Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 10.djvu/412

* HWEI-SANG. HYATT. open. under glass. story due to his imperfect knowledge of Chinese and l)y the chanyi-s wrought in Mexico by the invasions of the Spanisli. HYACINTH (from Ul'. hyacinlhc, from Lat. hi/aciiithus, iruni (.Jk. lux/ittif, hyuhiiithus, hya- cinth; of doubtful etymology, liarilly connected with Lat. juvcnin, Skt. yiniiii, Knj,'. youiiy), llya- cinthi's. A genus of bulbous plants of the natu- ral iuder Liliaccic. with linear radical leaves and numy llowers on leallcss 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 arc natives of Southern and tropical Africa, and the rest of Asia Minor, Syria, and Persia. The few cultivated species are native to the region east of the Mediterranean Sea, and among them Hyaciiilhiis orientnliK, which has become natu- ralized in Southern Europe, is by far the most im))i)rtant. The numerous varieties have single and (lnul>le llowers of many dilVerent 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 liyacintli- growing country. Hyacinths arc grown in the and as hoise plants. For outdoor growth, a good, well- drained garden soil is re- quired. Well-rotted cow ma- nure is the best fertilizer for hyacintli-beds, and horse manure should never be used. Neither should the bull)-^ be brought in direct contact with freshly applied inaiune. The bulbs, planted from September to Novem- ber, 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 rniitgrowth is made during the fall. In winter the beds are protected with litter, leaves, or well-rotted ma- nure. The plants flower early in the spring. In the Slimmer when the leaves have withered, the bulbs are taken up and stored in dry soil or sand until planting time. For winter flowering the bulbs .nre 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 flyorinthus orirnlnUs which produce three or four small flower-spikes instead of a single large one. Two other species. Uyncinthiis aniethyxtiinis. or Spanish hyacinth, and Uyacixthiis ciliatii/!. are also cultivated to a small extent. There are a number of other plants commonly called hyacinths, which lielong to other genera of Liliaceae. .'Vmong these are the grape or globe hyacinth and the musk-hya- cinth of the genus Muscari : the Hyncinthus can- dirans of gardeners, which is Oaltonia eandioans; the wild or wood hyacinth of Great Britain (also DDTCH nVACINTB. called bluebell) is Scilla festalis. The waler- hyacinth (Kichhurnia spcciosa), which occurs in .merican tropical and subtropical streams, often constitutes a hindrance to navigation. It belongs to the order I'ontederiaceu-. See Colored Plate of AylATlC PLANT.S. HYACINTH. The brownish or reddish trans- parent variety of zircon, especially that found in Ceylon, frequently used as a gem. The name is al.so applied to similarly colored transparent minerals, chiefly to the hessonite variety of garnet. HYACINTHE, ("■asaNt'. PfcRE. See Loyson, Cu.viiLK.s .Iean .ahik. HY'ACIN'THUS {Lat.. from (Jk. 'TdKi^ffot). According to the usual story, the son of Amyclas, and beloved by Apollo. W hile throwing the dis- cus the god accidentally struck and killed the boy. Later writers said that Zephyrus, also a lover of Hyacinthus, by his blast turned the dis- cus from its course against Hyacinthus. His grave was shown at AmycUc. and on the throne of the image, of . polio, which stood over the grave, was represented the reception of llyaein- thus and his sister into Olympus. The llya- cinthia, celebrated in his honor for three days each spring, were among the greatest Laconian solonmities, and Amycla! the most sacred place in l..aconia. From the blood of Hyacinthus sjirang the hyacinth, with the lament AI on eacli leaf. This flower seems to be a species of iris; but is almost certainly not our hyacinth. HYADES, hi'a-dez (Lat. nom. pi., from Ok. "TiSet, rainy). In Greek mythologj', nymphs of Dodona, associated with the fructifying cfl'ect of moisture. They were the nurses of the new- liorn Bacchus, and were rewarded by Zeus by being placed among the stars near the head of the Bull. Their numln'r varies from two to seven. According to another account they were daughters of Atlas and --Kthra or Plcione, and sisters of the Pleiades, and were changed into stars after their death from grief at the loss of their brother Hyas, who was killed by a snake. The rising of these stars in spring and autumn was looked on by the Greeks and Romans as a sign of wet weather. The name was sometimes rendered by the Romans Stirulir. little pigs, either by mistaken derivation from Bf, sow. or because the Roman name, for which a deriva- tion from Kiirnifi, moist, has been assigned, ex- isted indepeiuieiitly of the Greek term. HY.ffi'NODON. An extinct dog-like creodont mammal, fossil skeletons of which have been found in the late Eocene and early Miocene ter- restrial deposits of North America and Europe. It was the latest and most specialized member of the Creodonta. Its head is very elongate with a strong posterior crest, the lower jaw is long and slender, and the canine teeth of both jaws are prominent. The body was of slender build, the legs rather short, the feet semi-plantigrade, each foot with five clawed toes. The finest ex- amples are from the Vhit« River formation of Nebraska. Montana, and Dakota. HY'ATT, Alpiieus (1838-1002). An Ameri- can naturali.st. He was born at Washington, D. C, and was educated at the Maryland Mili- tary' -Academy, at Yale College, and the Lawrence Scientific School, Cambridee. from which he graduated in 1862. He served as a volunteer
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