Having bad some experience in the treatment of this bulb, and a good knowledge of the Dutch system of culture, I forward you a few hasty remarks. The mode in nse in Holland has been pretty clearly laid down in a work by St. Simon, published at Amsterdam some years ago, in which everything that can be, and a great deal more than need be, said on the subject is contained; it is now a scarce work, and may not be accessible to many who would otherwise be glad to consult it.

The compost used at Haarlem is rotten cow-dung, decomposed leaves, and fine sand. In making this compost, the Dutch gardeners prefer the softer leaves of elm, lime, and birch, rejecting those of oak, ash, chestnut, or beech, which do, not rot so quickly. The cow-dung is from stall-fed cattle, without any mixture of straw or other litter. The sand is procured in the neighborhood of Haarlem, where the soil is a deposit of sea-sand upon a compact layer of hard undecayed timber, the remains of an ancient forest which has been submerged by the sea. The best sand is that procured by digging some depth. St. Simon imagines this sand possesses some peculiar virtue by the admixture of salt, and in this he is.probably correct. The leaves are laid in a large heap, in a situation not much exposed to the sun, and not liable to stagnation of water, which is carefully drained from them. When fit for use, the compost is made thus: first they place a layer of sand, next dung, and then leaves, each stratum about eight inches thick, and they are repeated until the heap is about six feet high, a layer of dung being uppermost, sprinkled over with a little sand, to prevent the too powerful action of the sun upon it.

After the heap has lain about six months it is mixed, and thrown up afresh, in which state it remains some weeks, to settle, before it is carried to the beds. This compost retains its qualities about six or seven years; but the Dutch avoid setting Hyacinths in it two years successively; in the alternate years they plant Tulips, Jonquils, Narcissuses, Crocuses, Fritillarias, Irises, etc., in the same beds; neither do they plant Hyacinths in the compost the first season, when the fresh manure might be injurious to them. The choice bulbs are taken up every year, and the soil that lay amongst the fibres is then carefully brought up to the surface. The beds should be deep enough to prevent the fibres coming near the subsoil. I believe that English sea-sand will suit the Hyacinth as well as that of Haarlem, and that old tan, if thoroughly decayed and pulverized, may be used instead of leaves, and I know some Dutch gardeners who use it themselves. The cow-dung should be as free from straw as possible, and without the admixture of any other kind, and completely decayed before it is used.

The mischief occasioned by the fermentation of half-rotten straw, and the too great heat of horse-dung, etc, is a contagious decay amongst the bulbs, which will spread throughout the bed.

The beds should be made about three feet in depth with the compost, consisting of about one-sixth of rotten leaves or tan, two-sixths of pure sand, and three-sixths of rotten cow-dung. The compost should not be trodden down hard; but, the bed being opened, the bulbs may be ranged, and then carefully covered from three to five inches deep, but not pressed into the compost. If the situation be wet in winter, the beds may be raised six inches, or even more, above the level of the soil, to prevent the evil effects of moisture. The Dutch cover their beds with dung or tan in winter, which they pat on or take off according to the state of the weather. The compost requires no additional manure till the expiration of aboot six years, when it should be mixed with fresh sand and dung, as before. When the Hyacinth leaves begin to wither, the bulbs should be taken up, the leaves cat off, and the bulb laid on its side, covering it lightly with the compost, about two inches thick; in this state they should remain about a month, then taken up in dry weather, and exposed to the open air some hours, bat not to a powerful son. They should afterwards be carefully examined, and all the decayed parts removed by a knife.

The bulbs should be placed in the store-room, which ought to be airy, about the end of June; they must not be suffered to touch each other, and should be frequently examined, in order to remove those which may show fresh symptoms of decay. They will require keeping in a dry, cool, airy room; if damp westerly winds prevail, the ventilators should be kept closed. Before they are replanted in autumn, they should again be carefully examined, and all decayed parts and withered coats removed.

My experience prompts me to say that those who will take the trouble of following these hints may produce Hyacinth bulbs equal to those imported from Holland.