Aster Auricula 



nating power, and we advise the cultivator not to risk all in one 

 venture, but to make at least two sowings. Frequently when one 

 sowing fails, success may be obtained with a second attempt from the 

 same packet of seed. 



AURICULA 



Primula Auricula. Hardy perennial 



KEEN is the enthusiasm of the Auricula amateur. The only com- 

 plaint we ever heard about the flower is that its most devoted 

 admirer cannot endow it with perpetual youth and beauty. 



It is well to bear in mind that seed from a worthless strain re- 

 quires just as much attention as that which is saved with all a florist's 

 skill from prize flowers. Some growers advocate sowing immediately 

 the seed is ripe, but this intensifies the irregular germination that 

 characterises seed of all the Primula species. Either February, 

 March, or April may be chosen, and we give preference to the end 

 of February. Use 6-inch pots, and as there must be no doubt about 

 drainage, nearly half fill the pots with crocks, cover with a layer of 

 coarse cocoa-nut fibre, add rough fibrous loam mingled with broken 

 charcoal, and on the top a mixture of loam, decayed leaves, and sharp 

 sand. Press the soil firmly down ; sow thinly and regularly, putting the 

 seeds in about half an inch apart ; just cover them with fine soil, and 

 place the pots in a cool frame or greenhouse, with sheets of glass over 

 to prevent evaporation. Watering in the ordinary way is apt to wash 

 out the seeds, and it is therefore advisable to immerse the pots for 

 about an hour in a vessel filled with water to the requisite depth. 

 Wait patiently for the plants. When they show four or six leaves, 

 prick out into pans or boxes about two inches apart, and before the 

 seedlings touch each other transfer to small pots. The surface soil 

 in the pots may be lightly stirred occasionally to keep it free from 

 moss. The plants must never be allowed to go dry, but as winter 

 approaches water should be given more sparingly, and during sharp 

 frosts it may be wise to withhold it entirely. There really is no 

 need of artificial heat, for the Auricula is a mountaineer, and can 

 endure both frost and snow. But we prize its beauty so highly 

 that frames and greenhouses are properly employed for protecting 

 it from wind, heavy rain, soot, dust, and all the unkind assaults 

 of a lowland atmosphere, to which it is unaccustomed in a natural 

 state. Still, the plants should be kept as nearly hardy as possible. 



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