60 THE FLORIST. 



THE CHINESE PRIMULA. 



At a season when all nature appears dull and almost inanimate, this 

 beautiful plant makes our greenhouses lively and attractive ; and 

 much as has been said respecting its culture, no mode of treatment 

 which I have seen advocated appears to me to possess advantages 

 like that which I have been in tlie habit of pursuing. 



I sow the seed in a gentle heat in the beginning of April. As 

 soon as the plants are up and sufficiently large to handle, I prick 

 them out under handglasses at the bottom of a west wall, and shade 

 them for a few hours during the day while the sun is powerful, giving 

 them now and then a sprinkle with a fine-rosed watering-pot, and 

 keeping them close. When they begin to grow, the glasses are re- 

 moved at night, as the dew of the morning greatly strengthens them, 

 and it is astonishing how fast they advance in growth. When suf- 

 ficiently large, I pot them into 4 -inch pots, and place them in a close 

 frame until they have become established a little, after which the 

 lights are drawn off every night in fine weather, and air is given 

 in the daytime by tilting the lights at the back, shading the plants 

 lightly during the hottest part of the day. When the pots have be- 

 come filled with roots, I repot into 6-inch pots, in which they are 

 flowered. When they come into blossom, the most fimbriated and 

 best-coloured ones are carefully selected and marked. 



After they have done blooming, and rested for a short period, the 

 greater portion of the soil is removed from the roots, which are cut 

 pretty close in ; at the same time the stems of the plants are cleared 

 of all old leaf-stalks, and every thing is made clean and neat. They 

 are then repotted in the following compost : equal parts turfy loam 

 and peat, with a portion of well-decomposed cow- dung, and silver 

 sand in it. The compost is used in a rough state, with broken crocks 

 below it for drainage ; and the pots employed vary from six to eight 

 inches in width, according to the strength and size of the plants. 

 After potting they are placed in a close frame and treated exactly as 

 recommended above. In this way I have grown splendid plants; 

 and some have done better the third year than the second, but I have 

 never tried them for a •longer period. By following the same plan 

 every year, fine plants and good sorts are secured. R. Fielder. 



DESCRIPTIVE LISTS OF FRUITS. 



No. III. 

 THE GOOSEBERRY. 



The Gooseberry is another of our common fruits, which, in conse- 

 quence of its extensive usefulness, and the manageable size and easy 

 culture of the plant, is peculiarly fitted for gardens wherein the neces- 

 sary space cannot be afforded for many fruit- trees of larger growth. 

 Several of the best sorts are cultivated in almost every garden, while 

 many others of equal merit are rarely seen ; and to make these latter 



