THE CROCUS. 
“ Some derive the name of this flower from 
a beautiful youth named Crocus, who is said 
to have been consumed by the ardour of his 
afl'ection for Srnilax ; and afterwards meta¬ 
morphosed into the plant which still bears his 
name. Others suppose it to be taken from 
Coriscus, a city and mountain of Cilicia.” 
“ The Spring Crocus is common in many 
parts of Europe; there are many varieties; 
and as this kind furnishes the florists with 
seed, new varieties continually occur. The 
most usual are the Common Yellow, the 
Great Yellow, Deep Blue, Light Blue, 
White with Blue Stripes, Blue with White 
Stripes, White with a Purple Base, and 
Cream-coloured, — all natives of Britain: as 
also several from Scotland; the Black and 
White Striped, the Cloth of Gold, &c.” 
“ The Yellow is the most showy for the 
garden, and the purple the most beautiful; 
the white the most conspicuous, and the 
most curious. 
“ If the season be mild, this plant will 
sometimes flower in February, and continue 
to enliven the parterre until April.” 
“ The Crocus appears to have been first 
cultivated in our gardens during the reign of 
Queen Elizabeth, as Gerarde observes that 
