246 THE NURSERY-MANUAL 



Auricula (Primula Auricula). Primulacece. 



Choice or named varieties are propagated by natural offsets, or 

 by dividing the plants. Seeds grow readily but may not be 

 expected to reproduce the horticultural forms. They should be 

 sown in pans or pots in early spring (as March), pressed lightly 

 into the soil and thinly covered ; provide temperature of about 

 60 ; germination takes place in three or four weeks ; as soon as 

 large enough, prick off into pans or flats and grow carefully. 



Averrhoa. Oxalidaceoe. 



Handled in spring by half-ripened cuttings, under glass, with 

 bottom heat ; by seeds when obtainable. 



Avocado (Per sea americana). Lauracece. 



Budded stock is to be preferred to seedlings. Shield-budding is 

 usually employed, in late autumn or winter in Florida, and May or 

 June in California. Inarching and grafting under glass are also 

 practiced, and cuttings struck over bottom heat. The seedling 

 stocks are raised in the open, the seeds being planted in pots or 

 directly in ground as soon as ripe. Germination should take 

 place in two or three weeks ; plants should stand a foot or so apart 

 in the rows. The fruit is sometimes called alligator pear, but 

 this name should be discouraged. See Persca, page 389. 



Azalea. Ericaceae. 



Although azaleas and rhododendrons are united generically by 

 many botanists, horticulturists usually think of them separately. 

 The azaleas are of two cultural groups, the Indian or green- 

 house evergreen kinds, and the hardy deciduous kinds. 



The Indian azaleas (Azalea indica or Rhododendron indicum) 

 are usually propagated by cuttings and grafting. The cuttings 

 are preferably made of half-ripened wood in August, being struck 

 in a frame with light bottom heat. The choicer varieties may be 

 tongue-grafted or veneer-grafted either in summer or winter on 

 cutting-grown stocks, handling them in a frame or propagating- 

 house. New varieties originate from seeds, which are sown in 

 frames or pots in spring ; the soil should be sandy peat, or seeds 

 may be sown in chopped sphagnum and plants pricked out as 

 soon as possible. The young plants are handled in boxes or frames ; 

 they should bloom in two or three years. 



The deciduous outdoor azaleas are of many kinds. The Ghent 

 azaleas are hybrids of A. sinensis, A. japonica or mollis, and others. 



