HYACINTH, 139 
but little known; Gerard, in his ‘*Herbal,” 1596, 
speaks of it as of a well-known flower, without saying 
when it was introduced, and he describes and figures 
several double varieties of the original species, which he 
says, simply, was brought from the Hast. The varieties 
HOUSE BLOOMING HYACINTHS. 
then known were blue, white or pink, which were the 
only colors known in the Hyacinth until about the com- 
mencement of the present century, when a few pale yel- 
low, or, rather, lemon-colored kinds were raised from 
seed. From these, by careful selection and cross-fertili- 
zation, great improvement in color, as well as form, has 
been made. 
