When does Spring Commence ? 



in the early autumn and then to go to rest until the 

 Spring under a covering of snow. These evidently miss 

 Jack Frost's annual visit to their bedsides, to tuck them up 

 with his icy fingers, and to bid them good-night till the 

 sunshine of next May shall pull off their snow duvets 

 layer by layer. A November frost may close their eyes 

 for a few days, and then a sou'wester in December with 

 its warm rain will trick them into the belief that winter is 

 over, and they lose their heads actually as well as 

 figuratively, for the poor little blooms they produce all in 

 a hurry are mere caricatures, and generally fall a prey to 

 a roving slug. 



On the other hand, I find that most species of Dian- 

 thus, Ranunculus, Anemone and Leontopodium from the 

 same localities are never deceived into making a too early 

 start. I think all New Zealand plants accept our seasons 

 within a twelvemonth of their arrival, and alter their flower- 

 ing time to suit them, but certain Cape and S. American 

 plants never swerve from the traditions of their race ; thus 

 Oxalis lobata from Chili, and the S.African O.purpurata, better 

 known as Bowiei, will not learn to start into growth before 

 autumn, although O. vespcrtilionis from Mexico, O. brasiliensis 

 and O. floribunda from Brazil come up smilingly in early 

 Spring. I suspect the reason is that plants which have in 

 nature a season of rest imposed by drought or heat, of 

 which Amaryllis Belladonna and certain autumn flowering 

 Croci are good examples, have become thoroughly adapted 

 to rushing into flower and growth with the advent of 

 autumn rains. At the same time there is a kind of freewill, 

 an individuality that leads plants of one genus in a similar 



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