300 



HORTICULTURE. 



Flower 

 Garden. 



Snails and slugs infest polyanthuses in the spring of 

 ^ the year, and should be watched in the morning. In 



"~V" " summer the red spider often forms its webs on the 

 rough under side of the leaves, which is indicated by 

 their becoming yellow and spotted. If the plants thus 

 attacked be not removed, the whole polyanthus bed 

 will be destroyed. An effectual cure is found in soak- 

 ing the foliage of the diseased plants for two or three 

 hours in an infusion of tobacco leaves, and planting 

 them at a distance from the others. 



Auricula. 



Auricula. 512. The Auricula is a native of the Italian Alps; 

 and there the most common colour is yellow, but it oc- 

 curs also purple and variegated, with a white powdery 

 eye. The varieties raised by florists are innumerable ; 

 many of them are of great beauty, and some extremely 

 curious. Parkinson, in 162y, names twenty varieties, 

 and mentions that there were then many more. Rea, 

 in his Flora, 1702, describes several new sorts raised by 

 himself and cotemporary florists. A century after- 

 wards, Haddock's catalogue enumerates nearly 500 va- 

 rieties. 



513. The properties of a fine auricula are the follow- 

 ing. The stem should be strong, upright, and of such 

 a height that the umbel of flowers may be above the 

 foliage of the plant. The peduncles or foot-stalks of 

 the flowers should also be strong, and of a length pro- 

 portional to the size and number of the blossoms or 

 pips : these should not be fewer than seven, in order 

 that the umbel may be close and regular. A pip or 

 single flower consists of the tube, eye, and border ; 

 these should be well proportioned ; if the diameter of 

 the tube be one part, that of the eye should be three 

 parts, and that of the whole flower or pip six parts 

 nearly. The circumference of the border should be 

 round, or at all events not what is called starry. The 

 anthers ought to be large, and to fill the tube ; the tube 

 should terminate rather above the eye ; and this last 

 should be very white, smooth, and round, without 

 cracks, and distinct from the ground colour. The 

 ground colour should be bold and rich, equal on every 

 side of the eye, whether it be in one uniform circle, or 

 in bright patches ; it should be distinct at the eye, and 

 only broken at the outer part into the edging. Black, 

 purple, or bright coffee-colour, form excellent contrasts 

 with the white eye ; a rich blue or a bright pink are plea- 

 sing; and in a deep crimson or glowing scarlet, edged 

 with bright green, are concentred the hopes and wish- 

 es of the florist, which however are seldom realised. 

 On the green edge much of the fine variegated appear- 

 ance of the auricula depends, and it should be nearly 

 in equal proportion with the ground colour. The dark 

 grounds are generally strewed with a fine white bloom 

 or powder, which gives a rich appearance : the leaves 

 of many sorts are thickly covered with the same kind 

 of powder, which seems destined by nature to save 

 them from the scorching effects of the sun's rays. 



Mr Maddock considers the forming of a proper com- 

 post for auriculas, to be of great importance. The in- 

 gredients and proportions recommended by him are 

 these: One half well rotted cow-dung; one sixth 

 fresh sound earth, of an open texture ; one eighth ve- 

 getable earth, from tree- leaves ; one twelfth coarse sea 

 or river sand ; one twenty-fourth soft-decayed willow 

 wood, from the trunks of old willow-trees ; the same pro- 

 portion of peat or bog earth ; and a like proportion of 

 the ashes of burnt vegetables, to be spread on the sur- 



face of the other ingredients. This compost is to be 

 kept for at least a year, exposed to sun and air, several 

 times turned, and passed through a coarse sieve. Mr 

 Curtis properly remarks, that if the compost be rich 

 and light, it is not necessary to adhere rigidly to the 

 above prescription. He mentions, that two-thirds of 

 rotten dung from old hot-beds, and one-third contain- 

 ing equal parts of coarse sand and of peat-earth, form a 

 very suitable compost. 



514. Choice auriculas are always kept in pots. The 

 inner diameter of these at top --?- -- -:- i.,v,ucs, at 

 bottom A>ui inciies, and they should be about seven in- 

 ches deep. A little gravel in the bottom is proper as 

 a drain below the roots of the plants. Auriculas are 

 annually repotted in May, soon after the bloom is over. 

 The balls of earth are to be preserved around the roots, 

 and only a certain portion of new mould given : Mr 

 Maddock, indeed, advises the shaking of the earth from 

 the roots; but this necessarily gives a check, from 

 which the plant does not recover in the course of a 

 year. At the same time offsets are taken, and planted in 

 separate pots. The whole auriculas are then placed in 

 an airy but rather shaded situation, not however under 

 the drip of trees. The place is generally laid with 

 coal-ashes, to prevent the earth-worm from entering 

 the pots, and the pots are often set on bricks, to allow 

 a freer circulation of air about tliem. Here they re- 

 main till October. They are then placed under a glass 

 frame, or other repository, to shelter them for the win- 

 ter months, giving as much air as circumstances will 

 permit. In February they are earthed up ; that is, the 

 superficial mould, to the depth perhaps of an inch, is 

 removed, and replaced by fresh compost, mixed with a 

 little loam to give it tenacity. This is found greatly to 

 aid the flowering. When several flower- stems appear 

 in one pot, a selection is made of one or two of the 

 strongest, and the others are pinched off. As the 

 flowers advance, the plants are arranged in the co- 

 vered stage, which contains four or five rows of shelves 

 rising one above another. The roof is generally of glass ; 

 and the front, which is placed facing the north or the 

 east, is furnished with folding doors, which may be 

 shut when desired. Here the plants are regularly wa- 

 tered two or three times a week, care being taken not 

 to touch the flowers or foliage with the water. A good 

 collection of auriculas treated in this way, forms, when 

 in flower, a very captivating sight. Sometimes the 

 richness of the scene is increased, by introducing mir- 

 rors into each ont\ of the frame, and by having a bed of 

 hyacinths, and perhaps a row or fine j^i ? ntKw<K. s , both 

 of which flower at the same period, in front of the stage, 

 and covered with a thin awning. The soft light pas- 

 sing through the awning, heightens the effect of the 

 auriculas. It may be mentioned, that, in order to se- 

 cure the filling of the stage with good flowering plants, 

 which alone ought to appear there, it is necessary that 

 the collector possess at least twice as many plants as the 

 stage is calculated to hold. 



The interest of the florist's pursuits receives in this, 

 as in all other cases, a great increase when he attempts 

 the raising of new varieties from seed. To purchase 

 auricula seed in shops is a bad plan. It is much bet- 

 ter to encourage the ripening of the seeds of a few very 

 good flowers, which may be done merely by exposing 

 them fully to sun and air, and saving them by hand- 

 glasses from heavy rains. The seed ripens about the 

 end of June ; but it should be kept in the umbels till 

 sown. This may be done, either in autumn or early in 

 spring, in boxes ; and the seed should be very slightly 



FUwer 

 Garden. 



Auricula. 



