Chap. X. FLOWERS. 371 



" times indulge herself with a leap, but as a rule her march is slow and 

 " gradual." He adds that the cultivator should have " in his mind an 

 " ideal of beauty, for the realisation of which he works j with head and 

 w hand." We thus see how clearly Mr. Paul, an eminently successful 

 cultivator of this flower, appreciates the action of methodical selection. 



In a curious and apparently trustworthy treatise, published at Amster- 

 dam 196 in 1763, it is stated that nearly 2000 sorts were then known; but 

 in 1864 Mr. Paul found only 700 in the largest garden at Haarlem. In this 

 treatise it is said that not an instance is known of any one variety repro- 

 ducing itself truly by seed: the white kinds, however, now 197 almost 

 always yield white hyacinths, and the yellow kinds come nearly true. 

 The hyacinth is remarkable from having given rise to varieties with bright 

 blue, pink, and distinctly yellow flowers. These three primary colours do 

 not occur in the varieties of any other species ; nor do they often all occur 

 even in the distinct species of the same genus. Although the several kinds 

 of hyacinths differ but slightly from each other except in colour, yet each 

 kind has its own individual character, which can be recognised by a highly 

 educated eye ; thus the writer of the Amsterdam treatise asserts (p. 43) 

 that some experienced florists, such as the famous G. Voorholm, seldom 

 failed in a collection of above twelve hundred sorts to recognise each variety 

 by the bulb alone ! This same writer mentions some few singular varia- 

 tions : for instance, the hyacinth commonly produces six leaves, but there 

 is one kind (p. 35) which scarcely ever has more than three leaves ; an- 

 other never more than five ; whilst others regularly produce either seven 

 or eight leaves. A variety, called la Coriphee, invariably produces (p. 116) 

 two flower-stems, united together and covered by one skin. The flower- 

 stem in another kind (p. 128) comes out of the ground in a coloured sheath, 

 before the appearance of the leaves, and is consequently liable to suffer 

 from frost. Another variety always pushes a second flower-stem after the 

 first has begun to develop itself. Lastly, white hyacinths with red, purple, 

 or violet centres (p. 129) are the most liable to rot. Thus, the hyacinth, 

 like so many previous plants, when long cultivated and closely watched, is 

 found to offer many singular variations. 



In the two last chapters I have given in some detail the range 

 of variation, and the history, as far as known, of a considerable 

 number of plants, which have been cultivated for various pur- 

 poses. But some of the most variable plants, such as Kidney- 

 beans, Capsicum, Millets, Sorghum, &c, have been passed over ; 

 ill 60 "* for botanists are not agreed which kinds ought to rank as 



species and which as varieties; and the wild parent-species 

 .^ are unknown. 198 Many plants long cultivated in tropical 



j i m ' Des Jacinthes, de leur Anatomie, Bot.,' p. 1082. 



^atf Reproduction, et Culture,' Amsterdam, 198 Alph. de Candolle, 'Geograph. 



1768. Bot.,' p. 983. 

 197 Alph. de Candolle, ' Geograph. 



2 b 2 



