Spring Crocuses 



It is a lovely but tiny species, endemic to the Balearic 

 Isles, and was quite lost to cultivation until a few years 

 ago, when a cousin of mine, who lives in Spain, kindly 

 managed to get some collected for me ; but not before 

 every species of Merendera, Romulea, and Colchicum 

 found on Majorca and Minorca had arrived here, trium- 

 phantly announced as the precious Crocus. This is ever 

 the case when the amateur collects some wild Crocus for 

 me, and in many places Sternbergias are also to be met 

 with, and come along regardless of their weight for 

 postage ; and then, when all these members of other genera 

 are exhausted, if my friends' patience holds out there will 

 arrive a specimen of the real thing, with the query, " Can 

 this common weed be the one you want ? It is so 

 common here, we thought it cannot be any good." So 

 C. Cambessedesii came at last. It is one of the smallest 

 of all, and looks as though it might have been the fairies' 

 first model when they were designing C. Imperati, being 

 very much like it, only so much smaller, and only just 

 washed with colour. Its segments are about half an inch 

 long, palest lilac within, and the three outer ones are pale 

 straw colour externally, and beautifully marked with purple 

 featherings. The flowers appear at intervals from October 

 till March, among leaves almost as slender as a hair. I 

 always like to pay a visit to the Crocus frames, on my 

 way back from church on New Year's Day, to see what 

 promise of Spring they have as a present for me. For 

 many years I have been greeted by newly-arrived blooms 

 of the typical brilliant yellow form of C. chrysanthus, and 

 in most seasons it will have appeared, in the open border 



