ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS 239 



a rare early snowdrop which grew on one spot only on 

 the island. The rootlets of the bulbs dried up in transit, 

 and the flowers were much withered; but I could 

 distinguish considerable variation in the size and mark- 

 ings of them, and in the character of the foliage. A 

 large proportion of these bulbs died, but more than a 

 dozen have given flowers this spring, but they have not 

 bloomed early, which I attribute to their trials, as they 

 had virtually made a second growth last season. My 

 kind correspondent informed me that the ordinary snow- 

 drop of the island blooms in January." This plant has 

 been called G. Corcyrensis, and usually flowers from the 

 middle to the end of December, according to the mild- 

 ness of the season. It is evidently a form of G. nivalis, 

 small in size and delicate in constitution. Being the 

 connecting link between the autumn-flowering and 

 spring-flowering kinds, it is valuable, and well worth 

 the extra care required in its cultivation. The late Mr 

 Harper Crewe also received the same variety from the 

 English Chaplain at Corfu. Mr Max Leichtlin also 

 informs me that he has raised some seedlings from G. 

 Corcyrensis, which bloom a month earlier than their 

 parent, and in some of these the form of the bloom is 

 quite changed, the petals being very narrow, and one 

 and a quarter inches long, a feature which they have 

 maintained for two seasons. I find this G. Corcyrensis 

 a very delicate plant indeed, even more so than G. 

 Octoherensis. It has, however, the peculiarity of nearly 

 all the other autumn-flowering sorts, of having a broad 

 white band up the centre of the leaves. The last of 

 those that I have tried to grow is one called G. Elsce. 

 This was found among some bulbs collected in 1889 on 

 Mount Athos, in Greece, by Dr Mahaff"y. Mr Burbidge 

 sent one of them to me, which opened its flower on 

 17th December. It is a dwarf variety with small 

 flowers of good form, but it is quite as delicate and 

 tender as any of the others of this section. From these 



