66 



THE YOUNG FLORIST. 



that time the taste for this and other bulbous 

 roots has declined, and at this time the highest 

 price in the Dutch catalogue is sixty guilders or 

 about twentyfive dollars. The common price 

 for a mixture of good sorts is from twentyfive 

 cents to one dollar a root, and multitudes of 

 the poorer sorts are annually sold at auction for 

 a trifle. 



M. I am astonished at your account of 

 the Hyacinth, its numerous varieties, and value. 

 It does not seem possible to me. that any per- 

 son could be so foolish as to give such an enor- 

 mous price for a single root, beautiful and 

 fragrant as it is. How long has this superb 

 flower been cultivated ? 



H. It is not certainly known : but it is sup- 

 posed to have been introduced by the Dutch in 

 the beginning of the sixteenth century, soon 

 after the revival of commerce in the west of 

 Europe, when the merchants of Holland traded 



