Primulas 



were defeated, and had to be removed to a separate canton- 

 ment for sake of peace to the eye. By itself the Chinese, 

 mealy-stemmed fellow is not bad, and among wildish grass 

 on the edge of a small pool at the bottom of the rock gar- 

 den I thought its crimson tiers quite lovely enough to leave 

 them to seed if they will, as their own mother did higher 

 up, by the trickle that overflows from one little pool and 

 fills another. From these, poor lady, she was ejected as 

 she was so cabbage-like in profusion of foliage and so 

 smothering to choicer neighbours, white Calthas and 

 Cyananthus lobatus, and this last, like the Princes in the 

 Tower, died this very stuffy death before I noticed what was 

 going on. I could forgive almost any plant's death by 

 overcrowding if it were done by that lovely new mutation 

 or sport, or whatever the style of its origin may be described 

 as, which was shown at the Royal International Show and 

 named Mrs. Berkeley. I understand it appeared at Coombe 

 Wood without warning among a batch of ordinary 

 pulverulenta seedlings, and although it has a good sturdy 

 constitution, so far as I can learn it has refused to bear 

 seed. I put two plants out in a sort of ditch we made 

 across a newly-arranged bed. This ditch idea is a try-on 

 to see if its northern facing slope will be cool and accept- 

 able to ferns and Primulas of thirsty habits. This one 

 liked it, and the spikes of flowers were in beauty for a long 

 period. I cannot think of any name to describe their colour, 

 but I believe I could mix Naples yellow and Rose madder 

 and arrive at something like its creamy flesh tint, and it 

 shades into apricot and tawny orange in the eye, which 

 gives the flower a warm glow. Yes, I hope it will spread 

 and the ferns be obliged to flee before it. P. Cockburniana 

 147 



