TWO RARE CROCl 
without covering. I raise acres of Broom 
and Furze by simply throwing the seed 
out of hand. In freshly cleared spaces 
these seedling plants would come more 
freely still, and the seed should be sown 
not too early in the spring. I mean it 
is better to sow in the first week of May 
than in March, as it gives the rabbits 
a little less time to gnaw the small plants 
before they get well started. At least 
two kinds of Broom and two kinds of 
Furze are excellent to sow in this way, 
and not a few other things might be 
raised from seed in case of scarcity of 
plants ; but most plants good for the 
work are to be had in forest nurseries 
in quantity, and only young healthy 
plants should be bought for this purpose. 
* # # 
A Winter-flowering Tree [Prunus Davidi- 
ana alba). — One has read with pleasure your 
appreciative note in the April number of Flora 
upon this beautiful tree, which is one of the 
most precious things in one's garden at the 
early season at which it blooms. With me, 
in the South of Scotland, it usually does well, 
and I have occasionally had it in bloom early 
in January. Unfortunately, it sometimes has 
its earliest blooms cut by severe frost, but as 
they are not all produced at once the later 
flowers have a better chance of coming to per- 
fection. This year it did even better than 
usual, although a little later, and one was 
delighted with its beauty, the slender branches 
being wreathed with pure white blossom in 
February and part of March. There are two 
forms of the white-flowering one, that here 
being the more erect, or fastigiate form, the 
better of the two. What I understand to be 
the typical form with rose-coloured flowers 
is not so pretty as the white one, but it, again, 
has been finer than usual this season. I have 
had both forms here for several years and have 
found them quite hardy in this garden by the 
Solway. — S. Arnott. 
Carsethorn, Dumfries, 
Scotland. 
TWO RARE CROCI [Crocus caspius 
and C. dabnatiais). 
Crocus caspius. — A beautiful autumn- 
flowering species, belonging to that 
group of the genus with membranous 
corm- tunics and without a basal spathe; 
it is therefore nearlyrelated to C. Totirne- 
fortii^ C. Bo?yi., C. veneris.^ and C. Icevi- 
gatus^ but can be easily distinguished 
Crocus Caspius {Hsch ct Meyer). 
Engraved for " Flora fj'om a drawhig by Mr E. A. Bowles. 
from them by its entire stigmata and 
yellow anthers, for in each of these 
others the anthers are white and the stig- 
