WINTER IN THE GARDEN 191 



type. All the varieties are deliciously fragrant, 

 which adds greatly to their value. The Christmas 

 rose is queen of winter flowers, its snowy blossoms 

 expanding during the darkest days of the year. 

 There are many varieties, of which the best known 

 are HeUeborus altifoUus or maocimus, the most 

 vigorous grower of the whole family. It comes 

 into bloom early, beginning to expand its flowers 

 about mid- October. Vigorous clumps are often 

 four feet or more across and bear flowers five inches 

 in diameter on stems nearly two feet in height. The 

 flower stems are mottled with red and the backs 

 of the petals are rosy. Juvernis, St. Brigid's 

 Christmas rose, is a very beautiful form, the 

 blossoms being of an absolutely pure white and 

 more cupped in shape than those of the last-named 

 variety, while the flower-stems are of a clear, pale 

 green. Of angustifolms there are two forms, the 

 Manchester and the Scotch varieties. The flowers 

 are smaller than those of altifoUus, and the leaves 

 are narrower. Biverstoni, an Irish form, is an 

 exceptionally free -blooming variety. Its flower- 

 stems are apple-green and the leaf-stalks are red 

 spotted, the leaves being of a rather pale green. 

 The Brockhurst variety bears a strong resemblance 

 to Juvernis, the flower-stems and leaf-stalks being 



