172 PRIMROSES [CH. 



CHAPTER XI 



PRIMROSES. 



WITHOUT Primroses a garden would be strangely bare 

 and incomplete, and yet the family is so large and 

 diversified that no chapter could possibly do it justice. 

 It is said to contain more than a hundred different sorts, 

 and it is by no means an easy task to classify them. 

 Perhaps the most satisfactory arrangement is to be found 

 in Mr Robinson's " English Flower Garden." 



The Auricula possibly should be given the first place. 

 It is an Alpine plant of rare beauty and fragrance. The 

 florist's varieties are a class to themselves, and require the 

 experience and knowledge of an expert. The border 

 Auricula may be readily grown from seed, and will thrive 

 in most places on the rock garden, if only there has been 

 a liberal supply of old leaf mould or road grit thrown into 

 the space when opened for them before planting. Wares' 

 seed, from Tottenham, is perhaps the best that can be had. 



The Chinese Primrose is of course only suited to the 

 temperature of the cold frame and the greenhouse, and 

 its treatment has been already considered in another 

 chapter.* 



There is a middle class too, which will yield to none 

 in interest and utility : chiefly furnished from Japan, the 

 Himalayas, and other districts, which have supplied our 



* See page 23. 



