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FAMILIAR GARDEN FLOWERS. 



even if mountaineers, are accustomed to brighter suns than 

 shine in these foggy isle?. All kinds of crocuses produce 

 seed freely, and may be multiplied rapidly and with but 

 little trouble, by sowing the seed in light, sandy soil as 

 soon as it is ripe. When the corms are planted, the depth 

 at which they are placed should be determined in con- 

 nection with the intention to take them up annually or 

 leave them untouched several years. If to be taken up 

 and replanted every year, three inches is the utmost depth 

 allowable ; but if to remain a few years, they should be put 

 fully four inches deep, because every year of growth will 

 bring them nearer to the surface. When planted in a 

 good soil they may be allowed to remain undisturbed for 

 several years, but it is good practice to lift them every 

 third year in the summer, and replant in October. They 

 appear to degenerate in English gardens, because the corms 

 we take up are always smaller than such as we plant when 

 purchasing a fresh stock of the merchants ; but these small 

 home-grown corms flower remarkably well, and it is quite 

 a question if the large fresh corms from Holland flower 

 any better. 



