DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF FLOWERS. 217 



been produced from this easily raised and vpretty little 

 flower. 



"Already now the Snow-drop dares appear, 

 The first pale blossom of the unripened year ; 

 And Flora's breath, by some transforming power, 

 Had changed an icicle into a flower. Mrs. Barbauld. 



Cal&llthilS niv&lis. The Snow-drop is a native of Aus- 

 tria, Switzerland, Silesia, and England ; in meadows and 

 orchards. It is the earliest flower of all the garden tribe, 

 and will even show her head above the snow, as if to 

 prove her rivalry with whiteness. 



' Lone flower, hemmed in with snows, and white as they. 1 ' Wordsworth. 



Every third year the roots should be taken up, in June or 

 July, when the leaves are decayed, and kept in a dry 

 place until August, when they should be replanted. The 

 bulbs are very small ; to make them look well, and to 

 produce a pretty effect when in bloom, about twenty 

 should be planted together in a clump, one and one-half 

 or two inches deep. There is a variety with double flow- 

 ers, both sorts are desirable ; about six inches high, in 

 March and April. 



" The Snow-drop, who, in habit white and plain, ] 

 Comes on, the herald of fair Flora's train ; 

 The Cox-comb crocus, flower of pimple note 

 Who by her side struts in a herald's coat." Churchill. 



There is a flower called the Leucojum, or Great Snow- 

 drop, very similar to this, but much larger in the bulb, 

 foliage, and flower. Of this there are three kinds, the 

 spring, summer, and autumnal. These should be planted 

 four or five inches deep. 



" We look upon the Snow-drop as a friend in adversity, 

 Sure to appear when most needed." 



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