ON HARDY BULBS AND TUBERS. 



323 



grown in the open the amateur must guard against two things : 

 the ravages of the sparrows, which may be prevented by 

 stretching black cotton across their quarters, and the removal of 

 the foliage before it is ripe. There is a great temptation to do 

 so on account of its unsightly appearance,' as there is to twist 

 it into a knot for a similar reason. Both are, however, fatal to 

 success another season. Crocuses generally are increased by 

 offsets, and some few produce seed freely. When this is the 

 case it should be sown as soon as ripe. Deep planting is not 

 good for Crocuses. The best results are obtained when the 

 bulbs are just covered with soil. 



Of spring-flowering species and varieties the following may be 

 recommended : C. Imperati, lilac, variable ; C. Olivieri, orange ; 

 C. Sieberi, pale violet, with 

 orange base; C. susianus 

 {Cloth of Gold) ; C. obesus, 

 purple; and several others. 

 There are also, of course, 

 the numerous varieties 

 descended from the well- 

 known C. vernus ; while mention 

 should also be made of the 

 lovely C. biflorus, a winter or 

 early spring kind, whose outer 

 .petals are white, striped, and the 

 inner ones pure white. 



In the autumn-flowering sec- 

 tion, which should be got into 

 the soil as soon as on the 

 market, are several gems, but 

 none more effective than C. spe- 

 dosus, whose fine purple flowers, 

 with rich yellow stamens, are 

 seen to best advantage when 

 naturalised, or when grown upon 

 the rockery (Fig. 199); C. tnedius, 

 purple; C. zonatus, lilac, with 

 yellow base; and C. iridiflorus 

 {C. byzantinus, Fig. 200), purple 

 and lilac. There are, moreover, 

 a number of other species and 

 varieties which flower in mid-winter, but most of these 

 are best grown under the protection of a frame. Exceptions 

 are C. chrysanthus and its varieties; and C. Tommasinianusr, 

 a profuse blossomer, and very hardy. In colour this latter 

 is a combination of silvery-grey and pale blue, and it is one of 

 those kinds which no gardener should overlook. See also 

 Appendix." 



Fig. 200. — Crocus iridiflorus 

 (c. byzantinus). 



Y 2 



