AURICULA. 



AUSTRIAN BRIAR. 



well drained, or a compost of leaf mould 

 and sand. Moss should be kept over the 

 surface of the soil till the seedlings are up, 

 to prevent it from drying too quickly, and 

 the moss should be kept moist by sprinkling 

 with a fine syringe. When the seedlings 

 have three or four leaves, transplant into 

 3-inch pots. Propagation by offsets, or 

 division of the roots, may be effected in 

 February or March, when vigorous growth 

 is being made, or in August, just when 

 fresh growth is commencing after repotting. 

 If the offsets can be removed with roots 

 attached to them, so much the better. 

 They may be placed singly in 3-inch pots, 

 or these may be placed in a larger pot at 

 equal distances near the edge. 



Management in Summer. The auricula 

 blossoms and is in full growth from 

 February to June, when the plants should 

 be removed from the glazed shelter under 

 which they have been flowering, and placed 

 in the open air on a shelf or stage, having 

 a north or north-east aspect. Under a 

 north wall or hedge is a good situation. 

 The plants should not stand on the ground 

 itself. In August, when the fresh growth, 

 especially the emission of fresh roots, 

 commences, the plants should be repotted, 

 the tap root being shortened with a sharp 

 knife. A depth of i inches should be 

 first filled with small pieces of broken pots, 

 and on this some decayed leaves. The 

 plant should then be introduced, and the 

 pot filled with compost to about -inch 

 from the rim of the pot. Care should be 

 taken not to allow the collar of the plant 

 to be below the soil. Press firmly, give a 

 little water to settle the soil about the roots, 

 at the expiration of seven or eight days 

 water again sparingly, and then leave the 

 plants to themselves until November. 



Management in Winter. In November 

 the plants may be removed under shelter, 

 the shelter being merely that of a glazed 

 roof and sides sufficient to prevent wet, but 



not air, from reaching the plants. \Yheu 

 they begin to grow in February, or a little 

 later, they should be watered sparingly, 

 the quantity being incneased when the 

 blooming period commences in April. 

 Care should be taken never to allow any 

 water to fall on the foliage, or to settle on 

 the leaves at the base, as this frequently 

 causes decay, and all dead and decaying 

 leaves should be removed from the plants. 

 These directions bear more especially on 

 Show Auriculas, but they are equally 

 applicable to Alpine Auriculas, although 

 these are less susceptible of injury from 

 moisture, and may be grown in the open 

 border. In February, top dress all auriculas 

 in pots. 



There are in each class many varieties 

 of named plants, but to give a list in detail 

 would take up too much space. Readers 

 are recommended to raise their own plants 

 from reliable seed obtained from florists. 



Austrian Briar. 



Austrian Briars, and other yellow roses, 

 are difficult to flower, and require careful 

 management. The old double yellow is 

 remarkably capricious, and the " Cloth of 

 Gold," or '* Chromatella " rose, in which 

 rose-growers expected to find an unrivalled 

 yellow, blooms in perfection only in very 

 few places. " The general direction given," 

 said Mr. Saul, a Bristol grower of con- 

 siderable eminence, " is to grow it in a 

 poor soil, as it is a strong grower. Now, 

 this I consider very questionable advice. 

 It belongs to the group of roses called 

 Noisettes, many varieties of which have 

 been crossed and raised from very dissimilar 

 groups. The large section of tea-scented 

 Noisettes will be found to differ most 

 materially from the original Noisettes, 

 from their affinity to the tea-scented, from 

 which they have been raised. To this section 

 belong the * Cloth of Gold,' ' Solfaterrc,' 

 ' Clara Wendel/ ' Lamarque,' ' Triomphe 



