54 BRECK'S BOOK OF FLOWERS. 



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 flowers ; both sorts 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." 



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

 very similar to this, but twice the size. Of this there are three 

 kinds: the Spring, the Summer, and the Autumnal Snow-drop. 

 The bulbs are much larger; should be planted five inches from 

 each other, four inches deep. " We look upon the snow-drop 

 as a friend in adversity, sure to appear when most needed." 



"Lone flower, hemmed in with snows, and white as they." 



GLADIOLUS. 



Corn-Flag. 



Gladiolus communis is a hardy, showy border-flower, of 

 which there are several varieties in cultivation, viz., white, 

 purple, and red. They should be planted in October, on a rich 

 sandy soil, about two and a half incKes deep, and require 

 little protection, except the purple variety. They have a flag- 

 like foliage, and produce their flowers on long, one-sided 

 spikes, or racemes, about two feet high, in June and July. The 

 bulbs have some resemblance to those of the crocus, and 

 are treated in the same way. 



Gladiolus byzanteum is also hardy, and requires the same 

 treatment ; flowers purplish-red. The Gladiolus family in- 

 cludes many brilliant species and varieties ; most of them 

 green-house plants. Many of them, however, succeed well in 

 the open ground, when planted in the border in May ; but it is 

 necessary to take them up in October, and keep the roots dry, 



