"76 THE FAEM. 



ly ripened. For the same reason, the situation ought to be airy. It is 

 propagated by seeds or cuttings of the roots. 



Crocus. — The welcome harbinger of returning sunshine and cheerful- 

 ness ; although one species, C. sativus, or saffron, flowers in the autumn, 

 and is cultivated for culinary and medicinal purposes rather than as a 

 garden plant. The genus is large ; a few species only ate desirable for 

 the parterre, the Alpine crocuses having mostly insignificant flowers, 

 although interesting in other respects. The yellow crocus, C. luteus, is 

 a general favorite ; but requires a bright sunny day for its perfect ex- 

 pansion. The cloth-of-gold, C. Susianus, which has been put forward 

 to rival it, is far inferior. 



In whatever way the crocus may be planted, the leaves should never 

 be cut off till they begin to wither, as, without their assistance, the plant 

 cannot accumulate matter to form its new bulb for the ensuing season. 

 The new bulb always forms above the old one ; so that in four or five 

 years they will have almost pushed themselves out of the ground ; and 

 from this habit of growth, crocuses are generally planted three or four 

 inches deep. 



Cercis. — 7%e Judas tree. — Few trees are more ornamental in a shrub- 

 bery than the two species of this genus ; but Cercis Siliquastrum, the 

 common kind, is decidedly the handsomest. The leaves are curiously 

 shaped, and the flowers, which are of a beautiful pink, grow out of the 

 bark of the stem and branches, and not, like those of other plants, among 

 the leaves. These flowers have an agreeably acid taste, and, when 

 fried in batter, make excellent fritters. The common Judas-tree is a 

 native of the Levant, and it is frequently grown against a wall, pro- 

 ducing its flowers in April ; but the American kind, 0. canadensis, is 

 quite hardy. They both produce abundance of seeds, and grow best in 

 a deep sandy loam, rather rich than poor. 



Clintonia. — Loheliacece. — Beautiful little annuals, flowering profusely 

 the whole summer. They are natives of California, but will bear heat 

 better than the generality of annuals from that country. They are 

 generally raised on a hotbed (the seeds being sown in February), and 

 planted out in May ; but they may be sown in the open border in June. 



Clnb-Moss. — A curious kind of moss, common in Europe and America, 

 some of the kinds of which are very ornamental. L. helveticum, which 

 is very handsome, is generally grown in pots in greenhouses. It should 

 be grown in peat and loam, and allowed abundance of water. ' 



Daisy. — The most beautiful varieties are the large double, the large 

 quilled, and the hen-and-chickens; but there are many others. In 

 Germany numerous curious varieties have been raised by saving the 

 seed of the handsomest kinds. Each sort is much improved by being 

 taken up, divided, and replanted three or four times every season. They 

 are all admirable plants for making edgings to borders, and they are 

 well suited for growing in pots, though at present they are almost neg- 

 lected. They thrive best in a loamy soil, richly-manured, which 

 should be dug over and well broken before planting; and they will bear 

 transplanting even when in flower, provided they are taken up with a 

 portion of soil attached. No plants are better adapted for covering a 

 bed with one mass of color. Masses of any of the kinds of daisies may 



