H Y A C I 
16. Hyacin'thus brevifolius, or (liort-leaved hyacinth : 
-corollas fix-parted, raceme drooping ; leaves fhorter than 
the fcape. 
17. ' Hyacinthus flexuofus,or bending hyacinth : corol¬ 
las bell-fhaped, raceme upright, leaves linear, longer than 
the ficape. Found at the Cape ofi Good Hope by Thun- 
berg. 
Propagation and Culture. The fir ft fiort, being common 
in many parts ofi England, is feldom admitted into gar¬ 
dens. The fiecond alio is in very few gardens. The cafe 
is the fame with the third and fifth forts. Since fo many 
fine ilowers have been railed from the feeds of the eaftern 
hyacinth, thefe have been almoft totally neglefted ; but 
fuch as are defirous to preferve them need not be at 
much trouble about it, for their roots propagate in great 
plenty in any foil or iituation, and require no other care 
but to take up their roots every fecond or third year, 
foon after their leaves decay, and to plant them again in 
autumn ; if they are permitted to remain longer in the 
ground, their roots will multiply to fuch a degree, as to 
render their flowers very final 1 and weak. They may all 
be increafed either by feeds, or offsets from the old bulbs; 
the latter method is only pradtifed with the above forts. - 
The eaftern or garden hyacinth, is propagated by 
feeds or offsets from the old bulbs. The former method 
has been but little praftifed in England till lately; but in 
Holland and Flanders it has been followed for many 
years, whereby they have obtained a very great variety 
of the moft beautiful flowers of this fort; and it is owing 
to the induftry of the florifts in thofe countries, that the 
lovers of gardening are fo agreeably entertained, not only 
with the curious variety of this, but of moft other bul¬ 
bous-rooted flowers. The method of raifing thefe flowers 
from feed is as follows: Having provided yourfelf with 
fome good feed, which fnould be iaved from either femi- 
double, or fuch Angle flowers as are large, and have good 
properties, you muft have a parcel of fquare fhallow 
boxes or pots, with holes in their bottoms to let off moif- 
ture, which muft be filled with frefh light fiandy foil, lay¬ 
ing the furface very level; then low your feeds thereon 
as equally as poflible, covering them about half an inch 
thick with the fame light .earth; the time for this work is 
about the middle or latter end of Augult. Thefe boxes, 
or pots, fhould be placed where they may enjoy the 
morning fun only until the latter end of September, at 
which time they fhould be removed into a warmer fitua- 
tion, and towards the end of Odtober they fhould be 
placed under a Common hot-bed frame, where they may 
remain during the winter and fpring-months, that they 
may be protected from hard fro Its ; though they fhould 
be expofed to the open air when the weather is mild, by 
taking off the glaffes. In the latter end of February or 
the beginning of March, the young plants will begin to 
appear above ground, at which time they muft be care¬ 
fully fcreened from frolt, otherwife they will be foon de- 
ftroyed when they are fo young ; but you muft never co¬ 
ver them at that feafon but in the night, or in very bad 
weather; for, when the plants are come up, if they are 
clofe covered, they will draw up very tall and flender, 
and thereby prevent the growth of their roots. About 
the middle of April, if the weather proves good, you may 
remove the boxes out of the frame, placing them in a 
warm fituation, obferving, if the feafon be dry, to refrefh 
them now and then gently with a little water, as alfo to 
keep them very clear from weeds, which.would foon over- 
fpread the tender plants, and deftroy them, if permitted to 
remain. Towards the beginning of May, thefe boxes 
fhould be removed into a cooler fituation; for the heat of 
the fun at that feafon would be too great for thefe tender 
plants, cauiing their blade„s to decay much fooner than 
they would naturally do, if they were, fcreened from its 
violence. In this fhady fituation they fhould remain 
during the heat of fummer, obferving to keep them con- 
ftantly clear from weeds ; but you muft not place them 
under the dripping of trees, &c. nor fhould you give 
Vol. X. No. 689. 
NT HU S, C09 
them any water after their blades are decayed, for that 
would infallibly rot the roots. About the latter end of 
Auguft you fhould fift a little light rich earth over the 
furface of the boxes, and then remove them again into a 
warmer fituation, and treat them, during the winter, 
fpring, and fummer, months, as was before directed : and 
about the middle of Auguft following you fhould prepare 
a bed of light rich fandy foil, in proportion to the quan¬ 
tity of your feedling plants ; and, having levelled the 
furface very even, you fhould take the earth from the 
boxes in which your plants were raifed, into a l: ;ve, in 
order to get out all the roots, which by this time (if they 
have grown well) will be about the thicknefs of a fmall 
quill; thefe roots fhould be placed upon the bed at about 
two or three inches afunder, obferving to fet the bottom 
part of their roots downwards; then cover them over 
two inches thick with the fame light earth ; but, as it 
will be impoftible to get all the finall roots out of the 
earth in the boxes, you fhould Jpread the earth upon an¬ 
other bed equally, and cover it over with light earth; by 
which method you will not lofe any of the roots, be they 
ever fo fmall. Thefe beds muft be arched over with 
hoops, and in very hard frofty weather they muft be co¬ 
vered with mats, &c. to protect them from froft ; and in. 
the fpring, when the, green leaves are above ground, if 
the weather fhould be very dry, you muft refrefh them 
with water ; but do this fparingly, for nothing is more 
injurious to thefe bulbs than too great quantities of 
moifture. During the fummer feafon you muft conftantly 
keep the beds clear from weeds; but, after the blades are 
decayed, you muft never give them any water, and in 
autumn you fhould ftir the furface of the bed with a very 
fliort hand-fork, being exceeding careful not to thruft it 
fo .deep as to touch the roots, which, if hurt, are very 
fubjeft to perifli foon after. Then lift a little frefli, light, 
rich, earth over the bed about an inch thick, or fomewhat 
more, and in winter cover them again, as was before 
directed. 
In this bed the roots may continue two years, obferv¬ 
ing to treat them, both in fummer and winter, as before; 
then the third year the roots fhould be carefully taken, 
up a little before their leaves decay, laying the roots ho¬ 
rizontally in the ground to ripen for three weeks, after 
which they may be kept out of the ground till the end 
of Auguft, when they fhould be planted into new beds 
prepared as before, placing them at the diftance of fix 
inches afunder; in thefe beds the l'oots may remain till 
they flower, during which time they fhould be treated as 
before, with this difference only, that, inftead of covering 
them with mats in the winter, the furface of the ground 
fhould be covered with tanners’ bark. When their flow¬ 
ers begin to fliow therafelves, you fhould mark all fuch 
as appear to have good properties, by thrufting a fmall 
flick down by each root; which roots, at the time for 
taking them up, fhould be feledted from the reft, and 
planted by themfelves. When the green leaves of thefe 
plants begin to decay, their roots muft be taken up, and 
a bed of light earth, in a fhady fituation, fhould be railed 
into a ridge ; the better to fhoot off the moifture, the 
roots fhould be laid into the earth again in an horizontal 
pofition, leaving the green leaves hanging out of the 
ground from the roots, whereby the great moifture con¬ 
tained in their very fucculent leaves and fiower-ftalks 
may be exhaled, and prevented from returning to the 
roots, which, when fuffered fo to do, is very often the 
caufe of their rotting after they are out of the ground. 
In this ridge the roots fhould remain until the leaves are 
quite dried off, when they muft be taken up, and after 
being cleared of all manner of filth, which would be hurt¬ 
ful to them, they muft be laid up in boxes, where they 
may be preferved dry until September, which is the pro¬ 
per feafon for planting them again. 
We now proceed to the culture of fuch hyacinths ns 
have either been obtained from Holland, or are of our 
own product from the feeds of fuch flowers as were very 
7 Q beautiful* 
