52 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



white, purple, blue, or pink. We appear to be as much in the 

 dark about the actual colour as about the time of its introduction 

 to Europe. 



Dioscorides tells us that the stems were bending under " the 

 heavy purple flowers," but we are not certain what were the 

 Hyacinths described by Dioscorides. Even if he had the 

 Hyacinthus orientalis in view, the difficulty still remains 

 to decide its colour, as who is to make it out, whether it was 

 purplish-red or purplish-blue. Peter ifondius speaks more 

 decidedly of blue and white Hyacinths ; but as long as we are not 

 certain about the original introduction, the question of colour 

 cannot make much difference ; for if we must accept that the 

 first described plants were hybrids, it is of little importance 

 whether they were blue, red, or white. 



Your countryman the well-known Philip Miller expressed 

 the opinion that Hyacinths could be cultivated just as well in 

 England as in Holland. This opinion found a warm supporter 

 in George Voorhelm, of Haarlem, who states it in his very 

 interesting little book on Hyacinths. In spite, however, of these 

 opinions, Holland, or more properly, Haarlem and its immediate 

 neighbourhood, has become the head-quarters of Hyacinth culture. 

 I do not deny, however, that they can be cultivated very well in 

 England. 



During the great Tulip mania little attention was paid to the 

 Hyacinth. It was only during the middle of the last century 

 that we find attention again being paid to our plant. The 

 Haarlem florists did not, however, neglect their business, and 

 that they had made wonderful progress is shown to us by St. 

 Simon, in his marvellous book on Hyacinths of the year 1768. 

 In this he enumerates about 2,000 varieties. When, again, we 

 look through the little book by George Voorhelm, which appeared 

 in 1752, we find a very large number of single and double 

 varieties described, amongst which there are some very fine 

 double spikes, excelling in form and beauty even many we have 

 now. 



It is very interesting to note that George Voorhelm' s grand- 

 father did not cultivate a single double Hyacinth. He always 

 destroyed all the double ones which appeared amongst his seed- 

 lings even before they had quite opened ; but finding once a 

 double flower, which accidentally had escaped destruction, he per- 



