1871.] TREATMENT OF HARDY PRIMULAS. 181 



to slip into vases for room decoration, 7-incli pots being the largest 

 that are convenient for our purposes. It might be desirable in some 

 cases to have larger plants than can be grown in pots of that size, but 

 large plants are not so easily managed in the dull dark days of the 

 year in the moist atmosphere of a forcing-house as those that are 

 smaller, into the centres of which air may penetrate freely and dispel 

 the moisture that is apt to accumulate there and destroy the umbels 

 as they emerge from the crowns. The plants are divided into single 

 crowns in April or early in May. If stock is not plentiful the most 

 prominent crowns only of the stock-plants are taken off in the shape of 

 cuttings, and treated precisely as cuttings, putting them singly in 

 small 60-pots in sandy loam and peat, and keeping them in a close 

 cold frame till they are rooted. A little shade must be given till they 

 are established, after which, if they are carefully attended to with 

 water, no shading will be necessary, but injurious. When the roots 

 have reached the sides of the pots, but before they become matted, 

 the plants are shifted into 4 or 5 inch pots, using fibrous loam and 

 peat and old well-decomposed sheep or cow dung, the latter and the 

 peat being together equal to about one - third of the mass, and as 

 much sharp gritty sand should be added as will render the whole 

 open and porous when compressed in the hand. As soon as the roots 

 begin to penetrate the new soil, the plants begin to make rapid 

 development of leaf, especially so in the case of P. denticulata and 

 P. amtjena ; P. erosa is slower and sturdier, though not less sure than 

 the others. They should never be allowed to suffer from lack of water 

 at the roots, but it is injurious to give it over-head at any time — an 

 occasional syringing in the afternoon of a bright exhausting day will 

 be found beneficial, but the practice of watering over-head with the 

 rose, if continued, leads to the destruction of the crowns by damping 

 at the base of the foliage. About the beginning of July, sooner or 

 later, according to the progress the plants have made, they are 

 shifted into their blooming-pots, using the same compost as has already 

 been described, and well-arranged drainage ; and the plants are treated 

 afterwards as already directed, giving plenty of air at all times — in fact, 

 removing the lights wholly except in wet showery weather, and even 

 then tilting them as high as possible, their use being only to exclude 

 rain. Towards the end of August the plants are gradually stinted of 

 water, and are brought to rest by the end of September or beginning 

 of October. They are very apt to start their flowers in October, or 

 even in September, if they are not stinted thus, and subjected at the 

 same time to a retarding process in every way. If the plants have 

 been previously plunged, they are raised out of the plunging material 

 and placed upon boards or slates, and are exposed to all kinds of 



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