781 



HYACINTH. 



HYDATIDS. 



761 ' 



guide, the more nearly we approach the Dutch method of cultivation, 

 the more likely we are to be successful. According to Mr. Herbert, 

 the compost used at Haarlem is rotton cow-dung, rotten leaves, and 

 fine sand. In making this compost the Dutch gardeners prefer the 

 softer leaves of elm, lime, and birch, and reject those of oak, chesnut, 

 walnut, beech, plane, Ac., which do not rot so quickly. The cow-dung 

 which they use is also of a peculiar quality, being collected in the 

 winter when the cattle are stall-fed upon dry food, without any mixture 

 of straw or other litter. The sand is procured in the neighbourhood 

 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 overwhelmed by the sea. Having all these substances in a 

 proper state, they are prepared in the following manner : First, a 

 layer of sand is placed, then one of dung, and then one of rotten leaves, 

 each being eight or ten inches thick. These layers are repeated till 

 the heap is six or seven 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 for six months or more it is 

 mixed, and thrown up afresh, in which state it remains some weeks, to 

 settle, before it is carried into the flower beds. (' Hort. Trans.,' vol. iv., 

 p. 163.) 



The bed into which this compost is to be put must be taken out to 

 the depth of three feet, its bottom made firm, and a few stones thrown 

 into it iu order to keep it dry. It must then be raised considerably 

 above the level of the surrounding soil with the compost already pre- 

 pared. The best season for planting is from October to the beginning 

 of November, and the early sorts planted at this time will begin to 

 show their flowers in the beginning of April. 



Hyacinths are sometimes planted in rows or patches, but the most 

 common and best way is to plant them in beds, because a greater mass 

 of bloom is presented at once to the eye, and because it is easier to 

 protect and shade them in this way. In planting them in beds a great 

 part of the effect is produced by a judicious arrangement. The differ- 

 ent colours are either blended together in the bed, or collected into 

 masses. A mass of one colour is more pleasing to the eye than a 

 mixture of several, and therefore each tint should be planted by itself 

 in the bed ; or if there are more beds than one, the first may be 

 planted with white, the second with blue, the third with red varieties, 

 and so on. The distance between each plant should be eight or nine 

 inches. 



As hyacinths are planted in autumn, and bloom early in the season, 

 they never require any water. Against sharp frosts protection should 

 be afforded by a covering of fern or leaves. In the spring the soil 

 should be stirred lightly without damaging the bulbs ; and a covering 

 of matting supported on arched sticks should be used to protect them 

 on frosty nights, which frequently occur. The bulbs will generally 

 commence flowering in April and continue through May. As soon as 

 the flowering is over, the more dry the ground can be kept, the better 

 it is for the bulbs. When the leaves turn yellow and are withered, 

 which will take place in about a month after the plants have gone out 

 of flower, the bulbs must be carefully taken up and dried. The prac- 

 tice at Haarlem is this. " The leaves should be cut off, and each bulb 

 laid on its side, covering it lightly with the compost, about two inches 

 thick : in this state it should be left about a month, and then taken 

 up in dry weather and exposed to the open air for some hours, but not 

 to a powerful sun, which would be very injurious to it; it should after 

 this be carefully examined, and all the decayed parts removed ; after- 

 wards it should be laid up in an airy storeroom." (Herbert, ' Hort. 

 Trana.') Florists who have a valuable bed of hyacinths generally use 

 an awning of some kind, to shade them from a bright sun, and protect 

 them from heavy rains. This shade, of whatever material it is made, 

 should be so constructed as to move up and down in favourable 

 weather ; in bright sunshine the bed may be exposed from four o'clock 

 in the afternoon, or for a few hours in the morning. If the bed is 

 not shaded, the colours very soon spoil, and will not bear a close 

 examination. 



Forcing of hyacinths is carried to a considerable extent, both in Eng- 

 land and also on the Continent. When they are bloomed in this way, 

 they are either used as ornaments to the greenhouse, or placed in the 

 lobby or drawing-room, where the sweetness of their perfume renders 

 them general favourites. The method of forcing them is the follow- 

 ing : Good Dutch bulbs, which are annually imported, are selected 

 for this purpose. To save trouble, all which are intended to be forced 

 may be potted at the same time, and placed in a cool greenhouse or 

 frame ; then as many as are intended to bloom at once must be placed 

 in a gentle heat ; when their flower-stems appear, others can be brought 

 in which will succeed them, and by going on in this way a regular 

 succession will be kept up. The pots into which they are put need 

 not be large, but should be rather deep. The soil used for potting 

 uaty either be the same as is recommended above, or a good loam 

 will answer equally well. In (potting, the bulbs must not be firmly 

 pressed into the soil, but lie rather loose, and be only about half 

 covered with it. 



Hyacinths are frequently grown and flowered in water-glasseg ; for 

 this purpose they are placed over water in October and November, and 

 they flower in February. Sometimes before they are put into the 

 glasses they are planted in pots, and when the roots have grown a little 

 they are taken up and washed, and placed in the glasses, or they are 



placed in the glasses at first. The water must be frequently renewed, 

 or it will soon become fetid and offensive. . By far the most curious 

 system of treating forced hyacinths is to invert them in large glass jars 

 filled with water. This must be done when the flowers are nearly 

 expanded ; and by placing one above the glass, of the same size and 

 colour with the inverted one, the latter presents an appearance of 

 being the reflection of the former. The flowers retain their freshness 

 much longer in the water than when exposed in the common way ; but 

 this circumstance, and the curious appearance presented, is all which 

 can recommend the system ; of course the fragrance of the hyacinth is 

 in this way entirely lost. The principal difficulty that is experienced 

 by those who force hyacinths in water in sitting rooms is to prevent 

 their growing long, weak, and pale, so as to flower badly, and be in 

 constant danger of upsetting. This is remedied by keeping them close 

 to a window, where they can be constantly exposed to bright light all 

 day long. It may also be added, that in order to secure their pushing 

 out their roots before the leaves lengthen, they should always be kept 

 in the dark for a fortnight or three weeks after they are first placed in 

 the water-glasses, care being taken at that time that the water and 

 the bulbs are not in contact. The moisture that rises into the air 

 will be sufficient to induce the bulbs to put forth roots ; and the 

 total absence of light will prevent the leaves from being stimulated 

 into growth. 



Varieties are obtained from seed, and particular kinds are propagated 

 by offsets. With the greatest care in gathering the seed, it is very 

 uncertain whether or not the young plants raised from it will turn out 

 well ; however, the best sorts to gather seed from are those with strong 

 upright stems, semi-double flowers, and brilliant and distinct colours. 

 The seed must be well ripened, and then sown in good sandy soil, 

 rather lighter than what is recommended for hyacinth compost. The 

 young plants so obtained must not be disturbed or taken up until the 

 end of the second, or, if they are weak, the third year; all that they 

 require during that period is a little top dressing. They may then be 

 taken up and planted in the bed, where they will require the same 

 treatment as old roots ; they will flower in the third spring, but it 

 is better to destroy all the flowers of the first season, in order to 

 strengthen the bulbs. 



HYADES. [TAURUS.] 



HYDANTOIC ACID (C.H.N.O, ?). An acid product of the action 

 of concentrated caustic potash upon allantoin. Its existence can 

 scarcely be said to be established. 



HYDA'TIDS (uSorij, a vesicle, from uSup, water). This name has 

 been applied to various cyst-like productions, which are sometimes 

 found in the bodies of men and animals. 



The term hydatid is of the most indefinite application, for under 

 this common denomination are included objects of the most dissimilar 

 nature. In the first place, the term comprehends several species of 

 entozoa, or parasitic animals, which have a distinct independent 

 vitality ; secondly, the simple unattached cysts which are frequently 

 met with ; and lastly, what have been called false hydatids, which are 

 vesicM)ar bodies, either entirely or partially connected with the tissues 

 by^u'ch they are surrounded. 



Hartmann in 1686 (' Ephem. Nat. Curios.,' Ann. iv. dec. 2, obs. 73), 

 and Tyson in 1691 (' Philos. Trans.,' No. 193), first clearly observed 

 that many of the bodies, or cyst-like tumours, called hydatids, were 

 distinct living beings, or parasitic animals. They arrived at this con- 

 clusion from observing that they had no connection with the organs in 

 which they were found, that some of them distinctly moved when 

 placed in warm water, and were also furnished with projecting pro- 

 cesses or heads, having an orifice or mouth at their extremity. 

 Morgagni and others have thought that some of the ancient medical 

 writers, particularly Arefceus and Galen, were acquainted with the true 

 nature of these bodies ; but nothing of the kind is clearly stated in 

 then- writings, though they often mention the occurrence of hydatids. 



The discovery of Hartmann and Tyson was taken little notice of 

 before the time of Linnaeus and Pallas, who pursued the investigation; 

 since which time these beings have occupied the attention of many 

 iMtur.ili.-ts, among whom may be mentioned Hunter, Miiller, Goeze, 

 Cuvier, Laennec, and Rudolphi, who have all admitted the animal 

 existence of the greater part, if not the whole of them. Pallas arranged 

 all the cystic entozoa, except the common globular hydatid, or 

 acephalocyst (which was only considered as a simple serous cyst before 

 the time of Laennec), under the genus " Tsenia," on account of the 

 similarity of structure between their mouths and those of the tape- 

 worm. In this classification he was followed by Goeze. Although 

 these views were not generally adopted, it has been recently established 

 by Kuchenmeister Von Liebold and others that the various forms of 

 cystic worms are but larval stages of Tsenia. [ENTOZOA, NAT. HIST. 

 Drv.] 



Hydatids are found principally in the bodies of mammalia ; rarely 

 in those of the lower order of animal*. They may occur in any part 

 of the body, but are very seldom seen in the mucous cavities and 

 passages, except when they have been discharged into them by the 

 rupture of their containing cyst. This external sac, by which they are 

 mostly surrounded, is generally attached to the tissue of the organ in 

 which it is seated ; it is frequently common to many hydatids, but 

 each individual may have a distinct envelope, in the interior of which 

 it floats, and to which it never contracts any adhesion. The fluid 



