208 PRACTICAL FLORICULTURE. 



chopped tobacco stems covered with water. Slugs are 

 kept down by placing lettuce leaves, sliced potatoes or 

 carrots on pots, which examine daily and destroy ; 

 roaches and water bugs, by mixing roach poison and 

 molasses, placed on oyster shells at convenient points 

 in the greenhouse. These same remedies will be found 

 effective against insects attacking any kind of green- 

 house plant. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



CHINESE PRIMROSE, GERANIUM, CAMELLIA AND 

 EUCHARIS. 



CHINESE PRIMROSE. 



Chinese Primroses, particularly the double white, were 

 eighteen years ago, when I first wrote " Practical Flori- 

 culture," among the most valued of winter flowers ; 

 but since then the fashion of using flowers mainly with 

 long stems, such as Roses, Carnations and similar 

 flowers, has thrown the modest Primrose nearly out 

 of cultivation for the purpose of cut flowers. The 

 Chinese Primrose should be grown in rather a low 

 temperature, say not more than fifty degrees at night. 

 The double varieties are propagated by divisions or 

 cuttings in March or April, and require a shaded, 

 cool house for summer growth. Single Primroses, of 

 which there are now some very grand varieties, both 

 in size of flower and truss, and in brilliancy of colors 

 range from richest crimson, through all intervening 

 shades, to purest white. These are all raised from 

 seed ; we have found the best time to sow is in February, 

 in shallow boxes (see Propagation of Plants from Seed), 

 picking out into similar boxes as soon as the seedlings 



