58 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



tions early in March the crocuses begin to make a show in the 

 grass and in the borders. The first to make their appearance 

 are the yellow kinds, they are soon followed by white and blue 

 varieties. If planted in borders amongst herbaceous plants at 

 least fifty corms should be used in a clump. They are especially 

 pleasing when planted in grass in places where it will not be cut 

 too early in the season. We would advise buying the best corms 

 obtainable; they are a little more expensive but give much better 

 satisfaction. The best blue varieties would include Baron Von 

 Brunow, King of the Blues, Ne Plus Ultra, and Pres. Grant. In 

 whites these kinds are good: Caroline Chisholm, King of the 

 Whites, and Queen Victoria. In striped varieties, Albion, King 

 of the Striped, and Sir "Walter Scott. In yellow, the best is the 

 one know as the Largest Golden Yellow. Along with the crocuses 

 comes the glory of the snow or Chionodoxa. They make a beauti- 

 ful sheet of blue. They should be planted in broad masses and 

 will very soon increase and will last in bloom for about a month. 

 The best kinds are Gigantea, Luciliae and sardensis. The winter 

 aconite or Eranthis hijcmalis flowers along with the snowdrops 

 and its yellow blossoms are so different from anything else in 

 bloom at this time that on that account it is quite an acquisition; 

 it does well in shady nooks and is not particular about the soil 

 it grows in. 



Snowdrops, scillas, glory of the snow, and winter aconite are 

 about all the plants we can look for in ]March, but these little 

 gems should be planted by the thousands. 



April Flowers. 



April comes with a wealth of flowers in addition to the above. 

 In the shade of trees and around rhododendron beds we find 

 masses of dog-tooth violets, or Erythronium; the species ameri- 

 cana, albida, and dens-canis are the easiest to grow, and they 

 spread rapidly. For carpeting rhododendron beds there is nothing 

 better, and their mottled foliage is always pleasing. The spring 

 snowflake is a lovely early flower, but we seldom see it. It 

 reminds one of a large snowdrop and at the end of April it makes 



