PR1MULACE/E 



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many-coloured flowers are among the most beautiful of 

 our garden ornaments in spring. To England, where 

 the Primrose, like the Rhododendron, has become a 

 necessity of life, is due, more than to any other country, 

 the perfection to which the flower has reached. Lord 

 Beaconsfield's favourite, the emblem of the Primrose 

 League, is P. acaulis. The flower of officinalis is gather- 

 ed by the inhabitants of the Swiss hills ; the infusion is 

 used for coughs, or as a tonic and sudorific ; the root is 

 employed in cases of paralysis. 



P. auricula (PL LXXII ). One of the gems of limestone 

 rocks in the Alps. 1200-2200 m. June-July. The 

 beautiful and very fragant golden flower rises from the 

 heart of a rosettes of leaves, and the meal with which it 

 is powdered has won for it an immemorial popularity, 

 for it was introduced into cultivation in Holland and 

 England as far back as 1596. It is the type from which 

 the immense number and manifold forms of garden 

 Auriculas have sprung. As such, the florist's Auricula 

 has established a cult of its own and it would be here out 

 of place to deal with the subdivisions made by fanciers 

 or the minutiae of cultivation. Sound light loam, packed 

 by preference between fissures of rock, is suitable and a 

 sunny position, but precautions against excessive drought 

 should be taken. There is a beautiful white form, 

 P. aur. alba, and another with powdery leaves and a 

 white edge to the flowers, P. aur. marginata which should 

 be wedged between limestone. It is totally distinct from 

 the south alpine and Piedmontese species P. marginata 

 which is named from the powdery edge to the leaves and 

 whose flower is lavender, darkish blue or rosy lilac. This 

 species also has given rise to many beautiful hybrids. 



P. minima (PL LXXI1). A wee little alpine not 

 exceeding one inch, with disproportionate sessile flowers, 



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