THE SNOWDROP. 
Galanthus nivalis, 
will appear to the casual reader 
that the snowdrop is regarded, 
in the light of its name, as “a 
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drop of snow.” The philologists 
often remind us that “ obvious ” 
derivations are always wrone. 
We may doubt if the sweeping 
declaration is a good one; but 
the present case justifies it so 
far, because the snowdrop is 
nota drop of snow. ‘The reader 
may have seen in the jewellers’ 
shops and in the ears of some 
fair lady imitations of fuchsia 
flowers in precious stones, and 
called ‘“‘fuchsia-drops.” The 
word before us is an exact 
parallel thereto. These flowers 
are likened to eardrops, and they are called ‘ white flower- 
drops,” and that is the proper interpretation of snowdrops. 
The name is from the German schueetropfen; it implies 
that the flower affords a type of a class of personal adorn- 
ments, and to copy it in jewellery would be in perfect taste, 
other matters having concurrent consideration. The Germans 
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