264 



THE PKIMEOSE FAMILY. 



often fragrant flowers are among the earliest harbingers of spring, 

 and none are so generally known and admired. The primrose and 

 cowslip in the fields, the polyanthus and auricula in the garden, never 



Fig. 154. 

 Primrose. 



wear out their welcome or the florist's interest. With the exception 

 of cowslip wine, things of "utility" are, however, not supplied by 

 them. 



About two hundred species are known, seventeen growing wild in 

 England, and nine in the neighbourhood of Manchester. 



