JANUARY 21 



once gathered the first on December 19, but this 

 season they put in no appearance till January 10, allow- 

 ing themselves to be anticipated by the charming little 

 winter aconite and the Carpathian snowflake. The last- 

 named flower only requires to be better known in order to 

 be oftener planted. Its full-dress name is Leucoium 

 vernum carpathicum ; although probably only a geo- 

 graphical variety of the common spring snowflake, it 

 is a very distinct and desirable thing, flowering a 

 month earlier than the other, and carrying two 

 blossoms on the stem instead of one. Bearing a 

 general resemblance to the snowdrop, and rivalling it 

 in milk-white purity, it is more ornate in form, and its 

 beauty is enhanced by its fragrance and the richness 

 of its golden anthers. 



Of the vast family of rockfoils, the earliest is 

 Saxifraga Burseriana, with pure white flowers on 

 ruddy stems, springing from close, prickly cushions of 

 the green known to painters as terra verte. Closely 

 following comes a garden hybrid, Saxifraga apiculata, 

 with bright grass-green pads thickly set with sprays of 

 sulphur-yellow blooms. It is the offspring of the 

 deeper yellow S. sancta, so called in allusion to its 

 native Mount Athos of monastic fame. But among 

 the earliest rockfoils none strikes a higher note 

 than the strange little S. Griesbachi, one of the 

 encrusted section. This requires some special 

 attention. Very impatient of stagnant moisture, it 

 should be packed closely between stones on a steep 

 bank or retaining wall, with some old mortar rubbish 

 and grit mixed with the soil, in a position to catch 



