CEO 



[ 289 ] 



CRO 



C. reticula'tus (netted). \. Blue. February. 



Crimea. 

 _ a'lbicans (Cloth of silver). 4. 



Whitish. March. Odessa. 

 Ansyre'nsis (Angora). 4. Yellow. 



March. Angora. 

 aurite'xtus (Cloth of gold). A. 



Gold. March. 

 immacula'tus (spotless). 



4. Yellow. March. 

 refle'xus (bent-back). 4. I 



Yellow-striped. March. Crimea. 1605. 

 Dalma'ticus (Dalmatian). 4. 



April. 

 variega'tus (variegated). 4. April. 



Sulzmannia'nus (Salzmann's). Africa. 1806. 



sati'vus (cultivated. Saffron}. 4. Violet. 



September. England. 



sero'tinus (late. Autumnal). 4- Violet. 



October. South Europe. 1629. 



Sibthorpia'nus (Sibthorps) . 

 pulchri 'color (fair - coloured). 



May. Olympia. 



stun 1 rims (Stauric). White. 



June. Trebizond. 



specio'sus (showy). Purple. September. 



Hungary. 



Cauca'sicvs (Caucasian). Purple. 



September. Caucasus. 



la'xior (looser). Purple. Septem- 

 ber. Caucasus. 



Transylva'nicvs (Transylvanian). 



Purple. September. Transylvania. 



stria' tus (channelled). 4. White. Feb- 



ruary. 1820. 



sulphu' reus (sulphur-coloured). $. Yellow. 



February. South Europe. 1629. 



.jia' inis (pale yellow). ^. Pale 



yellow. February. South Europe. 1629. 



Susia'nm (Susian). ^. Yellow. February. 



Turkey. l605. 



Sutcria'jms (Suter's). ^. Bright yellow. 



Match. Angora. 



Thoma'sii (Thomas's). . Blue. Septem- 



ber. Naples. 1830. 



" lec'vis (smooth- leaved). 



pri'nceps (fringed-leaved). 



Tournefortia'nus (Tournefort's). October. 



Greek Archipelago. 

 A Wl 



vallc'cola (valley). White. October. Tre- 



bizond Alps. 

 variega'tus (variegated). . Variegated. 



February. Levant. 1829. 

 -^ve'rnus (spring). $. Purple. February. 



England. 

 - 1 albiflo'rus (white - flowered). $. 



White. February. Carintha. 



' apri'Kt (April). . Violet. April. 



cla'tior (taller). $. February. Alps. 



parviflo'rus (small -flowered). i. 



White. February. Splueen. 

 leucorhy'nchus (white-beaked). A. 



White, blue. February. 



' Neapolita'nus (Neapolitan). 4. Pur- 

 ple, blue. February. Naples. 

 " obonu'tus (reversed-egg-shapcd). . 



Purple. February. South Europe. 

 pi'ctus (painted). $. Pale white. 



February. 



versi'color (party-coloured). $. Purple. Feb- 



ruary. South Europe. 1629. 

 CROCUS CULTURE. Propagation: by 

 19 



Seed. Sow the seed in October, in a 

 prepared bed of light rich earth, in an 

 open situation, covering it a quarter of 

 an inch. The seedlings will come up 

 in the spring and should be kept well 

 weeded. When the leaves decay, clear 

 them away and spread a thin coat of 

 fresh light earth over the roots. Allow 

 them to remain another season, and 

 then when the leaves decay take up 

 the bulbs carefully, sifting the soil so 

 as to find even the smallest. In August 

 prepare a bed of fresh rich earth, turn- 

 ing it over two or three times to mellow 

 and pulverise. About the middle of 

 September, on a dry day, level the bed 

 and draw drills across' it four inches 

 apart, then plant the young bulbs in 

 the drills three inches asunder, press- 

 ing them down gently into the soil, 

 and when all are planted, level the 

 ridges of the drills with a rake care- 

 fully down. In this bed they should 

 remain two years. The second year 

 most of them will flower, and when in 

 bloom the colours should be marked, 

 to enable you to separate them into 

 their colours when they are taken up. 

 Any new fine varieties should be espe- 

 cially taken care off. 



By Offsets. When the leaves decay 

 in the summer take up the bulbs, 

 keeping them in their various sorts ; 

 separate the large flowering bulbs from 

 the small offsets, and plant the latter 

 in a bed by themselves, in the same 

 way as is described above for seedlings. 

 In two years take them up, sort the 

 large roots out again, and replant the 

 small ones. 



Soil. The crocus delights in a dry 

 situation, and a rich light sandy soil. 

 In such a place and soil it flowers pro- 

 fusely, and produces large roots ; but 

 in a wet poor soil it dwindles away. 



Culture. October is the best month 

 for planting, though it may be pro- 

 longed to the middle of December. 

 Take the roots up every second year, 

 planting the offsets as described above. 

 Insects. Slugs are their chief enemy, 

 which may be destroyed by watering 

 the beds or clumps with lime water. 



Diseases. The bulbs sometimes be- 

 come like a mass of starch or meal, 

 and then will not grow. There is no 

 u 



