416 THE PRINCIPLES OF FLORICULTURE 



right with a tube of six segments. The flowers open only 

 in sunshine. 



Habitat. Southern Europe. 



688. Indoor culture. Crocus last but a short time, 

 and so are not especially good for forcing. When they 

 are forced, they are usually grown in a six-inch pan, put- 

 ting about six corms in a pan. They are then treated as 

 described for hyacinths. 



689. Outdoor culture. Crocus are very satisfactory 

 out of doors, and bloom in early spring almost before the 

 snow has gone. They should be planted in a partially 

 protected spot, in sod land or in formal beds. The crocus 

 is excellent for naturalizing in grass, especially on lawns. 

 A hole should be made in the sod, a little rich soil put 

 in the bottom, and the conn then dropped in. The hole 

 is next filled with the prepared loam. Crocus corms 

 should not be put in sod which is to be lawn-mown early, 

 or where there is constant tramping in early spring. 



The new corm forms naturally at the base of the flower- 

 stem, and on top of the old bulb. This brings the corm 

 nearer the surface each year, and after two or three years 

 the corms which have been planted in sod or in out-door 

 beds should be lifted and replanted or they will " run out." 



690. Chionodoxas (glory-of-the-snow), botanical clas- 

 sification. Order, Liliacese ; genus, Chionodoxa (Greek 

 meaning " glory of snow" referring to the early period of 

 bloom) ; species, lucilice. 



691. Chionodoxas, botanical characters. Chionodoxas 

 are bulbous plants with narrow, grasslike foliage and blue 

 flowers borne on an elongated flower stalk. They are 

 among the best of the early-flowering bulbs, being more 

 showy and attractive than scillas, to which they are closely 

 related. They vary in color from deep blue to white. 



