74 



IRISH (i ARDKNINc 



.M.•\^■ 



exposing,' ;i Ncedliiit; with its tool in ualci to 

 lii^^ht coniini,^ tVoni only imio direction; \hc root 

 will be noticed to bend away iVoni tlie lii^lit aiul 

 the shoot towards it. When tlie i^rowinL; lip 

 of" a root, covered with its protecti\e cap. conu^ 

 in contact with a stone oi othei' obstacle lliioui^li 

 whicli it cannot j^row, the root tip sends back a 

 nnessafje to the cells behind, and tlic root curves 

 round the obstacle and continues ils onwanl 

 i^roulli ill the same direction on the other side. 

 Roots in (.irv soil are diverted to more ta\ oural^le 

 positions by the presence oi" j^-reater quantities 

 of" moisture. The stimulus ol' moisture is so 

 great as to sometimes overcome that of"j;ra\ity 

 and to cause the main root itself" to be deflected 

 towards the moist area. 



This fact of the presence ol' moisture actinj; 

 as a powerful stinudus to roots brinj^s us to the 

 main purpose tor which roots ramify ihrouj^h 

 the soil — the searcli lor water holdinj^- in solu- 

 tion the mineral salts on which the plant is 

 nourished. The roots aie \ ery ihoroui^h in their 

 search, branching- repeated]}- until they occupy 

 and exhaust e\ery scjuare inch o\ soil in the 

 neii,'-hbourhood of" the plant. Thus at the end 

 o( the season the total leng-th of" the blanches 

 of the root system is very g-reat — in an annual 

 cereal it has been estimated at a quarter of a 

 mile, and in a well-developed cucumber at over 

 a mile. The roots of some plants search parti- 

 cularly the upper layers of soil, as in the case of 

 many annuals and grasses ; others, like the 

 thistle, the elm, and the oak, go deeper in their 

 quest, and principally draw upon the lower layers 

 for their nourishment. 



(To be con/hiin-d.) 



Double Primroses. 



By W. F. Wynne. 



THE old-fashioned double primroses ha\e 

 become of late years once more such 

 general favourites that perhaps some 

 remarks upon the different varieties and their 

 culture may be o( interest to the readers o( 

 \\USH G.\Ki:)ENi.\t;. 



I may begin by stating that most oi the 

 double primroses are inclined to be " faddv," 

 and some of them have a capacity oi sulking 

 for years without either doing heartily or yet 

 definitely dying, if their particular fancies are 

 not understood I 



Ihe old Double W hite and Double Lilac are 

 quite the most .uniable in ilisposition, and with 

 .uiy tail- play will llourisli and increase and 

 blossom m.-ignificently. 



rile fii si consideration with all these piim- 

 roses is a lairh moist, slulteied jiosition where 

 they will not gel parchei.1 in summer. Clarden- 

 ing books speak ol shade oi half sliai-le as 

 desirable; my own im|iiession is that the 

 plants ha\e no i^bjectiiMi lo ]->leiil\ (>f sun so 

 long as Ihe soil round llieii roots remains 

 fairly inoisl all thiou-h the summer. 



As lo the best soil, a inixluie o\ loam, well- 

 deca\\'d leal-mould, coarse saiul, peal, if avail- 

 .ible, and a lillle old cow manure will suit most 

 primroses, but may have \.o be modified lor 

 s|Tecial plants, as experience shows what suits 

 them besl. It is a great help to small or 

 delicate plants lo place sU^nes closely |-ound 

 them, as these keep the roots from being dried 

 up in summer, and in winter when so protected 

 they are less liable to be loi^scned out oi the 

 ground by frost. 



.\s to the difi'erent varieties, their names and 

 colours, there is some amount oi contusion, 

 but there are a certain number of distinct 

 kinds with generally recognised names. Oi 

 the double yellows, Cloth of Gold is by far the 

 best, with beautiful large blossoms of a good 

 clear yellow. Early Sulphur is a good-tempered 

 little plant, early and very free-flowering, but 

 the blossoms are small and pale. Late Sulphur 

 comes out when all the others are over, but 

 with me is not very satisfactory, as the blossoms 

 are oi the small-petalled type and generally 

 more or less mis-shapen ; perhaps that is not 

 the fault oi Late Sulphur, but that 1 have not 

 yet realised all its requirements. 



Of the reds, the old Madame de i'ompadour 

 is ouQ oi the most beautiful, a deep true 

 vehety crimsc'in ; she is somewhat delicate and 

 will not Ihrix e in all places ; in fact, she needs 

 a little pampering, but lo such a beauty who 

 would grudge it ? She is much encouraged by 

 surrounding stones, as already recommended. 



Burgundy is deep red purple, sometimes 

 with tiny white rims to each petal. It does not 

 <.\o specially well here (Co. Wicklow, Ireland; ; 

 the blossoms are rather small, with a great 

 many very small petals, and therefore not as 

 handsome as flowers with large, loose petals. 



Crimson King or Sanguinea plena is neither 

 crimson nor sanguine, but a very ricli red ma- 



