A SELECTION OF SGILLAS, 



139 



the localities in which the common native Squill (the Bluebell of 

 rthe Southerners) flourishes. Few more beautiful sights can be 

 . seen in this or any other country than a Beech wood or a Hazel 



^ . copse carpeted for long distances with Bluebells during April or May. 



* Many of the Scillas are amenable to pot culture, and will 

 thrive if treated in the same way as Snowdrops are when required 

 for the adornment of the window, greenhouse, or conservatory. 

 In the garden Squills should be planted freely, either in small 

 beds by themselves, as an edging or carpeting to other spring 

 bulbs, or as a groundwork to deciduous shrubs. 



Selection of Scillas. 



i 



f bifolia, blue ; several va- Hispaiiica,blue; also white, 



rieties, notably alba, rose, reddish, and striped 



rosea, Pink Beauty, and varieties. 

 White Queen. Lilio-hyacinthus, blue and 



festalis, blue ; the Blue- purple. 



bell, of which there are Peruviana, lilac ; alba and 

 white and rose coloured Hughii are respectively 



forms. white and red tinted. 



Sibiiica, blue. 



Cbapter XCVn — SnoiDdrops. 



The poems that have been written in praise of the Snowdrop all 

 urge upon us its chaste purity and sweet refinement. It, however, 

 needed not the poets' lays to tell us of its beauty, and of the 

 never-failing hearty welcome which awaits it in the spring as an 

 augury of the year's awakening. In wood, copse, dell, and hedge- 

 row, in some parts of the country. Snowdrops grow in thousands, 

 and the ground is literally clothed with the pure white, fragrant 

 blooms. 



In the semi-shaded corner of the rural garden Snowdrops flourish 

 splendidly, especially where the soil is of a fairly strong nature ; 

 but in small gardens it cannot be said for the Snowdrop that it is 

 an unqualified success, though in some it is apparently no trouble 

 at all to establish. Occasionally, where the more graceful single 

 Snowdrop will not grow, the double variety may be planted with 

 a fair hope of satisfactory res alts. 



The several species of Galanthus should be much more 

 extensively planted, as they are most beautiful in the spring and 

 summer, and provide a feature in gardens that no other plants, 

 bulbous or otherwise, can afford. Some of them resemble the 

 common Snowdrops in all except size, while others have exquisite 

 markings of soft yellow or yellowish green on the ground of 

 snowy whiteness. With increase in size many plants deteriorate 

 in refinement, but this is not the case with the large Snowdrops, 

 which are equal in this respect to the smaller sorts. 



