August 6, 1887. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
777 
ROMAN HYACINTHS. 
The true Roman Hyacinth, and that of the botanists, 
is Hyacinthus romanus, a native of Greece, Rome, and 
other places in that region. It was figured in an early 
number of the Botanical Magazine , t. 939, under the 
name of Scilla romana, and has small pale blue flowers 
fading to white at the margins. It is a hardy bulbous 
plant, blooming in May, but of no service to cultivators 
for forcing or cut-flower purposes. 
The Roman Hyacinths of the bulb merchants, and 
those intended to be noticed here, are varieties of 
Hyacinthus prreeox and H. albulus, which are really 
forms of H. orientalis, the common garden Hyacinth. 
There are several forms grown under the collective 
name of Roman Hyacinths ; but the best and earliest 
of all to force for decorative and cut-flower purposes is 
the white Roman, H. orientalis albulus. This is, 
probably, the smallest- 
flowered form ; but it is the 
purest white and the most 
popular, because it can be 
had in flower in November, 
and from thence onwards 
till spring, according to the 
time the bulbs are potted 
and put into the forcing-pit. 
When pushed, or forced very 
early, the flowers are not so 
large as when allowed to 
come on naturally, either in 
pots, boxes, or the open 
ground ; but that is no con¬ 
sideration when earliness is 
desired. The flowers of 
this, the earliest form, are 
single, and furnished with 
an ovate bract at the base 
of each little pedicel or 
flower - stalk, which may 
serve to distinguish it from 
any of the under-mentioned 
varieties. 
Like the other kinds, it 
is as hardy as the common 
garden Hyacinth ; but the 
best flowers are obtained 
from imported bulbs, as they 
are apt to deteriorate in our 
soil and climate. Now is 
the time to get them, as 
they are imported earlier 
than the large - flowering 
kinds. The best bulbs are 
obtained from the South of 
France and Italy, as might 
naturally be expected, seeing 
that H. orientalis albulus is 
a native of Southern France, 
and, consequently, bulbs 
exported from that quarter 
come from a home where 
soil and climate alike are 
most favourable to their 
perfect development. The 
season there is earlier than 
ours, therefore the bulbs are 
ripened naturally, and ready 
for forcing at a much earlier 
period than they could be 
in our climate. 
The double white Italian comes next to the white 
Roman as regards earliness, and has more numerous 
pale rose-coloured flowers on a scape. They may even 
exhibit a pale creamy tint, but in no case are they of 
such purity as the last-mentioned kind—at least, after 
they have been in bloom for some time. The doubling 
is due to a number of segments produced in the interior 
of the ordinary segments of the flower, which are 1 in. 
in length. The pedicels or flower-stalks are subtended 
by small, rounded, hollow bracts, which, together 
with the doubling, will readily serve to distinguish it 
from other kinds. It is useful as supplying variety to 
those who are fond of such, but is not likely to displace 
the white Roman for early work. 
The so-called White Italian has considerably larger 
flowers than either of the foregoing, and more numer¬ 
ously produced. The flowers are single, but not 
exactly white as the name would imply, but are rather 
of a creamy hue somewhat tinted with pale rose, which 
is likely to be more pronounced with age and a thorough 
exposure to light. The bracts supporting each in¬ 
dividual flower are linear and slender. 
The blue Roman Hyacinth has smaller flowers than 
the two last-mentioned, but they are more decided or 
pronounced in tone than either of those forms, being of 
a deep purplish hue, and this is also communicated to 
the flower scapes, individualising them to such an 
extent as to render the variety desirable where coloured 
flowers are wanted early in the season to supply a want 
less easily procurable, in the shape of flowers that must 
be grown in this country all the year round. The 
bracts, in this case, are small and hollow, surrounding 
the base of the individual pedicels. The flowers are 
fragrant, as are all those of the varieties already 
mentioned, and not too powerful to be disagreeable to 
Olearia Haastii : A Hardy Shrub. 
those of refined tastes and having sensitive olfactory 
nerves. 
Culture. 
Where an early supply of forced flowers are required, 
no time should now be lost in securing the bulbs so 
that they may have proper time to develope roots after 
they are potted and before they are transferred to the 
forcing house. If put into the heat before this has 
taken place, the flowers develop very irregularly, and 
besides being small, cannot possibly be so good, or 
give the same satisfaction as when allowed to establish 
themselves gradually and naturally in the early 
stages. 
Cultivators of the large-flowered varieties use a very 
rich compost, consisting of turfy or fibrous loam, and 
well-rotted manure in equal quantities, with an 
admixture of clean sharp river sand to keep the whole 
porous and open ; but a quantity of leaf-soil may be 
added with advantage to the compost in which the 
different varieties of Roman Hyacinths are grown. 
Five-inch pots constitute a very suitable size in the 
latter case, and as the bulbs are small, and the leafage 
proportionate, three to five equal-sized bulbs (according 
to their relative strength) may be inserted in each. 
Drain the pots well, fill them loosely with soil, and 
press the requisite number of bulbs firmly in the 
compost, so that when finished they may be just 
beneath the surface. This is better than putting a 
certain quantity of soil into the pots, and settling it 
dow n before arranging the bulbs, and afterwards filling 
up to the desired height, as the new roots push into it 
more regularly without throwing themselves out of the 
pots. When finished, stand the pots on a bed of ashes 
behind a north wall, or where they will not be affected 
by drought, or subject to undue excitement. Cover 
them over with several inches 
of ashes or cocoa-nut fibre, 
and allow them to stand 
there till new roots have 
formed, and penetrated the 
compost. As soon as this 
has happened, transfer them 
in batches of desired quanti¬ 
ties to the forcing house. 
Later batches need not be 
potted so early, and both 
the time and required quan¬ 
tities may be regulated by 
the season at which the bulbs 
are potted and the period 
they are brought into heat. 
Roman Hyacinths are not 
only earlier coming into 
flower, but they are greatly 
preferred by most people 
for cut-flower purposes and 
other kinds of decorative 
work, so that a quantity 
may be reserved till the 
main and late batches of 
the large-flowering kinds are 
potted. 
Cultivators of these and 
other bulbs, who grow them 
in large quantities for 
market, insert them thickly 
in boxes, growing them on 
until the spikes are well 
advanced, and the flowers 
almost ready to expand. 
By this method the space 
that would otherwise be 
occupied with pots during 
the whole time is economised 
for something else, and the 
plants themselves can be 
better regulated or sorted 
into sizes. Disturbance of 
the roots at this period does 
not appreciably affect the 
size of the flowers, while 
the bulbs—early forced ones 
especially—are worthless for 
the same purpose a second 
time, unless they have 
been recuperated by growing 
them naturally a season or 
two previously ; but seeing 
that better imported bulbs can be bought cheaply, old 
ones are not worth the trouble of growing. 
The practice of inverting a flower-pot over the 
advancing crowns is not a bad one, as the flower-spikes 
are thereby enabled to get more forward than the 
foliage, and afterwards maintain their supremacy. 
When fairly started into growth, let the plants in 
winter be near the glass, so as to get all the light 
possible.— B. B. 
Orobus lathyroides. —This is a charming purple- 
blue flowered hardy perennial, blooming in early 
summer, that does well in any good garden soil. I 
made a note of it in Mr. Ware’s collection at one of the 
meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society this year. 
It is said to come true from seed ; but it is not at 
all difficult to increase it by means of division of 
the roots. — E. W, 
