420 



JOUBNAL OF HOBTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GAEDENER. 



[ May 23, 187i 



Tr. ii., p. 30-3, lias rendorcd it probable that they are formed 

 of a minute species of Lyooperdon. These plants are evidently 

 in a diseased state, of a' yellow gi'een, and do not bear fiowers. 

 The leaf of Betonica ofiicinalis is liable to be afiected in the 

 same mauiier ; alsg, that of Fragaria. The roots afford a nidus 



for Peziza tuberosa. By garden cnltnre the stamens become 

 transformed into supernumerary petak, and the flower then 

 is known as the Double Wood Anemone, and by many as the 

 Double Wliite Hepatica." 



KUSXIC BRIDGES. 

 A Eusrio bridge should uevt^r bo introduced into pleasure I it. It should be moderately ornamental, as in our engraving, 

 grounds, except where it ii evident that uo passage is needed when connecting the dressed parts of the gronnds with tlie 

 beneath it, and none but foot passengers require to pass over | wild picturesque parts. 



Mr. Wlieatley ji stly remai-ks that " Bridges are iucousisteut 

 with the nature of a lake, but characteristic of a river : they 

 are on that account used to disguise a termination. If the 

 end can be turned jnst out of sight, a bridge at some distance 

 raises a belief, while the wat.^r beyond it removes every doubt 

 of the contiuuatian of the river : the supposition immediately 

 occur.=^, that if a disguise had been intended, the bridge would 

 liave been placed fmther bade ; and the disregai'd thus shown 

 to one deception gains credit for the other. 



" The vulgar foot bridge, of plauks only, guarded ou one 



II. Alpiirjii's ■• Pro:j;cna,le3 de Pai-is''). 



hand bj' a common rail, and supported by a few ordiu.ary piles, 

 is often more proper. It is perfect as a communication, be- 

 cause it pretends to nothing further ; it is the utmost simplicity 

 of cultivated nature ; and if the banks from wliich it starts be 

 of a moderate height, its elevation preserves it from meaimess. 

 Xo other species so eft'eetu.illv characterises a river; it seems 

 too plain for an ornament, too obscure for a disguise; it must 

 be for use ; it can be a passage only ; it is therefore spoiled if 

 adorned ; it is disflguned if only painted of any other than a 

 dusln* oolour." 



PBIMULA 

 The subject of tlie present notice is one of the most striking 

 and beautiful of perennials, atid as its fortunate discoverer 

 truly designates it, a very queen amongst Primroses. It was 

 first exhibited by Air. W. Bull, of Chelsea (who has kindly 

 fm-ni shed the accompanying illustration i, on May .Brd, 1871, 

 at one of the meetings of the Royal Hortioultursti Society. I 

 liave often seen it since, but none of the specimens have 

 equalled in freshness and ricli colouiing that splendid basket 

 of plants. The leaves resemble gigantic specimens of the 

 common Cowslip, from the centre of wliich rise the magnificent 

 spikes clothed with tier above tier of regul.arly-arranged rich 

 niagenta-coloui-ed flowers. It was intr.iduced from .Japan 

 through the e^certious of Mr. Robert Fortune, the celebrated 

 traveller in f'liina and -Tapan. .After nnmerous failures, seeds 

 received I'v him vegetated in this country. 

 As a distinct decorative TpHtit for the greenhouse, cou- 



JAPONICA. 



seiTatory, or open border, tlie Primula japonicn will be in- 

 valuable. Although so recently introdneod, many distinct 

 forms of it h.ave been produced, some of them even deeper in 

 colour than the type ; other colours obtained are lilac, wliite, 

 carmine, rose, Ac. — indeed. I saw a number of plants the other 

 day, and not two of them were alike. Some have the flowers 

 much lai'ger than others, and, no doubt, in the course of a 

 I few years we shall have selected and improved strains of it, as 

 we now have of the Chinese Primrose. As regards culture, 

 the plant is not a native of a wai'm country, and with tas it 

 ought not to be treated as an exotic, but it is stated tli.it it is 

 fotmd growing ou the banks of watercourses in good loam. 

 The plants flowering this spring are seeding freely, so that 

 when we can obtain fresh seeds of our own gi'owth it will soon 

 be abundant. As vol the great demand for it has kept tlie 

 price up, so that it is beyond the reach of many cultivators. 



