Part II. CROCUS. 177 



with the bulbs five inches or more under ground. Depth is 

 very necessary to their preservation, for mice, which I have 

 found usually to meddle with no other species, will scratch very 

 deep in quest of them. The fine common large yellow Crocus 

 luteus of the gardens differs sufficiently from the varieties to 

 make it pretty evident that it is a natural local variation of the 

 species, and not a garden variety ; but we know not whence it 

 was derived. All the varieties of this species seem to prefer a 

 very light soil upon a clay subsoil." — Herbert, in 'Trans. Hort. 

 Soc' Grown in nearly every garden, it is needless to speak of 

 the positions for which it is most fitting, but it might be natu- 

 ralised with great advantage in the rougher parts of the 

 pleasure-ground, or in open sunny spots or banks along wood- 

 walks. 



CROCUS NUDIPLOEirS.— /'a/^ Purple Autumn C. 



A BEAUTIFUL pale bright purple Crocus, flowering in autumn 

 after the leaves of the year are withered, thriving freely in any 

 sandy or light soil, and naturalised abundantly in meadows about 

 Nottingham, Derby, Halifax, and Warrington. The corm flowers 

 when about the size of a pea, sending out stolons in spring, the 

 thickened apices of which afterwards form new corms. The 

 leaves appear in very early spring, and are very slender, with 

 a narrow white line in the centre. Flower with the tube from 

 three inches to ten inches, and the segments one inch and a 

 half to two inches long ; stigmas reddish-orange, cut into an 

 elegant fringe. A native of South- Western Europe, and well 

 worthy of general cultivation as a rockwork or border plant ; 

 particularly suitable for forming edgings or clumps round beds 

 of autumn flowers. It somewhat resembles the Meadow Saffron 

 at first sight, but is easily distinguished from it by having three, 

 not six, stamens. 



CROCUS OSSnKSXDI&.—Orphanides' C. 



A LOVELY Crocus, with soft lilac-blue flowers, having yellow 

 throats, two inches and a half in diameter, and opening in 

 autumn. The bulbs are unusually large, nearly two inches long, 

 "closely covered with a bright chestnut-brown tissue." The 

 leaves appear with the flowers, exceeding them in length, and 

 getting much longer afterwards^ This has recently been sent to 



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