36 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
blossoms in December, and is at its best about the first week of January 
if the weather is mild, but keeps up a succession of flowers till the 
end of the month. It increases well by offsets and sows itself. 
Mrs. R. O. Backhouse, of Sutton Court, Hereford, crossed nivalis 
with plicatus and obtained a very beautiful strain of large-flowered 
forms, which Mr. Baker has named grandiflorus. Unfortunately 
they are not long-lived, and die out after a year or two, or they would 
be among the finest of Snowdrops. 
We have seen a few of the many varieties of this favourite flower, 
which will give you some idea of what has been done by collectors 
and seed-raisers. I feel sure much more might yet be done to add 
other forms to our gardens. It is quite likely that many autumnal 
or winter-flowering forms could be found in Greece, and that, if we 
all saved and sowed at once the seed produced in our gardens, greater 
vigour and perhaps still greater beauty might be found among the 
seedlings. 
Cultivation. 
The main point to insist upon in growing Snowdrops is to keep 
them out of the ground for as short a time as possible. 
If transplanting them in one's own garden, the best time is when 
they are in full flower, provided that in digging them up none of the 
roots are broken, that they are not allowed to get at all dried before 
replanting, and that the roots are spread out in as natural a position 
as possible in their new situation. When buying bulbs they should 
be ordered early, so that they may be delivered in July or August, 
and certainly not later than September, and they should be planted 
as soon as possible after their arrival. 
Most kinds like a cool but well-drained soil, and seem happier 
when growing among the roots of deciduous shrubs, but I have seen 
nivalis very happy in a low-lying bit of ground often flooded in winter ; 
and Elwesii, as I have said before, certainly in this garden prefers a 
warm dry bed, where the sun can warm the bulbs and ripen them. 
Atkins' form of Imperati also appreciates warmth, and is never 
better than at the foot of a south wall, as it grew so finely at Bitton. 
