19G TUE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE, 



only been planted tlie previous autumn, but all were alike densely 

 flowered. 



In raising a stock for next season, the best course will be to 

 procure at once a few large clumps, divide them separately, and 

 plant them out in a shady positioo. The soil must be rather light 

 and rich, to induce them to grow away vigorously and produce 

 strong clumps. If there is a difficulty in obtaining large clumps, 

 small plants may be obtained and put out in much the same manner 

 as offsets. It will be cheaper to buy now than to wait until the 

 autumn, for those procured now, and managed as here advised, will 

 acquire a considerable strength by the autumn, and bloom freely in 

 the spring. They will in fact become as large by the autumn as 

 those which will then be sold as extra-sized at a considerable advance 

 in the price. There can be no question as to the desirability of 

 selecting for the varieties of Primula cortusoides a rather dry and 

 sheltered situation as the winter quarters. Of the hardiness there 

 can be no doubt ; for this season, although late in the spring the 

 young growth of the majority of the hardiest of the shrubs was cut 

 off by the frosts, the primulas were uninjured. 



Mr. "Ware also had a large house full of specimens in pots, and 

 when I saw them they were so superbly flowered that a glimpse of 

 them was sufficient to take one's breath away, and it was a difficult 

 matter to decide which was the more worthy of admiration, the 

 glorious beds out of doors, or the splendid display under glass. 



The white variety, and the lovely lilac form known as P. cortu- 

 soides lilacina, are less effective out of doors than the variety mentioned 

 above. They are however quite equal to many other spring flowers, 

 and for pot culture are quite indispensable, as they produce a most 

 pleasing effect when intermixed with the other things with which 

 the conservatory is usually decorated during the spring season. 



THE AMATEUE'S PINE PIT. 



BY "WILLIAM COLE, 



Head Gardener, Ealing Park, Middlesex. 



lEW amateurs engage in the cultivation of the pine-apple, 

 some refraining from taking it in hand for reasons that 

 are perfectly satisfactory, and others through labouring 

 under the supposition that the expense is out of all 

 proportion to the produce obtained. With this view of 

 the case I an) not prepared to agree, for although the outlay is con- 

 siderable in providing fuel, the pine-apples are 'proportionately 

 valuable, and with ordinary good management will yield as fair a 

 return as any other fruit grown under glass. Apart from the plea- 

 sure which is naturally felt by a gentleman who, practically, 

 manages his own garden, in putting on his table a pine-apple grown 

 by himself, home grown pines are as a rule preferable ; there is a 

 certainty of their being perfectly fresh, and possessing that full 



