In the Garden
First beauty, then use. The autumn crocuses, though the lawn where they grow was mowed very late, are flowering to perfection, and have continued to multiply. The later " creations " (by Mr. Backhouse) are very much finer in shape and in breadth of petal than the older types, and seem quite as ready to multiply themselves. The double Dutch variety will also endure a grass setting, though perhaps a little less gladly. It is much the biggest flower of this class of colchi- cum, though, of course, not of the proportions of C. speciosum, which may reach a foot in height. Most of the bulbs are decidedly better in grass, as the earth may fatally soil their tender petals in wet weather. Now for use—a number of enquiries have reached me about the growing of potatoes under glass. It is the boast of many country-house gardeners that they supply new potatoes on Christmas Day. These are usually grown either in eight-inch or bigger flower- pots, or on greenhouse shelves or trays. In very old mould they will yield tubers in as little as eight inches of soil. The yield, of course, is seldom big, but the product is a real
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