no fmell; in Parkinfon, who calls it Spani/h dunnc-coloured 
jacinth , as of a purplifh-yellow colour, with fome white 
and green as it were mixed among it. Ray obferves, 
that plants which he railed from feed of the fame root, 
varied in the colour of their flowers, fome being dulky, 
and ethers almoft green. Native of Spain near Aranjuez, 
and of Barbary about Fez and Morocco. Parkinfon fays 
the African plant is in all refpefts greater than the-Spa- 
nifh. With us it flowers in June; and, from its flower¬ 
ing later than the other hyacinths, had the name of fero- 
tinus given it by Clufius. Mr. Miller fays it flowers early 
in the fpring, which mull be a miftake with refpect to 
England ; though, in Spain, Cavanilles affirms that lie 
has found it in ilqwer on the 20th of April. 
4. Hyacinthus viridis, or green hyacinth: the outer- 
moft fegments of the corollas awl-fhaped and very long. 
This is of the fame ftature with the next fpecies, but the 
corolla is green, with the th-ree outer fegments, which are 
placed alternately with the three inner, double their 
length, and ending in a very , narrow point. Native of 
the Cape. 
5. Hyacinthus amethyftinus, or amethyft-coloured hya¬ 
cinth : corollas bell-lhaped, half-fix-cleft, cylindrical at 
the bafe, This has a fmaller flower; the petals are cut 
half their length, and are reflex at the brim ; the lower 
part is cylindrical, a little fwelling at the bafe, and of a 
deeper blue. The root, according to Clufius, is the fize 
of a fmall olive, covered with a brown Ikin. Scape llen- 
der, a long fpan in height, round, fmooth, glaucous, 
having fix or feven flowers at top, (Ray fays, fometimes 
twelve or more,) nodding on pedicels half an inch in 
length ; they are bright blue, fmaller than thofe of the 
firft fort, and without any fcent. Mr. Miller fays, it was 
formerly called Coventry-blue hyacinth by the gardeners. 
Native of Spain, Italy, and Ruflia. Flowering in April 
and May. 
6. Hyacinthus revolutus, or wave-leaved hyacinth: 
corollas bell-lhaped, fix-parted, revolute, leaves oblong, 
waved. This is one of the fpecies found at the Cape of 
Good Hope by Thunberg, with feveral others, of which 
we have no deferiptions. 
7. Hyacinthus orientalis, or garden-hyacinth : corollas 
funnel-form, half-fix-deft, fwelling at the bafe, with 
two fmall braftes under each pedicel. The garden or 
oriental hyacinth has a large coated bulb, vifeid, and of 
a fweetifh tafte, from the bottom of which fpring the 
roots, which are long round fibres, of a middling thick- 
nefs ; from the middle of it a Angle naked Item or fcape; 
and from the top fix, feven, or more, leaves. The leaves 
are broadifh, keeled, pale green at bottom, but of a darker 
green towards the end.. The fcape is a long fpan in 
height, fmooth, roundilh, pale green, below, but tinged 
with brown towards the top ; from the middle of this to 
the top come out the flowers one above another, not 
pointing the fame way, as in the harebell, but Handing 
on different fides of the ftalk ; three, four, or five, to 
twelve or more, in number, each nodding on pedicels 
half an inch in length, ufually of a very dark green co¬ 
lour, and having a pair of fmall braffes at the bafe ; the 
corolla is near an inch in length,almoft cylindrical except 
at the bafe, where it fwells or bellies out, and at the top 
the fegments are turned back a little. Thefe flowers have 
a very l’weet fmell, and are much valued for the variety 
of their colours, as pure white, white tinged with blue, 
all lhades of blue from thefe to the dark violet, and all 
lhades of red purple from the faint blufli to the deep red ; 
they are alfo fometimes yellow. Culture and great atten¬ 
tion have alfo brought the plants to be very ftrong, and the 
flowers to be very large and double. The garden-hya¬ 
cinth is a native of the Levant. It is very abundant 
about Aleppo and Bagdat, where it flowers in February. 
Lepechin found it not only with purple, but witlfiyellow, 
flowers in Ruflia. With us it flowers in March and April; 
and was cultivated by Gerarde in 1596; probably earlier,' 
fince neither he nor Parkinfon fpeak of the hyacinth as 2 
flower then new in cultivation. 
Gerarde figures only two varieties, the blue fingie, and 
what he calls the double, but which is only many-flower¬ 
ed, and alio blue or (ky-coloured ; but he mentions alfo 
the purple and the white. Parkinfon, in 1629, has eight 
varieties. Mr. Miller lays that we formerly had no other 
varieties in the Englifh gardens but the fingie and dou¬ 
ble white and blue flowering; that from the feeds of thefe 
there were a few others railed in England, and alfo by 
the Flemifli gardeners, who came over annually with their 
flower-roots to vend in England ; but that the gardeners 
in Holland have within the laft fifty years raifed fo many 
fine varieties, as to render the former of little or no va¬ 
lue. Double flowers feem not to have been in much 
efteemlong after the hyacinth had attracted the notice of 
the florifts. For though Swertius, in his Florilegium, 
printed in 1620, has figured about forty varieties of this 
flower, yet he has not one that is double. And Peter, 
the grandfather of the prefent George Voorhelm, of Haar¬ 
lem, cultivated the hyacinth a confiderable time before 
he attached .himfelf to double flowers. The beauty of 
this celebrated flower was then luppofed to confift in the 
regularity and equality of the petals, and the uniformity 
of the colours. The double hyacinth was in no more 
efteem then than the double tulip is now ; and Peter 
Voorhelm was accuffomed to throw them out of his col«- 
leftion, till having been ill, and not able to vifit his flow¬ 
ers till they were going off, there remained by accident A 
bulb with double flowers, which fixed his attention, not 
for any fuperior excellence it poflefied, for it was fmall,. 
and of no remarkable beauty, but probably becaufe it 
was alone. He cultivated it however, and increafed it 
by offsets. Florifts appeared who were fond of it, and 
gave him a good price for it. This mult have been pro 
bably towards the end of the 17th century. I-Ie then let 
himfelf to cultivate hyacinths with double flowers with as 
much zeal as he had fliown before in calling them out. 
The firft double flower he raifed was named Mary ; this- 
variety is loft, as well as the two next that were produced. 
The king of Great Britain, which is now looked upon as 
the oldeft double hyacinth, appeared about the beginning, 
of the laft century; it was greatly preferred to all 
the flowers then known, and the price of, it was confi- 
derably more than one thoufand florins. From this time 
the greateft attention has been paid at Haarlem to the- 
railing and culture of this beautiful flower; and fuch has 
been the rage for it, that from one to two thouland Dutch 
florins have been given for a Angle root; that is, from 
near one to two hundred pounds fterling. The Haarlem 
gardeners diftinguilh near two thouland hyacinths by 
name, and generally publilh catalogues of them from 
year to year. New varieties are annually produced, and 
whole acres together are covered with this flower- in the 
circuit of that town alone. They are diftributed into 
clafles from their colours ; the principal of which are 
blue, red, purple, and white, with fomfe yellow. They 
are lubdivided from the lhades of each colour ; as, of the 
blues, deep blue, violet blue, blue purple, porcelain blue, 
agate blue, Iky blue, French grey, See. of the reds, deep 
or full red, rofe-coloured, carnation, &c. alfo from the 
mixtures of different colours or lhades, as light blue with 
a deep blue or purple eye ; light red with a deep red 
eye; white, with a rofe-coloured, blue, purple, or yellow, 
eye, white and red of different lhades, and blue, violet, 
or purple, of different lhades, mixed ; yellow with a purple 
eye, &c. Some alfo have their petals ftriped with a 
paler or deeper colour; and all thefe varieties . are 
found both in Angle and double flowers ; but the latter 
only are now much regarded among florifts, tinlefs it be 
for producing feeds, by which alone they can procure , 
new varieties. 
.The principal properties of a fine double hyacinth are 
the following ; 1. The ftalk Ihould be tall, ftrong, and 
