NEW ZEALAND GARDENING. 9 1 



Auricula. Terms used in describing an Auricula. 

 Thrum, the stamens shown beyond the throat. Pin-eyed, 

 the pistil showing beyond the throat. Paste, white circle 

 next to the tube in the florist's flower. Ground colour, circle 

 next to the paste, being the distinctive colour of the variety. 

 Edge, outer circle or border. Pip is a single flower. Truss, 

 a number of flowers on a common flower-stalk : it is desirable 

 there should net be less than seven pips on each flower-stalk. 



Characteristics of a good Flower. The pip should con- 

 sist of four circles, formed at equal distances round a given 

 point. The first, the tube, round, of a yellow colour, the 

 thrum rising a little above the eye, or paste. The paste, 

 pure white, dense, and round. The ground colour should be 

 dense and distinct, perfectly circular, next the paste, slightly 

 feathered towards the edge. The edge should be distinct in 

 colour, whole and circular, instead of starry in outline. The 

 whole pip should be round, flat, and smooth at the edges. 

 All the pips in a truss should show boldly, without over- 

 lapping. The stem should be strong, and the foliage healthy. 



Propagation : by Suckers. These are generally removed 

 at potting time, because the plants are thus dressed at once. 

 Those rooted should be placed in small pots in proportion 

 to their size, or two or three in a pot. Those not rooted 

 should be placed two or three inches apart round the sides 

 of a pot, in rich, sandy soil, and kept under a handlight in 

 a shady place till they are rooted, when, according to their 

 strength, they may be potted separately in small pots, or, as 

 will generally be preferable, kept in store pots all the Winter,, 

 and shifted early in Spring. Except for show purposes, 

 Auriculas may be grown out-of-doors in the same manner as- 

 Primulas. 



By Seed. Cut off the seed-vessels as they become brown, 

 and place them in a dry sunny place on a sheet of paper 

 until they open. When this takes place, the seeds may be 

 sown at once on rich light soil, under a handlight, or better 

 still, in a box that may be protected, and easily moved 

 under cover in Winter. It is, however, better practice to- 

 sow in August or September, as in that case the plants attain 

 a good size before the first Winter. The seed, in either case, 

 should not be covered more than the eight of an inch. As 

 *soon as the seedlings can be easily handled, they should be 



