CRO' CUS. 



68 



CRO'WEA. 



planted as soon as possible. The com- 

 monest kinds are C. vernus, of which 

 there are many varieties, all, however, 

 having in them some shade of lilac 

 mixed with white ; C. versicolor, to 

 which division belong the beautifully- 

 feathered kinds of purple ; C. biflorus, 

 the Scotch crocus, striped white and 

 purple, and generally the first to flower 

 in spring; C. susianus, the cloth of 

 gold, striped orange and very dark 

 purple ; C. sulphureus, very pale 

 yellow, or cream-coloured ; and C. 

 iuteus, the common yellow. Besides 

 these, there is C. sattvus, the autumn- 

 flowering crocus, or saffron, which is 

 cultivated, on a large scale, in some 

 parts of England, particularly near Saf- 

 fron Walden in Essex, for its flowers, 

 which, when dried, become saffron, 

 and are used in dyeing. There are 

 also large plantations of saffron in 

 France ; but in that country the bulb 

 is frequently attacked by a fungus, 

 which the French call mort de safran, 

 which makes it wither up, and perish. 

 All the kinds of springcrocuses should 

 be grown in light sandy loam well drain- 

 ed, and they may be planted either in 

 rows, or beds ; or they may be made 

 to form a kind of Arabesque pattern 

 in the borders. 



In whatever way the crocus may 

 be planted, the leaves should never 

 be cut off till they begin to wither, as 

 without their assistance the plant 

 cannot accumulate matter to form its 

 new bulb for the ensuing season. The 

 new bulb always forms above the old 

 one ; so that in four or five years, 

 they will have almost pushed them- 

 selves out of the ground ; and from 

 this habit of growth, crocuses are ge- 

 nerally planted three or four inches 

 deep. Crocuses, when in flower, are 

 frequently destroyed by sparrows, 

 which peck at them, and the bulbs 

 are often eaten by mice. They ripen 

 abundance of seed, but the seedlings do 

 not flower till the third or fourth year. 



Crocks, or Potsherds. — Broken 

 pieces of flower-pots, bricks, or tiles, 

 used for draining plants. 



Crossbreds differ from hybrids in 

 being produced by plants more nearly 

 allied to each other ; as two varieties 

 of one species, two nearly allied spe- 

 cies, &c. For the mode of making 

 these crosses, see Geranium and 

 Hybrid. 



Crosswort. — See Crucianella. 



Crotaia ria. — Leguminosce. — 

 Herbaceous plants, natives of the 

 East and West Indies, and a few 

 shrubs, natives of the Cape, with 

 showy pea-flowers, generally either 

 purple or yellow. There are a few 

 annual species, the hardy ones of 

 which are natives of North America, 

 but the species most commonly culti- 

 vated are greenhouse shrubs. They 

 should be grown in sandy loam and 

 peat, well drained ; and they are pro- 

 pagated by cuttings of the young wood 

 and seeds. 



Cro x ton. — EuphorbiacecB. — 

 Mostly stove-shrubs, natives of the 

 East Indies and South America. 

 C. picta (Codiceitm pic turn, Juss.) 

 is a very remarkable and ornamental 

 plant, from the brilliant colour of its 

 leaves, which are variegated with 

 blotches of scarlet, yellow, and dark 

 purple. This species should be grown 

 in lime-rubbish and peat, or in sand 

 only, and the pots must be well 

 drained, or the leaves will soon be- 

 come green, and lose their beauty. 

 The Croton oil is made from an an- 

 nual species, C. Tiglium, a native of 

 the East Indies* The shrubby kinds 

 are propagated by cuttings, which 

 should not have their leaves short- 

 ened, and which must be struck in 

 moist heat. 



Crowfoot. — See Ranunculus. 



Cro v wea. — Rutacece. — A very 

 pretty New Holland shrub, which 

 will flower nearly all the year. It 

 should be grown in a compost of ve- 



