Hardy and Half-hardy Plants 87 



soil, but is generally treated as a rank weed, notwithstanding its natural 

 beauty. The old hollow stems make excellent traps for catching earwigs 

 on Dahlias, &c. 



P. baldschuanicum, a climbing species from Turkestan, with woody 

 stems 10 to 20 ft. long, and fleecy masses of small white flowers. The 

 chief trade is done by nurserymen, who have propagated it in thousands 

 during the past ten or fifteen years. Several other fine Polygonums are 

 grown, the best being alpinum, 3 ft., white; affine (Brunonis), 6 in., rose; 

 amplexicaule, 2-3 ft., rose red; Bistorta, 1-2 ft., rose pink; compactum, 

 2-4 ft., white; filiforme variegatum, 2-3 ft., the leaves of which are 

 blotched and streaked with yellow and cream; lanigerum, 6-10 ft., deep 

 red; multiflorum, white, tuberous rooted, climber; sachalinense, 10-12 ft., 

 greenish white; sphcerostachyum, 3-5 ft., blood red; vaccinifolium, rose, 

 trailer, &c. 



Portulaea grandiflora (SUN PLANT). A beautiful Brazilian plant about 

 6 in. high, having cylindrical leaves with tufts of hairs in the axils and 

 crimson-purple flowers in crowded clusters. There are several varieties 

 with flowers of different colours. The plants are raised from seed sown 

 in heat in spring, and are planted out in the hottest and sunniest places 

 in summer to secure the full opening of the flowers. 



Potentilla. The garden kinds are now largely grown, and are the 

 progeny of the Himalayan species argyrophylla and nepalensis. They 

 all flourish in ordinary well-drained garden .soil, and are increased by 

 division and from seeds. There are several good species in cultivation, 

 but they cannot compete in popularity with the brilliant single and double 

 hybrid varieties of which the following is a selection: 



Yellow flowered: Arc-en-ciel, Calif ornie, chromatella, Drap d'Or, Fan- 

 taisie, Golden Cup, Goldfinch (single), Gold Kugel, Gold Prince, Mel- 

 pomene, Milton, Mont d'Or, Nerissa, Orphee, Phoebus, Van Dyck, Vase 

 d'Or. 



Red, crimson, and scarlet flowered: Capella, Le Dante, Louis van 

 Houtte, Madame Rouillard, Magnet (single), nigra plena, Ophir, sanguinea 

 (single), Toussaint L'Ouverture, Vulcan, Zingari. 



Various colours (red and yellow): Brunette, Don Quixote, Dr. Andre*, 

 E. R. Cutler, Golconde, Lamarque, Le Vesuve, Milton, Panorama, William 

 Rollisson, &c. 



Primrose (Primula vulgaris). The common British Primrose can 

 hardly be said to be cultivated for market, although thousands of bunches 

 of blossom are sold every April. The blooms are picked by countryfolk 

 in the woods and sent up by agents to the salesmen. Florists and street 

 sellers do a good trade in the blooms for the time being. 



A trade also is done in the plants in early spring and autumn, together 

 with the Cowslip (P. veris) and the Oxlip (P. variabilis). The "blue" 

 Primroses, raised by the late Mr. G. F. Wilson, of Weybridge, are dealt 

 in by hardy-plantsmen, and are valuable for rock gardens, woodlands, &c. 



Primula. A large genus of hardy and half - hardy plants, some 



