THE CROCUS AND SNOW-DROP. 197 



the reach of the tide> and buried in sand, the temperature of which 

 often rises to 170°, bulbous rooted plants are enabled to live, and 

 enliven such scenes with their periodical beauty. 



There are now only two kinds of bulbs, the tunicated, as the 

 onion ; and imbricated, as in the lily, which may be, and, indeed, 

 really are, considered as buds, and not roots ; these contain the 

 whole of the ascending organs of the plants to which they belong, 

 in a condensed form, with the real roots proceeding downwards 

 from a flattened disk below. 



There are four varieties or species of crocus known to grow in 

 Great Britain, namely, the crocus auhimnalis, or saffron crocus, the 

 stigmata of which constitute the saffron of commerce ; crocus vernus 

 or spring crocus ; crocus reticulatus, or net rooted crocus ; and 

 crocus nudifloruSy or naked flowering crocus. The spring crocus, 

 {^crocus vernus) is of the natural order, Irideee, or iris tribe, which 

 is well known in this country by the wild species, commonly tenned 

 corn-flags, which abound in moist and shady places. But, according 

 to the Linnaean classification, it is of the class Triandria, having 

 three stamens, or pollen bearers ; and of the order Monogynia, 

 having one pistil, which is the central organ of the flower, and 

 receives the pollen when ripe, having burst from the anther, which 

 is supported by the stamen. These last-named organs are called 

 the generative organs, an account of which we shall give in our 

 next article, they being so necessarily and frequently mentioned in 

 the description of the flower. 



The crocus has a roundish conn us, or solid bulb, as large as a 

 small nutmeg, somewhat compressed, and covered by a coarse brown 

 reticulated skin. From the bottom of this cormiis, are sent down 

 into the earth a number of fine fibres, which are the true roots ; and 

 immediately from the upper part of the bulb proceeds the flower 

 stalk, which is generally from five to seven inches long, surrounded 

 by a thin membraneous sheath, open at one side, enclosing the base 

 of the leaves as well as the flower stalk. The leaves are long and 

 nanow, botanically called linear, curved, of a dark green colour, 

 having a white stripe in the centre. The corolla or flower is large, 

 divided into six equal segments, of a beautiful purple colour. The 

 stigmata are confined within the flower, and not hanging over the 

 corolla, as in the autumnal crocus. The flower has no scent, and the 



