February 22, 1877. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTIOULTUBE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEE. 



131 



THE AUKICULA. 



."S^i/?. 



HIS pretty spring flower is now beoinmng to 

 make rapid growth, and many of the earhest 

 trusses are considerably advanced ; they are 

 begintiug to repay the ardent cultivator for 

 luaay months of atteiition. 



The plants now require more care — shelter 

 from biiiog winds and fharp frosts at night 

 — than they do at any other season of the 

 year. It will be well to double-mat the 

 frames if the thermometer is likely to regis- 

 ter 8° or 10' of frost. All ths plants ought to be surface- 

 dressed before the second week ia February ; this of course 

 depends to a certain extent oa the weather. I have known 

 a severe frost set in about Christmas and continue until 

 February. The soil in the pots would in that case be frozen 

 hard and could not be touched until mild weather. After 

 the surface-dressing is applied, which ought to be of mode- 

 rately rich material — about two-'.hirds loam to one-thii'd 

 decayed manure and a little faad and leaf soil — the plants 

 ought not to suffer for want of water at the roots, and it 

 ought only to be applied to the roots; the iiue mealy-fo- 

 liaged sorts are utterly spoiled when the leaves are dashed 

 with raindrops or water from the pots. At present the 

 foliage of Topsy, Trail's Beauty, Taylor's Glory, b'mith's 

 Ann Smith, and many otheiv, as it is increasing in growth 

 is extremely beautiful and ought to be as carefully pre- 

 served as the pasts in the centre of tbc flowers or the 

 white-powdered edge. We often hear of the fine flowers 

 that used to be grjwn half a century ago, but when one 

 reads of the treatment (and I do not now a'lude to the 

 over-rich composts, but to the way the plants were ex- 

 posed to the weather in early spring) it almost makes one 

 shudder. Aftfr the blooming period is over a shower is 

 not of so much matter ; but one of the principal growers, 

 Mr. Hogg of PaddingtoD, who took lessons from Kmmer- 

 ton, Kenny, and other growers, says in his treatise in 

 reference to the treatment in March — " Let the lights be 

 off all day if tlie weather is in any degree favourable, and 

 let the plants receive all the soft and gentle rains that 

 fall until the pips open. Protect them, however, from 

 cold sleet and snow and cold cutting winds.'' In February 

 he says, "If any of the plants require shifting into larger 

 pots now is the tiaie to do it;" and, again, they are to 

 have plenty of rain — " at least rain sufficient to reach 

 the roots at the bottom of the pots, and this may be 

 repeated when necessary through the month. " What 

 grower north or south would treat their plants in that 

 way? 



Anricnla shows were very frequent at that time, and 

 fanciers would go to much trouble and expense to win 

 the blue ribbon, a silver cup. Hogg gives an amusing 

 account of the trials of a gentleman holding some office 

 in the India House whom Emmerton had imbued witli 

 the Auricula fancy, and who undtr his directions was 

 confident of Aioning Iho silvs r cup. He purchased about 

 one hundred plants of the best sorts ; but Emmerton 

 contended that without bullocks' blood and goose dung 



No. eSJ.-Voi,. .\XXII., New Sksies. 



they would stand no chance. He persuaded his pupil to 

 commission some country waggoner out of Sussex to 

 bring him at midsummer two geese and a gander, which, 

 according to Emmerton's calculation, would produce dung 

 enough by Christmas to last him two years, when they 

 would be fat and fit to kUI, and well adapted for good fare 

 wherewith to treat his friends at that joyous season. This 

 project was soon put in execution. The geese were brought 

 to town and cooped up in a eorcer of his small garden, which 

 might be 10 yards long by .5 wide. Kierything was going 

 smoothly; the plants grew and the dung accumulated; 

 only the man's wife complained of the filthy smell arising 

 from the heated and fermenting dung, but Emmerton 

 promised soon to remedy that evil by covering it with 

 loam. Notwithstanding, as the dung increased and was 

 stirred up with the blood, the stench increased too, and 

 became so intolerable that the women living at the two 

 adjoining houses joined their complaints with here, and 

 abused him whenever he made his appearance. Emmer- 

 ton finding the storm gathering in earnest judged it pru- 

 dent to decamp, telling them that the London ladies 

 were too fine-nosed by half; but he never dared to repeat 

 his visits afterwards. Ihis was only a prelude to the 

 vexation which the gentleman had to experience himself. 

 " Ono day when absent at his office the door of the coop 

 was left open, and the gf ese finding themselves at liberty 

 waddled about the garden unnoticed ; and liaving been 

 deprived of grass and green food so long, fell upon the 

 Auriculas in the frame, pecked, bit, and pulled them out 

 of the pots, trod over and spoiled them so completely" 

 that they were of little use afterwards. Emmerton seems 

 to have been unfortunate, not only in business, but in 

 other respects; he libelled the parson of his parish, a 

 magistrate withal, by hanging him in effigy on a tree 

 amongst his Auriculas, for which offence he was in- 

 dicted, and suffered a year's imprisonment in the King's 

 Bench. 



The Auricula-growers now make no secret of their 

 composts. I have already told all I know about them in 

 these pages; and about two years ago three of the best 

 articles 1 have ever read were published in this Journal 

 from the pen of the Bev. F. D. Horner of Kirkby Mal- 

 zeard, Eipon. The lists of varieties need not be altered 

 yet, and the cultural directions are complete. 



■We are all looking forward to the great show to be 

 hold at the Crystal Palace April 24th. It promises to 

 be such a show for magnitude as has not been held in 

 England before (of the Auricula, of course). There will 

 be very little restriction in the schedule ; it has been 

 framed to admit of as many competitors as possible. And 

 in this respect it rather differs from that of the National 

 Society at Manchester. In that schedule the "pans" of six 

 must have all the classes represeLted— that is, green, grey, 

 white, and self edged ; and in a class for twelve pots they 

 would suggest that there should bo at least two plants 

 from each class. When a grower has a largo collection 

 to select from he can easily do this, but a small grower 

 might not possess the stipulated number of the differont 

 classes, and yet might be able to arrange an efl'ective 



No. 1182.— Vol. LVII., Old Sebius. 



