206 FLORA HISTORICA. 



pellation of a starry flower, j udges of this flower 

 are content. The anthers, or summits of the 

 stamens, must be large, bold, and fill the tube well, 

 and the tube should terminate rather above the 

 eye : the eye should be very white, smooth, and 

 round, without any cracks, and distinct from the 

 ground, or self-colour. The ground-colour must 

 be bold and rich, and equal on every side of the 

 eye; whether it be in one uniform circle, or in 

 bright patches, it must be distinct at the eye, and 

 only broken at the outward part into the edging. 

 The favourite colours are a fine black, purple, or 

 bright chesnut, a rich blue, or bright pink ; but 

 the acme of the florist's ambition is to procure the 

 Auricula of a glowing scarlet, or deep crimson, 

 edged with a clear green. The green edge, or mar- 

 gin, is the principal cause of the variegated appear- 

 ance in this flower ; and it should be in proportion 

 to the ground colour, that is, about one-half of 

 each." Nature has guarded these delicate flowers 

 from the scorching heat of the sun's rays by sprink- 

 ling them with a fine powder, and the leaves of most 

 of the kinds of Auricula are kept cool by the same 

 wise precaution. 



The Auricula is generally observed to be brought 

 to the highest perfection in the neighbourhood of 

 manufacturing towns, where the mechanic leaves 

 his labour to attend and admire the beauties of his 



