

CHAP. Tin.] AURICULAS. 219 



broken bv the removal. The plant itself is also 

 generally pruned or cut in, and some of its leaves 

 are taken off before replanting ; and it is care- 

 fully shaded and watered till it has recovered 

 from the effects of its removal. All perennial 

 plants should be occasionally taken up, thinned, 

 and replanted with the same precautions : and 

 the ground dug over and renovated, before they 

 are replaced. 



The most remarkable kinds of herbaceous 

 plants are those called florists' flowers. This 

 name indicates plants grown principally for the 

 purpose of exhibiting at some show to gain a 

 prize, and on the culture of which an extraordi- 

 nary degree of care has been bestowed. Most 

 of these are either bulbs or tubers, but some few 

 come under the present head ; and of these the 

 most remarkable are, the auricula, the polyan- 

 thus, the carnation, the pink, the heart's-ease, 

 and the chrysanthemum. 



Auriculas are well-known and favourite 

 flowers ; the wild plant is a native of Switzer- 

 land, but it is almost as different from the culti- 

 vated kinds, as the wild cabbage is from broccoli 

 or cauliflower. The garden auriculas have 

 almost innumerable names, but they are all 

 divided into four kinds, very distinct from each 

 other. These kinds are, the Green-edged, the 

 Grev-edged, the White-edged, and the Selfs. 

 The' beauty of the flowers depends upon their 

 size, the clearness of their colours, and their 

 roundness and flatness ; these last qualities 

 being often assisted by art : the anthers of the 

 stamens should also rise above the stigma ; as 

 when the stigma is seen above the anthers the 



