OLD-FASHIONED GARDEN FLOWERS. 59 



it "near the summit of the mountain," which (though it is a 

 native of a much warmer climate than ours) may account for 

 its hardy character. That it is a most beautiful flower is beyond 

 doubt, but there are those who think it has been overpraised. 

 It should not, however, be forgotten that Mr. Maw's description 

 of it was from a sight of it in masses, a state in which it can 

 hardly have been judged yet in this country, as until very 

 recently the bulbs were very expensive. It has, however, taken 

 kindly to our climate, and is likely to increase fast, when it may 

 be seen to greater advantage. 



It grows to the height of 6in. or Sin. ; the flower scapes, which 

 are rather slender, are somewhat shorter than the foliage, the 

 flowers being longer in the petals than the squills, almost star- 

 shaped, and nearly lin. across; later on they reflex. Their 

 colour is an intense blue, shading to white in the centre of the 

 flower. The flowers are produced in numbers, from three to six 

 on a stem, having slender pedicels, which cause the flowers to 

 hang slightly bell fashion. The leaves, from their flaccidness 

 and narrowness, compared with the squills, may be described as 

 grassy. The bulbs are a little larger than the kernel of a cob 

 nut, nearly round, having satiny skins or coats. 



It may be grown in pots, and forces well if allowed first to 

 make good roots, by being treated like the hyacinth. It should 

 be kept very near the glass. It has also flowered fairly well in 

 the open border fully exposed, but in a cold frame, plunged in 

 sand and near the glass, it has been perfection. Single bulbs 

 so grown in " sixties " pots have done the best by far. 



All the bulbs hitherto experimented with have been newly 

 imported ; very different results may possibly be realised from 

 "home-grown" bulbs. It is also probable that there may be 

 varieties of this species, as not only have I noticed a great 

 difference in the bulbs, but also in the flowers and the habit of 

 plant. This I have mentioned to a keen observer, and he is of 

 the same opinion ; be that as it may, we have in this new plant 

 a lovely companion to the later snowdrops, and though it much 

 resembles the squills, it is not only sufficiently distinct from 

 them, but an early bloomer, which we gladly welcome to our 

 gardens. It seems to do well in equal parts of peat, loam, and 

 sand, also in leaf soil and sand. 



Flowering period, March and April. 



Chrysanthemum. 



Nat. Ord. COMPOSITE. 



THE flowers to which I would now refer the reader are of no 

 particular species, but, like several other genera, this genus has 

 been considerably drawn upon or utilised by the hybridiser, and 

 the species, looked upon from a florist's point of view, have been 



