for the plants an 
excellent and much-needed mulching. 
the pure air we breathe, but the sunlight itself contains 
certain elements which impart life and strength and 
health to the blood. 
