Page:Forbes Watson - Flowers and Gardens.djvu/35



F we examine our garden borders a little after Christmas, we are generally pretty sure of discovering the first signal of returning spring in the green points of the Snowdrop clusters just peeping through the ground. Looking rather more closely, we find that each plant has put forth two leaves, which cohere so as to form at the summit a short conical beak, tipped with a blunt, protective, callous point. This green beak is all that is visible at this early stage of growth, and is admirably fitted by its wedge-like character for thrusting through the soil. The flower lies at present deep sunk between the leaves, and undeveloped, waiting till they have cleared its way to light and air. Then the leaves separate and expand, the flower rapidly outgrows them, and before they have attained full size it has withered.