52 FLORA HISTORIC.*. 



childhood, as the former reminds us of past friends 

 and rural walks ; for the soft tints of the Primrose, 

 like the mild beams of the moon, seem to invite us 

 on to moral reflections and quiet contemplation. 



The Primrose is a native of most parts of Eu- 

 rope, always seeking the partial shade of hedge- 

 rows, the banks of sheltered lanes, and the borders 

 of woods or coppices, and is but seldom found 

 spangling the open meadow like its relative the 

 Cowslip. From this we should learn to place it on 

 the banks of our wilderness walks, and to scatter 

 it thickly beneath the trees of the shrubbery. It 

 will grow in almost any soil, but thrives most on a 

 clayey bank. When transplanted in the Spring, 

 it receives a check to its flowering, which often 

 causes it to blossom freely in the autumn. 



The variety of the common Primrose, with 

 double flowers of a lilac colour, forms a most 

 agreeable contrast with the pale Primrose of the 

 woods. 



The common Sulphur-coloured Primrose fre- 

 quently changes its colour into a pale dingy red 

 by cultivation ; and we have sometimes met with 

 it growing naturally of this colour, occasioned by 

 some accidental circumstance analogous to culti- 

 vation, as either by the seed falling on strong 

 manure, or rich earth being scattered over the 

 plant. 



