VI. 



THE HYACINTH, SCILLA, URGINEA, MYOGALUM, NAR- 

 CISSUS. 



THE HYACINTH. 



HE many hundred varieties of hyacinth 

 known to our gardens have all descended 

 from one species, H. orientalis ; which 

 is found wild in Asia, near Aleppo and 

 Bagdad. 



In its wild state, it is generally blue, 

 sometimes pink, and, of course, single. It 

 is mentioned by Gerard, and must have 

 been introduced before 1596. Till the 

 beginning of the present century, though there were many 

 double varieties, the only colors known were white, blue, 

 and pink : the straw or lemon colored varieties were then 

 produced from seed ; and, at the present day, there is 

 scarcely any shade of any color which has not been pro- 

 duced in the hyacinth. 



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