44 Transactions of the Horticultural Society. 



distance from hedges, bushes, or buildings, which may afford shelter to these 

 birds. 



" The leaves of all the crocuses are at first short ; when the bulbs are in 

 blossom they usually appear shorter than the flowers, but they subsequently 

 elongate much, and many grow to a considerable length before they decay. 

 The practice of cutting away the leaves after the roots have done flower- 

 ing is improper : this should never be done ; they will readily separate from 

 the bulbs at the proper season, and the removing of them earlier will mate- 

 rially injure the growth of the bulbs in the present, and the blossoms in 

 the next, season. The seed-vessels rise above the ground, and the seeds 

 ripen, much about the same time that the leaves are in a proper state for 

 removal. At that period the seeds may be gathered ; and they should be 

 sown immediately. If the raising of the seedlings in boxes, as dii-ected by 

 Mi\ Haworth, and the subsequent taking up and planting of the roots, be 

 thought too troublesome, they may be at once sown in a dry and warm 

 border, in which the young plants may remain till they blossom ; and the 

 selection of the sorts to be kept can thus be made from the original seed- 

 bed. Such has been my own practice." 



Class 1. Spring Crocuses tsoiih Yellow Flowers. Here are 

 included all the species which have yellow or cream-coloured 

 flowers, with their varieties. They are all early, being nearly 

 all in full blossom before the principal varieties of C. vernus. 

 They are : — 



C. susianus. Cloth of gold Crocus. 

 *1. vulgaris. 



2. minor. 



C. sulphureus. Pale Yellow Crocus. 

 ' *3. striatus. 



4. striatellus. 



5. isabellinus. 



6. concolor. 



7. albidus. 



*8. C. stellaris, Starry Crocus. 

 *9. C. lagenseflorus. Flask-shaped Crocus. 

 *10. C. liiteus. Common Yellow Crocus. 

 C. lacteus. Cream-coloured Crocus. 

 - *11. concolor. 



12. penicillatus. 



Class 2. Sp'ing Crocuses with various-coloured Flowers [not 



Yellow), having the Mouths of the Flower-tuhes without Hairs. 



C. biflorus, Scotch -)- Crocus. Purple flowers, in pairs, and 



the first to appear in spring. The blossoms precede those 



of C. susianus. The earliest have some flowers open in 



the end of January if the season is mild, and all are in 



full flower in February ; they have an agreeable but not 



powerful scent. 



*13. communis, Scotch Crocus, with brown leaf-sheaths. 



14. ParkmsouM, Scotch Crocus, with white leaf-sheaths. 



15. stigmatosus, Scotch Crocus, with elongated stigmas. 



-{- Mr. Sabine says : " I have not been able to discover the reason why 

 this has been called the Scotch crocus. The apparent authority for the 

 appellation is Miller, who, in the first edition of his Dictionary in 1731, 

 says it is commonly called ' The Scots crocus.' " - . 



