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CARL PURDY, URIAH, MENDOCINO CO., CAL. 
Giant Dog’s-tooth Violets, Erythronium Californicum. Rich creamy tint. Imagine the beauty 
of thousands dotted among low ferns and wood plants 
DOG’S-TOOTH VIOLETS (Erythroniums) 
I he charm of these most beautiful woodland plants is well pictured in the accompany¬ 
ing halltones. It they had no other beauty than that of their richly mottled leaves, they 
would be well worth a place in the shady corner. Their flowers are indeed very fine, and, in 
the western species, often 3 inches across, with stems at the most 18 inches high, although 
oftener from 3 to 6 inches. The colors run in delicate tints of white, pink, cream, bright 
yellow and even rose. If given a winter covering of leaves, they are hardy in the coldest 
parts ol the United States, and while they are at their best in a loose, gritty soil, rich in leaf- 
mold, they also thrive in the greatest variety of clays, grits, and rocky soils. In woodlands, 
in shaded corners, or in the crevices of rockwork in shade, is the place to naturalize them; 
they should carpet the ground. Plant in early fall 2 inches deep and from 2 inches apart up. 
Dog s-tooth \ iolets can be grown in pots or in the coldframe in the way recommended for 
calochortus. E. Hartwegii is the best for pots. All my varieties are described on the next 
page. 
In a shaded spot in one Berkeley garden, in the natural soil, a fine colony flowers yearly 
to the delight of its owner. 
I wish to thank you for introducing me to the Dog’s-tooth Violets. Most of them have 
bloomed, and they are beautiful. I have them planted on a rise under trees, with gold-back 
and maidenhair. A lady in the Santa Cruz Mountains writes this note. 
