234 THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. [OCTOBER, 



tlien a whitisli aspect due to the stigmatic papilla3, wlaicli are ratlier prominent. 

 The roots, both of the young and the adult plants, are orange-red, and of a fleshy, 

 spongy nature, like those of Madura aurantiaca. 



M. tnousjndata comes from Japan, and probably from the temperate regions, 

 which seems to indicate that its constitution may be rather tender. At Paris, 

 the young parts which have not been sufficiently ripened are frequently 

 destroyed by the winter. Hence it would be prudent to protect the young plants 

 during that season, which is, however, not necessary after they have become estab- 

 lished, for then, if the tender parts are destroyed, vigorous buds start again from the 

 stem or from the roots. M. Carriere recommends budding with half-ripened buds, 

 under a bell-glass, in July- August, or root-cuttings, as in the case of 31. aurantiaca, 

 as the best means of propagation. — T. Moore. 



HAEDY EVENING PEIMROSES. 



JNDER the calm influence of the still midsummer evenings, several species 



of (Enothera or Evening Primrose expand their peculiarly delicate and fragile 



^hs blossoms. The suddenness of their expansion, associated as it is with the 



•^^ deepening shades of exhausted day, and their beauty of form, seem to 



invest the flowers with a peculiar poetic interest, which, however, is in some 



measure dispelled by the bacchanalian name, derived from the Greek oims and 



tltera, and suggesting that the CEaothera is an incentive to wine-drinking. 



The cultivation of these beautiful hardy plants has very much and most 

 undeservedly fallen off of late years. The genus affords us so many distinct- 

 habited kinds that some one, or more, may be grown and welcomed in any 

 garden, however limited in space. There are hardy annual kinds, such as (E. 

 clavata, CE. tetraptera, and (E. j^i^'^'^^O'tijida, the last being the tallest, and all 

 white-flowered ; CE. minima, (E. dentata, and (E. grandiflora, which are all 

 yellow ; while amongst rosy-reds we possess (E. concinna, (E. tenella, (E. 

 anicena, (E. densijiora, and (E. decumbens, which all have purplish-tinted 

 flowers, and vary in height from 6 in. to 15 in. All these may be sown either 

 in early spring or autumn, as hardy annuals ordinarily are, and they will afford 

 a very interesting display. It should, however, be mentioned that with one or two 

 exceptions all the annual species I may name flower most freely u.pon poor, open, 

 stony soil. When grown in too rich soil, they have a great tendency to run into 

 strong leaf-and-branch growth, with comparatively few flowers. This is a great 

 drawback in the case of flowers possessing so transitory an existence. The 

 exceptions to this rule are (ZJ. sinuata and (E. tetraptera, which require rich 

 quarters. The purple-flowered sorts I have mentioned above, including another, 

 (E. viminea, from California, make exceedingly interesting pot plants, if the seeds 

 are sown in moderately poor soil, in the pots in which they are to be bloomed. 



Amongst the biennial Evening Primroses we possess GE. sinuata above 

 referred to, in connection with pot culture ; CEJ. biennis, the sort more imme- 

 diately in view in the selection of the generic name, and (E. Lamarch'ana, one of 



