CROCUS AND EARLY SPRING FLOWERS 43 



though the minor poet is still with us, and no 

 less minor, though possibly less "refined." 



Earlier than crocus, as early as snowdrops, 

 comes the winter aconite — Eranthis liyemalis. 

 It is grown in quantity in Holland, but as the 

 corms are so very small, not more than half an 

 inch in diameter, one does not see large stretches. 

 It is said that as many as a thousand good 

 corms can be raised on two square metres of 

 land, so naturally it is sold cheap. We prize 

 it as one of the earliest flowers of the year, and 

 because it is hardy, and will, if left to itself, 

 grow anywhere, even under deciduous shrubs. 

 But to our forbears it had another and greater 

 importance, for it was reckoned the " counter- 

 poison monkhood," and its roots were considered 

 "effectual, not only against the; poison of the 

 poisonful helmet flower and all others of that 

 kind, but also against the poison of all venomous 

 beasts," — a large and useful characteristic to be 

 possessed by any plant. 



One of the most beautiful of the early spring 

 flowers is one practically without history — the 

 Scilla sibirica. It is comparatively a newcomer 

 in Dutch bulb fields, for it was brought to 

 Europe from Asia Minor, the Happy Land of 



