HYACINTHUS ORIENTALIS. THE ORIENTAL HYACINTH. 
Class VI. HEXANDRIA. Order I. MONOGYNIA. 
Natural Order. ASPHODELE.E. THE ASPHODEL TRIBE. 
Hyacinthus was the name applied by the ancient Greeks to the flower which sprang from the blood of 
the beloved of Apollo, when slain by his rival Zephyrus. It may be derived either from ia, a violet, or ai, 
an interjection of grief, and Cynthus, a cognomen of Apollo. Hyacinthus is a genus long celebrated, not only 
for the beautiful fable whence its name has been fancifully derived, but also for the immense number of va- 
rieties which culture has produced. The Hyacinthus orientalis of botanists, a favourite flower in gardens, a 
bulbous plant, found wild on the mountains of Persia, and remarkable both for its fragrance and the facility 
with which it varies in the colour, size, and construction of its flowers when raised from seed. 
Few spring flowers are more worthy of cultivation than the hyacinth, whether we regard its varied 
shades of rich colour, or the sweetness of its perfume. The Dutch gardeners have been celebrated for the 
high state of perfection to which they grow it, and for the monopoly they have secured in the sale of the 
bulbs, which have even acquired in the shops the familiar name of Dutch roots. The soil and climate of 
Holland seem to be peculiarly adapted to the plant, for however well imported roots may flower in England 
for the first season, they soon degenerate and become worthless. It is however probable that this arises 
from want of skill in our cultivation, rather than from anything unfavourable in our climate: for some 
gardeners have been successful in growing the same roots for several years in succession. Mr. Herbert says, 
“ I produced for several years successively, at my villa in Surrey, where I had the advantage of the vicinity 
of the fine sand of Shirley Common, hyacinth flowers fully equal, if not superior, to those obtained from the 
best Dutch bulbs.” As experience is in all respects the surest guide, the more nearly we approach the 
Dutch method of cultivation, the more likely we are to be successful. According to Mr. Herbert, the com- 
post used at Haarlem is rotten 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, &c., 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.) 
As hyacinths are planted in Autumn, and bloom early in the season, they never require any water, and 
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 practice 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; afterwards it should be laid up in an airy store- 
