i8 7 o.] MY EXPERIENCES WITH THE AURICULA. 255 



crosswise, was fixed a grooved rail, on which to place what I intended 

 to provide for shading purposes ; and these rails, when fixed, gave a 

 fall of about 1 foot G inches. Both back and front another rail was 

 fixed lengthwise to secure each upright in its place, and thus my 

 framework was constructed. The "shades," as I term them, were 

 made of light wooden frames G feet in length and 3 feet 8 inches in 

 breadth, and having a narrow rail across the centre ; these were 

 covered with calico sheeting, and coated with boiled oil. And having 

 given all the woodwork a couple of coats of paint, my al fresco stage 

 for the housing and exhibition of my Auriculas during the blooming 

 period was perfect. 



When my seedling plants began to develop their flowers, all were 

 (to me) very interesting and pretty, and they contained some really 

 nice things ; yet, when my critical friends dropped in to see them, 

 they would persist in taking exception to the colour of this flower or 

 the form of that, to such an extent as almost to make me despondent ; 

 but, fortunately for my equanimity, I got no stint of praise for the 

 good cultivation the plants displayed ; and one friendly critic having 

 explained that to secure better kinds in the future I must select my 

 seed from the best-formed flowers only, I plucked up further courage, 

 and resolved to try yet another batch of seedling plants. I also got, 

 just then, great encouragement by taking a few dozen of my best 

 plants to a neighbouring spring show, and getting for them the highest 

 honours the judges could award. This made me ambitious to secure 

 some of the fine show kinds of which I had heard so much, but seen so 

 little ; and a few small plants of edged kinds were purchased, so that 

 I might have the pleasure, in future years, of seeing them grow and 

 bloom under my own care and cultivation. Compared with the Alpines, 

 I find that these same show kinds are rather " miffy " things, as it is 

 termed, and are slow of growth ; moreover, they cost a lot of money, 

 and when they do flower (which duty they are not in a hurry to per- 

 form), I certainly got that fine form and those decided markings that 

 florists value so much, but as to affording much to look at — well, that 

 may be another question. My fellow-cultivator in the neighbourhood 

 goes in for the show Auriculas largely, and spends upon them consider- 

 able sums. He will tell you this one cost so much, and another still more, 

 and that he deals with all the big growers. But, after all, beyond satis- 

 fying his peculiar fancy, he has not much to show his friends : perhaps 

 he does not do them well ; he thinks he does ; but in any case, whether 

 it is so or not, I shall still cling to my favourite Alpines. Last year 

 I grew a large batch of 200 seedlings, and in consequence of this great 

 increase of my stock I found it necessary to obtain another two-light 

 frame in which to house them. As the whole of these were in large 



