GALANTHUS. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



585 



a bulb which proved to be a Snowdrop 

 flowering in the autumn, usually in 

 October. I am sorry to say that it is 

 somewhat delicate and increases very 

 slowly with me. 



G. Rachel^.— This is of the same 

 type as G. octobrensis, but the flower is 

 a little larger, and the leaves are cjuite a 

 third broader, and it seems to have a 

 stronger constitution than that variety. 

 It also differs in being a week or ten days 

 later in flowering. 



The Yellow Snowdrops form but 

 a small class, two varieties only being 

 known at present, G. hetescefts, and G. 

 flavescens. It must not be supposed 

 that the petals of the flower are yellow ; 

 the name is given because of the rich 

 yellow colour of the ovary, and the mark- 

 ings on the inner petals are also of that 

 colour, instead of the usual green, and 

 even the flower-stalks are more yellow 

 than green. 



The White Snowdrops also consist, 

 at present, of two varieties only. G. 

 poculiformis was first brought into notice 

 by Mr. D. Melville, who found it in the 

 grounds at Dunrobin Castle. It has 

 since been found in Wales by Mr. A. 

 D. Webster, and I have also received 

 bulbs of a very similar form from a lady 

 near Ayr, in whose garden it grew with 

 several other peculiar forms. 



Green Snowdrops form quite a large 

 class, but none of the blossoms are 

 entirely, or even mostly, green in colour. 

 They come into this class in consequence 

 of having more or less green on the outer 

 petals. G. Scharloki was so named 

 in 1868 by Professor Caspary in honour 

 of its discoverer, Herr Julius Scharlok, 

 who found it in the valley of the Nahe, 

 a tributary of the Rhine. This variety, 

 in addition to large pale-green spots 

 towards the tips of the outer petals, has 

 the peculiarity of a twin or divided spathe, 

 which curves down on the two sides much 

 like a pair of wings. This variety grows 

 and increases very freely. G. virescens 

 is a very singular-looking Snowdrop, 

 reminding one somewhat of an Ornitho- 

 galum. The outer petals are pale green, 

 shading off to pure white at the edges, 

 and especially at the tips ; the inner 

 petals are entirely green. G. Fosteri 

 Leopard is a great curiosity, having 

 flowers of quite unusual shape, and at the 

 tip of each outer petal a large dark-green 

 spot. M. Max Leichtlin kindly sent me 

 ten collected bulbs of G. Fosteri in 

 January 1890, and one of these flowered 

 as described, and has kept true this season. I 

 G. Fosteri Spot is quite distinct from ' 



Leopard. It has long outer petals, some- 

 what pear-shaped, and at the tip of each 

 is a small pale-green spot. The spots are 

 not sufficiently prominent to give a 

 decided character to the flower, but it is 

 valuable as a variety. 



Soil for Snowdrops. — With me G. 

 nivalis grows freely in all soils and 

 situations. G. plieatus is not very 

 particular, but still some of its varieties 

 require extra care, as they have an un- 

 pleasant way of disappearing. G. Elwesi 

 does not do well in close retentive soil. 

 C. latifolius and G. caiicasicus^ I believe, 

 prefer gritty loam, and I should say that 

 G. Fosteri would also like it. Mr. A. D. 

 Webster tells me that peat has quite a 

 magical effect on Snowdrops, but I have 

 not tried it. My ideal soil for Snow- 

 drops in general would be half good sweet 

 yellow loam and almost half unsifted river- 

 grit and a little leaf-mould. The situa- 

 tion I should choose would be a gently 

 sloping bank, more or less shaded by 

 trees whose roots were allowed to wander 

 freely among the Snowdrops. I believe 

 that all bulbs are healthier when planted 

 amongst active roots than in ordinary 

 beds. When the bulbs are at rest it is 

 very essential that the soil should be 

 kept sweet by the activity of other roots. 

 We too often lose sight of this fact. I 

 think the autumnal-flowering Snowdrops 

 should be treated as alpine plants. All 

 my best Snowdrops are grown under 

 trees, the soil being quite full of their 

 roots. I do not use manure for them. 

 The only drawback to my situation for 

 these spring gems is the soiling of the 

 flowers from the drippings of the trees. 

 I should mention that the climate is so 

 trying that I cannot grow such hardy 

 plants as Primroses, Pinks, Daisies, etc. 

 All these disappear after a season or two. 

 I move most of my Snowdrops when in 

 full flower, and do not find they are 

 injured by it. I have noticed that 

 the more green colour there is in any 

 Snowdrop the more freely it grows and 

 the more rapidly it increases, while the 

 absence of green, or the substitution of 

 yellow for the green, makes the plant 

 delicate and slow of increase. 



Galatella. See Astet . 



GALAX ( Wand Plant).— G. apJiylla is 

 one of the neatest little plants for the rock- 

 garden ; its white wand-like flowers must 

 have suggested its common name ; its 

 round evergreen leaves are beautifully 

 toothed and tinted, on slender stems 

 6 or 8 in. high. Of easy culture in moist 

 peat or leaf-soil, in the bog-garden, or on 

 the margins of beds of dwarf shrubs in. 



