Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-10-12
THE CROCUS.

This bright little flower belongs to
the lridacese and includes a number of
varieties. Crocus vernus, with Its
white, purple and striped blossoms, is,
like the snowdrop, a harbinger of
Spring. bursting from the earth before
the snow has fairly vanished.
Some fanciful persons have imagined
that it was one of the narrow, flag like
leaves of this plant, which the dove
brought to Noah when the ark rested,
thus su bstitutIng the emblem of hope
for the olive branch of peace.
The crocus is native of the Orient
and one of the flowers in which the
ancients delighted Homer speaks of
''crocus and hyacinth" ami the hills OF
Greece were gay with their blossoms.
regal in purple and gold. The po' Is
have always associated the crocus with
the pleasures of hope and one address
es it thus:
"Thine is the flower of hope, whose hue
Is br ght with coming joy"
Crocus luteum and susiana, or "cloth
of gold" is, also, a spring variety,
with small, deep yellow blossoms
veined with darker lines of buff and
chocolate Their "gilded spikes and
golden cups" form pleasing contrast
with other varieties.
Crocus close so quickly in the shade,
that they are not very satisfactory as
cut flowers. but in gay, garden beds
upon the lawn, their blithe faces seem
TO tell of youth and hope and the glory
of living.
A bed of crocuses planted in the fall
along some old hedge or garden wall,
will bloom and multiply year after
year with little care, and are also very
attractive IN grassy corners, while IN
window boxes in the house, sunny
corner may be made brilliant for
weeks
This flower has been dedicated to st.
Valentine. though why, one can scarce
~ imagine, unless that In Its native
habitat 1t comes into blossom so early
as tue 14th OF February.
The word, crocUs, comes from the
Greek name for saffron; G. SatIvus, or
fall crocus yielding the saffron of COM
merce from its long, narrow, orange
red stlgmas. 1t has been quite extern
sively cultivated in England for this
purpose. 1t Is purple and fragrant
like the Sicilian crocus which also bios
SONS IN the fall.
Nearly allied to, and much resemb-
ling @. Sativus, is colchicum autumn
male or meadow saflon, the latter
differing mainly IN having six
stamens inste.d of three, and
three styles instead of one. 1t belongs
to the Lilacee, and, in the temperate
countries of Europe, may be seen
shining upon the green sward of moist
meadows in early autumn. 1t takes its
name from Colchis, an ancient country
of Asia, celebrated in mythology as
the destination of the Argonauts and
the home of Medea and the Golden
Fleece. The flower, which abounds III
Colchis, was mythlcally supposed to
spring from some drops of the fluid
which Medea prepared to restore the
aged Eson to youth. 1t is highly
medicinal and is popularity believed to
be a preventive against every NAL
ady, the Swiss tying it about the necks
of their children TO ward off evil.
1t is, to the botanist, a singularly
interesting flower. 1t rises directly
from the new tuber in the autumn,
its pale, purple corolla having SIX d1-
visions, but neither stems nor leaves;
the long, white tubular prolongstIon
of the flower being its only support,
at the lower end of which is found the
seed Inclosed in a protecting sheath
buried deep in the grass, and ripening
in the following Spring when the
leaves are formed, thus reversing the
usual order OF plant growth and bios
soming with the fruits of autumn while
it finds its seedtime among the flowers
of Spring.
The illustration shows the flowers,
leaves and bulb of Crocus vernus.