476 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



\\ith regard to the soil lor Primulas, the)- will grow in any kind 

 of loam, but they will not succeed in pure peat. If, however, a 

 layer of loam is mixed with the surface of the latter, satisfactory 

 results will be obtained. 



When making new plantations it is advisable to use young plants 

 in preference to sowing broadcast. Once established they will 

 seed themselves and seedlings spring up in numbers. 



The selection of varieties requires a knowledge of the season 

 and color of the plants and their suitability for naturalizing. 



The Primula season may be lengthened by introducing Prmi- 

 roses. which are the earliest of all to flower, and the attraction of 

 the wild garden may be varied by the employment of other plants 

 suited to similar conditions. Among these are Anemones, which 

 are quite at home in such an association : Campaxida lactifiovu, 

 which flourishes in grass beneath the partial shade of trees, and 

 Gentiana asclcpiadca. which grows very freely at Wisley beside 

 ditches, paths and in shady positions among grass. American 

 Lilies, such as L. pardalinuin var. siipcrbuiii also make a fine dis- 

 plav in Summer. 



A word may be added with regard to the efi'ects which can be 

 obtained. The sight of hundreds of flower heads of various hues, 

 glowing amid the delicate green of the foliage associated with 

 the subdued light of woodland, is a sight to be remembered — and 

 reproduced— for this form of gardening is quite distinct, and from^ 

 its very nature possesses a charm entirely its own. — The Gardeners' 

 Chroiiiele ( British. ) 



PRIMULA HELODOXA 



One of the linest introductions of late years, P. hclodoxa 

 certainly takes first place among the many varieties of Chinese 

 Primulas now in cultivation. A strong grower, of the Candelabra 

 group, it remains almost evergreen through the \\'inter, not dying 

 down like many other varieties. The flower stems, of a rich 

 green, grow to a height of 3;4 feet or more, bearing an average of 

 six w'horls of bright chrome yellow blooms, the calyces being 

 covered with a pale yellow farina. The foliage is of a rich green 

 and of stout texture and vigorous growth. 



It is found growing at an altitude of 6,000 feet ni open, wind- 

 swept meadows where it gets a dry and cool Winter, yet in this 

 country it has proved itself quite hardy and a very robust 

 grower. I have grown it in a heavy soil— almost clay— in nearly 

 full sun with some moisture at the roots, and have had flower 

 stems of four feet with nine and ten whorls of blooms. This year I 

 planted out a batch of young plants from seed sown last 

 Autumn, giving them a semi-shaded position in woodland, and 1 

 have now— November 15— a quantity of bloom which, even at this 

 late season, is almost equal to that of old plants flowering in 

 Tune. It seeds freely, and seed should be sown as soon as ripe, 

 as it germinates quicker than if sown in the Spring. — Tlie Garden 



PURSLANES (PORTULACAS) 



Two months ago I saw a truly wonderful bed of Portulacas. It 

 was. in fact, the tirst week in September, and, although tliere had 

 beeii a great deal of rain and much dull weather by day and cold 

 at night, yet the plants were as rolnist and healthy as at any period 

 of the Summer, and flowering with wonderful freedom. It 

 matters but little that a storm of rain passes over the bed, destroy- 

 ing its beauty; only let the sun shine out brilliantly for an hour 

 or^'two, and hundreds of blossoms leap up to open their richly- 

 colored petals. It is the practice to give names to the varieties ot 

 double and single Portulacas, but they aft'ord but a small clue to 

 the colors of the flowers. There are nearly a dozen distinct 

 varieties of single forms, and six or eight of the double. Of the 

 former there are white, pink, magenta, rose, crimson, primrose. 

 goldcn-yellow% etc., and a few of these are reproduced in a double 

 character. I do not think double Portulacas so pretty as the 

 single varieties, but then there are many persons who regard a 

 double flower as a great improvement on a single one, and value it 

 accordingly. When the blossoms of single flowers are fully ex- 

 panded at mid-day they will repay close inspection bv anybody. 



There is one good quality about Portulacas, and that is they 

 form a dense, compact green growth, which covers the ground on 

 which they are growing. Tlicy really make a good covering for 

 the bare spots where, on a dry soil and a sunny position, little 

 else will grow. This is just the spot for these pretty plants. But 

 w-e are told in catalogues that the seed requires to be raised in 

 heat, and the plants transplanted to a sunny border. It is not at 

 all necessary to raise in heat. Anyone who has grown Portulacas 

 will find self-grown seedlings come up the following Spring from 

 seeds that have lain in the soil all the Winter. This is proof that 

 the seeds will germinate in the open ground. 



The best place to grow Portulacas is a warm, exposed, sunny 

 border. It docs not require to be rich. The best plan is to dig 

 the border deeply in early Spring, working" in some leaf-mold 

 and road-grit, or sittings fror,-. the jiotting bench, and then, when 

 Jug. it should be beaten nowi. a little hard on the surface, the 



seed scattered thinly over it broadcast; or, if it is desired to 

 have lines of colors, the seeds should be sown very thinly in drills; 

 but, as they are so small, the plants in both cases will need thin- 

 ning out to at least 6 inches, and, indeed, 9 inches apart. The 

 plant soon tills out and covers the intervening spaces. It is of 

 the utmost advantage that the plants be not moved after being 

 sown, and that is why I so strongly recommend the seeds being 

 sown in the open ground where they are to flower. One great 

 advantage is that the plants cover the ground so much more 

 quickly, and come into flower so much earlier in consequence. 

 April is the best month in which to sow. — Gardening Illustrated. 



CONCERNING GARDEN BOOKS 



"Of the making of books there is no end," and not a few of 

 these books deal with the garden. Such volumes are well-nigh 

 indispensable to the gardener, using that word in the broadest 

 sense. He who has a well-selected collection of books upon gar- 

 dening subjects is a fortunate man. Does a name elude him, or 

 is he uncertain concerning some detail of management or of culti- 

 vation, a reference to one of his volumes refreshes his memory. 

 But he must know the name, or the detail, for which he seeks, 

 otherwise the volumes are so much waste paper. It may be put 

 in this way. Books upon gardening are invaluable auxiliaries, but 

 no one can learn gardening entirely by their use. Full knowledge 

 of gardening — and of all things — is only attained by practice, and 

 while elementary instruction is to be derived from books, it by no 

 means follows that even the most painstaking and diligent student 

 of garden literature will ever attain to a thorough understanding. 

 of the mysteries of the craft. But practical work in conjunction 

 with weli-chosen text-books will carry a man far. 



The old "rule of thumb"' gardener, who was content to plod 

 along from year to year in the same time-hallowed way, and who 

 despised books concerning the garden, is extinct, or upon the 

 very verge of extinction. The present-day gardener must be — to 

 use rather an objectionable term — "up to date." In order to keep 

 in touch with modern ideas of gardening he must read con- 

 temporary garden literature, and here it may be said that in this 

 respect there arc books and books. ^lany are written by men 

 of great practical experience — men who have grown familiar with 

 plants and their cultivation from their youth upward, but who 

 have not the gift of imparting that knowledge in a clear and in- 

 teresting way, for it by no means follows that the cleverest 

 gardener is the fittest man to write upon gardening subjects. 

 Others, perhaps with less knowdedge, write in highly technical 

 terms and use — over-use if the word be permissible — the botanical 

 names of plants. The reader of such a volume becomes involved 

 in a maze of verbosity and the book is soon laid aside. The ideal 

 garden book is that which is written without any striving after 

 "style," in which clear and simple language is used, in which 

 technicalities and the unnecessary use of foreign words are 

 reduced to a minimum: in which, in short, the writer is so full of, 

 and so interested in. his subject that he forgets he is writing a 

 book. 



The garden book of other days was a portly volume, durably 

 bound, and expensive. Pages of diagrams are to be found in 

 these books of a bygone day dealing with the minutiae of hothouses 

 — of Pineries, Aquatics, Melon-houses, and forcing houses of all 

 descriptions. Chapters upon chapters were devoted to the cul- 

 tivation of now forgotten plants. Even the preparation of such a 

 thing as a Celery trench appeared to call for a special chapter. 

 The result was that, as a whole, such a volume, after it had been 

 purchased, was perfunctorily looked over and relegated to the 

 gardener's bookshelf, from which it was but seldom taken down. 



The present-day volume dift'ers almost entirely from its predeces- 

 sors. There is an almost entire absence of diagram and of illus- 

 tration, the binding is less ornate, and more attention is paid to 

 clearness and to conciseness of facts. In brief, the writer of the 

 present day garden book credits his reader with having learned 

 at least the rudiments of the craft, and does not, on the one hand, 

 write down to him ; nor, on the other, by a display of superior 

 erudition, write over his head. There are many of these very 

 servicalile volumes now in the hands of all practical gardeners, for, 

 as has been already said, the old-fashioned gardener who despised, 

 or who affected to despise, books has given place to the man who 

 realizes that if he intends to keep abreast of the times he must 

 own modern volumes dealing with horticulture. — Gardening 

 Illustrated. 



One trouble with the world is that too many are de- 

 manding "gimme" and too few are offering "thank you." 



The trtith which another man has won from nature or 

 experience is not our truth until we have lived it. . . . 

 He who would be wise must daily earn his wisdom. — 

 Dazid Starr Jordan. 



