Spring Crocuses 



1905, stands out as an event in the Crocus world for me, 

 for a little packet post-marked Haarlem lay on my break- 

 fast table, and had brought me five blooms from Mr. Hoog 

 of C. chrysanthus pallidus seedlings which for size and de- 

 licious creamy moonlight yellows surpassed anything I 

 had dreamt of. One had a band of deep purple on the outer 

 segment, another greenish-blue feathering, and the largest 

 of all was as soft a yellow as the pat of butter in front of 

 me, and with a feathering patch of warm brown-madder 

 at the base of each segment that set off the yellow in much 

 the same manner as the apical patch of brownish black 

 does on the forewing of the lovely Pale Clouded Yellow 

 Butterfly. My admiration of this new race went to Holland 

 by return of post, and had a pleasant sequel in a generous 

 gift of corms of these varieties and the naming of the butter- 

 coloured giant after me. I wish I possessed a tenth of the 

 vigour and good temper of my namesake ! " So far " he 

 has increased well and smiled back at me in the weak 

 wintry sun, in Crocus frame, rock garden, or ordinary 

 border, and every one singles it out at a glance as the best 

 of all the Yellows. Except in the typical, early-flowering 

 yellow form, the stigmata of these chrysanthus forms I have 

 described are bright scarlet, and give a brightness and finish 

 to the open blossoms, but there is another race of chrysan- 

 thus with gourd-shaped throats but then a falling off, for the 

 segments are rather pointed and make too starry an open 

 flower. This race is invariably freckled or feathered ex- 

 ternally with brown of various shades, and they were called 

 by Maw vars. fusco-tinctus or fusco-lineatus according to 

 the patterns of their freckles. They all have plain yellow 

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