HYACINTH (from OF. hyacinth', from Lat.
hyacinthus, from Uk. i•usalloc, hyakinthos, hya cinth; of doubtful etymology, hardly connected with Lat. jurcnis, Skt. yuran, Eng. young), Hya cinthus. A genus of bulbous plants of the natu ral order Liliacese. with linear radical leaves and many flowers on leafless scapes. The blos soms are either erect, spreading, or drooping,and arranged in loose or dense racemes. The genus comprises about thirty species, of which three are natives of Southern and tropical Africa, and the rest of Asia Minor, Syria, and Persia. The few enitivated species native to the region east of the Mediterranean Sea, and among them Hyacinthus orientalis, which has become natu nilized in Southern Europe, is by far the most important. The numerous varieties have single and double flowers of many different colors. The hyacinth has long been in cultivation, and about the beginning of the eighteenth century it stood almost first in popularity among florists' flowers, and many new varieties were produced. Then, as now, Holland, owing to its favorable climatic and soil conditions, was the principal hyacinth growing country. Hyacinths are grown in the open, under glass, and as house plants. For outdoor growth, a good, well drained garden soil is re quired. Well-rotted cow ma nure is the best fertilizer for hyacinth-beds, and horse manure should never be used. Neither should the bulb, be brought in direct contact with freshly applied manure. The bulbs, planted from September to .Novem her, are usually placed from six to eight inches apart, and about five inches deep in beds spaded to the depth of twenty inches. The main
root-growth is made during the fall. In winter the beds are protected with litter, lea yes, or well-rotted ma nure. The plants flower early in the spring. In the summer when the leaves have withered, the bulhs are token up and stored in dry soil or sand until planting time. For winter flowering the bulbs are started in the dark, and later on the plants are brought to bloom in the forcing house. As house plants, they are grown in hyacinth glasses with water only. Roman hyacinths are a form of Hyacinthus orirntalis which produce three or four small flower-spikes instead of a single large one. Two other species.
Hyacinthus aniethystinus. or Spanish hyacinth.
and Hyacinthus eiliatus, are also cultivated to a small extent. There are a number of other plants commonly called hyacinths, which belong to other genera of Liliacefe. Among these are the grape or globe hyacinth and the musk-hya cinth of the germs Muscari; the Hyacinthus can dirans of gardeners, which is Galtonia eandicans; the wild or wood hyacinth of Great Britain (also called bluebell) is Scilla festalis. The water hyacinth (Eichhornia speciosa), which occurs in American tropical and sub-tropical streams, often constitutes a hindrance to navigation. It belongs to the order Pontederiace:e. See Colored Plate of AQUATIC PLANTS.