18 GARDEN FLOWERS. 



A very pretty little spring flower is not un- 

 common even in tliis month. The bulbocodium 

 (Bulbocodium vernum') is like a small dark 

 jDurple crocus. It is a native of Spain. Tavo 

 or three species of the elegant corydalis bloom, 

 too, as early as February. They are very 

 similar to the fumitory. The bean-leaved 

 species {Corydalis fabacea) has purple flowers, 

 and is a native of Germany ; and the solid- 

 rooted kind, with its pink flowers, grows wild 

 in British woods, but its size is increased by 

 culture. The most common species is the 

 glaucous corydalis : it is a North American, an 

 annual, and may be sown so as to flower at 

 almost any season of the year. 



The list of February flowers is short indeed. 

 A few more weeks and they will have increased 

 tenfold, yet we shall scarcely value them more 

 than we do these few and early blossoms, for 

 these come, with the voices of the robin and 

 the thrush, to whisper of brighter days in store 

 for the lover of nature. These come to remind 

 us that God's hand is yet working gradually, 

 even as it did when the earth Avas first robed 

 with verdure, and when each successive day 

 witnessed the fresh and luxuriant growth of 

 primeval vegetation. 



