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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Snowdrop is as erect on its stalk as a spear-liead on its shaft, and 

 it is tipped and sheathed, or buckram'd at the sides by the green 

 spathe-valves, and enfolded elsewhere by a tough but thin and 

 translucent and elastic membrane. As thus erect and sheathed, 

 the tender and pure white bud boldly pierces the cold and wet 

 enclodded earth without injury. When nearly fully grown the 

 bud bursts out of the sheath, generally on the sunny side, the 

 slender stalk or pedicel elongates, and the bud becomes pendant 

 and expands when elevated beyond all risk of harm. In the 

 whole world of flowers I know of no prettier or more suggestive 

 sight than this of a little Snowflower being born, fresh and 

 beautiful, into a cold and wintry world. No wonder some wise 

 old Frenchman bestowed on the flower-buds of Galanthus the 

 name of "Perce Neige " ; no wonder that some English poet 

 crystallised the purity of the flower by calling them " Fair Maids 

 of February " ; for Snowdrops, simple and abundant though they 

 be, have, like the fairest of human flowers, a divine instinct for 

 keeping themselves pure and unspotted from the world. 



The Flower Characters. 



If we examine a Snowdrop flower we find that it consists of 

 scape, spathe, pedicel, ovary or seed-vessel, and then the white 

 segments popularly known as the flower. The outer series of 

 three white segments we speak of as sepals. The inner series, 

 which are generally marked more or less with green, we call 

 petals. Then comes a cluster of six orange-yellow pollen-bags 

 or anthers, opening by seams or slits near their apices, so as to 

 let out the life-giving dust on to the stigma, which is like a pin 

 in the very centre of the flower. 



The accompanying engraving (fig. 25) represents the various 

 portions of a Snowdrop flower. 



The flowers of Snowdrops generally vary in size and in the 

 colour or shape of the spots and markings on the sepals and 

 petals. Taking G. nivalis as an example of size, we find it varies 

 from its smallest stage, having sepals not more than half an inch 

 long, to the great Caucasian and Italian forms, such as grandis 

 or Imperaii, which often have sepals one inch to one and a third 

 of an inch in length. G. plicatus, G. latifolius, G. Elwesii, and 

 G. Foster i again are very variable in size. 



