AUCUBA 



89 



AURICULA 



A. delloi'dea Bougainmllea. Light violet-purple. Dwarf 



habit. 



,, .. Campbe'lli. Deep violet-blue. 

 ., Ey'rei. Rich violet-purple. 

 ,, gra'ca. Light purple. Greece. 1872. 

 ,. Henderso'ni. Dark purple. 

 .. ., hesperidifto'ra. (B. C., t. 1706). Purple. March. 



S. Europe. 1823. 



., Leichtlfnii (W. G., 1888, 325). Deep red. 

 .. Moerhefmi (Lem. Cat., 1005, 7). Rosy-pink. 

 ,, Perki'nsii (Gard., 1905, Ixvii. 344). Deep purple, 



white centred flowers. 



,, purpu'rea. Purple. April. Greece. 1820. 

 ,, ., ro'sea. Rose. 



.. supe'rba. See A. DELTOIDEA GR^CA. 

 .. .. tau'rica. Violet-purple. 

 .. tauri'cola (Gard., 1902, Ixi. 266). Apparently the 



same as A . ddtoidea taurica. 

 variega'ta. Variegated with creamy-yellow. 

 viola'cea. Deep violet-purple. 



AU CUBA. (The name of the shrub in Japan. Nat. 

 ord. Corntls [Cornaceae]. Linn. 2i-Dicecia, 4-Tetrandria.) 

 Cuttings in spring and autumn, and layers in any light 

 soil, without covering ; common soil, if drained ; stands 

 the smoke of towns well. It is sometimes called the 

 Variegated Laurei. 



A. himala'ica. Leaves lanceolate or lanceolate acumi- 

 nate. Berries spherical. Himalaya. 

 japo'nica (Japan-Wofc/J-kawd). 6. Apetal. June. 

 Japan. 1783. 



AUDIBFRTLL (Named after M. Audibert, a noted 

 nurseryman of Tarascon. Nat. ord. Labiates [Labiata?]. 

 Linn. 2-Diandria, i-Monogynia. Allied to Monarda.) 



Hardy evergreen. Seeds, in March or April ; common 

 soil. 

 A. inca'na (hoary), ij. Pale blue. August. Columbia. 



1827. 

 ,, polysta'chya. 2. White. October. California. 1849. 



AUDOUTNIA. (Named after Audouin, a celebrated 

 entomologist. Nat. ord. Bruniads [Bruniaceae]. Linn. 

 5-Pentandria, i-Monogynia.) 



Greenhouse evergreen under-shrub. Cuttings of half- 

 ripened wood, in sand, in close frame with a slight bottom- 

 heat ; peat and loam. Winter temp., 45. 

 A. capita' ta (headed), ij. Purple. June. Cape of 

 Good Hope. 1790. 



AULACOSPFRMTJM. See PLEUROSPERMUM. 

 AU'LAX. (From aulax, a furrow ; in reference to 

 the furrowed under side of the leaves. Nat. ord. Proteads 

 [Proteaceae]. Linn. 22-Dicecia, 4-Tetrandria.) 



Greenhouse evergreen shrubs. Ripe cuttings, in sandy 

 soil, in close frame with bottom-heat ; loam and peat. 

 Winter temp. 45 to 50. 

 A. cneorifo'lia. 2. Yellow. July. Cape of Good Hope. 



1774- 

 pinifo'lia (pine-leaved). 2. Yellow. August. Cape 



of Good Hope. 1780. 

 ,, umbella'ta (umbelled). See A. CNEORIFOLIA. 



AURI'CULA. (Pri'mula Auricula.) The Bear's Ear. 

 or Mountain Cowslip. 



The varieties of this flower are very numerous, and their 

 numbers are annually increased. They are divided into 

 five classes (i) Green-edged; (2) Grey-edged; (3) White- 

 edged; (4) Selfs, or one coloured; and (5) Alpines, which 

 have the outer edge of the petals shaded by a mixture of 

 two colours, not separated into distinct bands of colour, 

 as in the edged varieties ; and there is no paste round 

 the tube as it is in the edged and selfs. 



"As florists have several terms relative to the Auricula, 

 which may not be understood by every amateur, we may 

 as well explain that the thrum is a collective name for 

 the stamens in the very centre or tube of each flower. 

 Paste, in the edged and self varieties, is the white colour 

 next round the edge of the tube, or eye, of the flower : 

 this part is yellow in the Alpines, without paste. Ground- 

 colour is the next colour to this on the petal, being the 

 distinctive colour of the variety. Edge is the outer 

 colour of all, forming the border of the flower. A Pip 

 is the single flower, and a Truss is several pips, with their 

 several footstalks springing from one stem common to 

 them all. 



" The properties of the Auricula may be divided into 

 two series, namely, those of the single pip, and those of 

 the single plant. 



" The Pip. i. Should be circular, large, with petals 

 equal, firm, fleshy, smooth at the edges, without notch 

 or serrature, and perfectly flat. 



" 2. The centre, or tube, should not exceed one-fourth 

 of the diameter of the pip ; it should be of a fine yellow 

 or lemon colour, perfectly round, well filled with the 

 anthers, or thrum, and the edge rising a trifle above the 

 paste, or eye. 



"3. The paste, or eye, should be perfectly circular, 

 smooth, and of a dense, pure white, without crack or 

 blemish, forming a band not less than half the width of 

 the tube, and encircling it. 



' ' 4. The ground-colour should be dense, whole, and form 

 a perfect circle next the eye. The brighter, darker, or 

 richer the colour, the better the flower; but if it be 

 paler at the edges (where they are parted into five), or 

 have two colours or shades, it is a fatal defect. 



"5. The margin, or outer edge, should be a clear, un- 

 changeable green, grey, or white, and be about the same 

 width as the ground-colour, which must in no part go 

 through to the edge. From the edge of the paste to the 

 outer edge of the flower should be as wide as from the 

 centre of the tube to the outer edge of the paste. In 

 other words, the proportions of the flowers may be de- 

 scribed by drawing four circles round a given point, at 

 equal distances ; the first circle forming the tube, the 

 second the white eye, the third the ground-colour, and 

 the fourth the outer edge of the flower ; and the nearer 

 they approximate to this (except that the ground-colour, 

 which may be a little broader than the other bands, and 

 the green or grey edge, may run into each other in 

 feathery points), the better the flower. The colours 

 should not be liable to fly, as is the defect of Stretch's 

 Alexander, the colours of which fade in three or four days. 



" Of the Plant. i. The stem should be strong, round, 

 upright, elastic, bearing the truss upright without sup- 

 port, and from four to seven inches high, so as to carry 

 the truss well, but not too high above the leaves. 



" 2. The length and strength of the foot-stalks of the 

 pips should be so proportioned to the number and size 

 of these, that all the pips may have room to show them- 

 selves, and to form a compact, semi-globular truss of 

 flowers, not less than five, though we prefer seven in 

 number, without lapping over each other. The pips 

 should be all alike in colour, size, and form, so as not to 

 be easily distinguished from one another ; for, otherwise, 

 the unity and harmony of the truss will be destroyed, 

 and, although ever so beautifully formed, would appear 

 as if taken from different sorts of Auricula. An Auricula 

 ought to flower freely, and expand all its pips at the 

 same time ; for, by this means, the colours in them all 

 will appear equally fresh and lively ; whereas, in those 

 trusses that do not open some of the pips till others have 

 passed their prime, the whole appearance of the truss is 

 impaired. 



"3. The truss is improved if one or more leaves grow, 

 and stand up well behind the bloom ; for it assists the 

 truss, and adds much to the beauty of the bloom, by 

 forming a green background. 



"4. The foliage, or grass, should be healthy, well-grown, 

 and almost cover the pot. 



" We are of opinion that all these criteria are founded 

 upon the dictates of correct taste ; but, as these excel- 

 lencies are never combined in one variety, and as some, 

 being equals in many qualities, are mutually superior in 

 others, the question constantly arises, at Auricula ex- 

 hibitions, as to which variety has the preponderance of 

 merit. Now, we are clearly of opinion that form, in- 

 cluding in this the relative proportions of the colours on 

 the pips, the half-globular form of the truss, the number 

 of pips, &c., is by far the most striking excellence in an 

 Auricula. Next to this we should place the harmony, 

 or, as we should prefer, the agreeable contrast, or com- 

 plemental association of the colours." 



Propagation is effected by taking slips from, and 

 dividing roots of, approved varieties, after the seed has 

 ripened, in July and August, and by the seed itself. 



Raising Varieties. The parent plants should be 

 vigorous ; and, before the pips of the mother-plant are 

 quite open, cut off the anthers of all of them with a 

 pair of sharp-pointed scissors, cover with a hand-glass, 

 dust the pistil with pollen from the father-plant, and 



