76S 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



a careful shift into a 5-in. pot. In grow- 

 ing the alpine kinds in pots — and they 

 are as worthy of it as the other kinds — 

 growers should put five or six plants in a 

 6-in. pot, one in the centre and four or 

 five round the side, so as to form a 

 good ^roup. The same principle may 

 be carried out in pans, and applied 

 to the free-growing florists' varieties as 

 well as the alpines. In summer all the 

 plants should be placed in the open air 

 on boards or slates or a bed of coal-ashes, 

 to prevent the entry of worms. Some 

 careful growers guard the plants from 

 heavy rains, but this is unnecessary if the 

 pots are perfectly drained and everything 

 else is as it ought to be. The florists 

 rarely plunge the pots ; but if plunged in 

 a bed of clean sharp sand, or in any like 

 material on a well-drained bottom, and 

 free from earthworm, they will be safer 

 and less troublesome, because free from 

 many risks which attend plants exposed 

 in a fragile porous shell containing but a 

 few inches of soil. Some pot their plants 

 in August, but the best time is just after 

 the flowering, as if disturbed in the 

 autumn the plants have less strength for 

 flowering. 



The compost for these tender florists' 

 kinds is one-third of good turfy loam, one- 

 third leaf-mould, and one of well-decayed 

 cow manure and silver or sharp river 

 sand. Although we have given such 

 full directions in regard to the culture 

 of the florists' varieties, we again 

 earnestly advise all who care for the 

 flower to cultivate the free and hardy 

 forms that thrive in the open air. It is a 

 good plan to select bright or delicate self 

 or other colours that please one. Such 

 kinds should be increased, so that definite 

 effects may be worked out with each 

 colour. 



HYBRIDS. — Primula auricula has 

 been freely crossed with other species, 

 and with excellent results, though many 

 of these hybrids are as yet little known. 

 One of the best is P. arctotis, a cross 

 with hirsuia^ in which, however, the rela- 

 tion to auricula is at once apparent. It 

 is a stout little plant, its compact leaves 

 almost hidden in flowers. It is hardy 

 and easy to grow, and one of the earliest 

 to bloom in spring. P. discolor is a 

 natural cross between auricula and 

 aenensis, and probably one parent of our 

 garden Auriculas ; P. Porice, with the 

 same parentage, differs from discolor in 

 its large wine-red flowers, free of the 

 mealiness of that kind. P. Gcebelii is a 

 natural cross with P. villosa, bearing 

 brownish-violet flowers, and, like all the 



other auricula hybrids, quite easily 

 grown. A second cross with villosa, 

 known as P. Kerneri^ comes nearer that 

 kind in its covering of dark hairs ; the 

 pretty flowers are rosy-lilac with a yellow 

 throat. P. Peyritschii is a beautiful 

 cross between auricula and viscosa, but 

 it comes so near the latter as often to be 

 called viscosa major. P. venusia, a cross 

 with P. carniolica, is a stout little plant 

 of 3 or 4 in., forming rosettes of 

 glossy leaves and large purple flowers. 

 P. Balbisii, with large white-throated 

 golden flowers, is an Auricula in all but 

 name, differing only in its more rounded 

 leaves quite free of powder. A cross 

 between this and auricula has given P. 

 similis, a little plant just intermediate, 

 with bright yellow flowers and slightly 

 mealy foliage. 



One of the finest of Primroses, P. 

 capiiata is very distinct as a garden plant, 

 with a tuft of sharply-toothed pale green 



PnmuH capit il i 



leaves and dense heads of flowers of the- 

 deepest Tyrian purple. It cannot be 

 termed a good perennial, as it is apt to- 

 go off after flowering well, and it is well 

 to raise seedlings. This is easy, as the 

 plant seeds freely in most seasons, and 

 the seedlings flower in the second year. 

 An open position with a north aspect 

 in good loamy soil free from lime, and 

 well watered in dry weather, suits it best. 

 Himalayas. 



P. Cockburniana. — A new species from 

 the mountains of Western China, and in. 



