April 11, 1008 



horticulture: 



Flora's Harbingers of Spring 



471 



It is no surprise that spriug has heea celebrated in 

 glowing terms by poets of all ages. Winter has its 

 charms but it never can be compared with spring. Oh ! 

 wliat new life and vigor is given us when the first breath 

 of balmy spring reaches us after a long, dreary winter. 

 Even Solomon with all his riches, splendor and wis- 

 dom rejoiced when winter was gone and had this to 

 say : '"Lo ! the winter is past, the rain is over and gone ; 

 the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the sing- 

 ing of birds is come, a)id (he voice of the turtle is heard 

 in our land." 



THE BEAUTIES OF THE SPHIXG BULBOUS FLOWERS 



Dead indeed to this world is the man who does not 

 contemplate with admiration the beautiful jewels that 

 come up out of the cold ground. How have they man- 

 ufactured these beautiful shining colors from the damp, 

 frozen earth? This and many others are the secrets 

 and puzzles that trouble us each succeeding sjsring. Our 

 iiearts ache when we see these little messengers bat- 

 tered and bealen by frost and snow, but we admire and 

 love them for their courage. 



Oh ! you little wonders, '^'ou a]'e more precious to 

 jiie than diamonds and gladly would I go on bended 

 knee at your first appearance and adore you. We are 

 glad we have learned and know that you have not come 

 through frost and snow to please man alone. The busy 

 We, your sweet companion, is out and about and he also 

 admires fine forms and bright colors and is soon doing 

 a work which is the principal object of all living things. 



EVEETBODT SHOULD PLANT THEM 



Leaving the sentimental and coming to the practical, 

 we are inded sorry that for every dozen planted of the 

 early spring flowering bulbous plants such as snowdrops, 

 crocuses, glory of the snow, squills and the like, there 

 are not millions throughout this great land. They are 

 •of the very easiest culture, needing no protection of any 

 kind and will grow and flourish in almost any Icind of 

 soil or situation. Thousands and thousands of dollars 

 are spent erecting expensive greenhouses and paying 

 ooal bills and I venture to say that we have no plants 

 in our oTcenhouses that will compare with masses of 

 scillas, glory of the snow and crocuses that are grown 

 so cheaply out of doors. We get larger blossoms like 

 iuuaryllises with gaudy colors in our greenhouses, but 

 to the true lover of flowers the little gems of early spring 

 are by far sweeter and more pleasing. In fact, the com- 

 ju.risoii is like comparing diamonds to lilocks of granite. 



EASE OF CUI.TUKE 



Some will lu- siir|irJsed to know liiw iiiiuiv lieaviljful 

 ])innts are in bioom as early as the twentieth of March. 

 If they were, harder to grow some persons would think 

 more of them. They only require to be dibbled into 

 the soil in the fall an inch or two and thoy will blos- 

 som just as surely as the season will return. Several 

 weeks 01 pleasure can he had from these early flowering 

 linlhs before the lierbaceous |)hmt< lie-in in hlodin. I'hmt 



Leuco.ium \ ki;m m 



them on the terraces and near tiie ste|is and founda- 

 tions of the house where they will be eujoyerl by all. 

 In such situations they blossom, early and for later suc- 

 cession plant colonies of them where they will flower 

 later. The florist can multiply his customers by a lavish 

 planting in every vacant spot around the grrcenhouse 

 and salesroom. 



THE FIRST TO BLOOM 



On the fourteenth of January of tliis year in a warm 

 sheltered nook we beheld the first snow-drop and it re- 

 called to our memory the words of the poet: 



"Already now, the snowdrop dares appear, 

 The first pale blossom of the un ripened year; 

 A.s Flora's breath, by some tran.': forming rx)wer, 

 Has ohanged an icicle into a flower; 

 Its name and hue the' scentless plant retains, 

 .\nd winter lingers in its icy veins." 



There are about eight or ten species of snow-drop, 

 but the two kinds that give the most satisfaction in our 

 garden are the common snow-drop, Galanthus nivalis, 

 and ths giant snow-drop, Galanthus Blwesii. The 

 snow-drop is a true winter flower and Galanthus nivalis 

 is so cheap tbat it ought to be planted in large colo- 

 nies. It is hardly credible that in this northern lati- 

 tude the last flowers out of doors last year disappeared 

 during the last weeks of November and the first flowers 

 of this year f<ppeared in the middle of January, thus 

 leaving only six or seven weeks willioiit flowers out 

 of doors. 



SOME DESIRABLE VARIETIE,S 



The giant snow-drop, G. Elwesii, is by far the largest 

 and finest species and gives satisfaction here. It is as 



