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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[October 13, 1888. 



does more mischief to the plants to try to wash it 

 off the roots, than the insect itself does if it is left 

 alone. Some varieties of the Auricula are attacked 

 by green-fly ; others by the red-spider ; both can be 

 destroyed by dipping the leaves in a solution of 

 tobacco-water and soft-soap. Use 2 oz. of soft- 

 soap to a gallon of rain-water, and add to each 

 gallon a wineglassful of tobacco liquor. 



We have these Primulas in flower all the year 

 round now ; as some of them flower very early in the 

 year, and others later through the spring and summer 

 months. I fancy there is a great field for the 

 hybridist in the genus Primula, and even if no pains 

 are taken to hybridise the seedlings raised from 

 certain species and sub-species they vary considerably 

 from the parent stock ; and, further, it is absolutely 

 necessary that seedlings should be raised from some of 

 the species at least biennially ; as not only do young 

 plants produce the strongest flower-spikes, but in 

 some cases the old plants have a tendency to die 

 out altogether. The following are a few of the best 

 species and varieties to cultivate to produce a suc- 

 cession of bloom. 



Primula villosa is one of the oldest cultivated 

 species ; and many improved forms of it are in culti- 

 vation, which have been produced by natural selec- 

 tion. The true alpine plant was figured in the first 

 volume of the Botanical Magazine, t. 14 ; but pre- 

 vious to this (1787), the white form of it, P. villosa 

 nivea, had been cultivated in this country. A 

 specimen of it was obtained and figured later, 

 t. 1161. Even at that time it was grown under 

 the name of P. nivalis ; but Dr. Sims, the then 

 Editor, pointed out that the plant figured was 

 merely a variety of P. villosa, and that the P. 

 nivalis of Pallas and Willdenow was the P. 

 longifolia of Curtis, figured in Bot. Mag., t. 392. 

 This plant had been sent from Paris to Messrs. 

 Grinwood & Co., nurserymen, Kensington, and the 

 Editor says : — " We have found it very liable to be 

 injured by the aphis plant-louse or blighter." Is this 

 the first notice of the Trama Auriculce? Something 

 like forty species of Primula have been figured in 

 the Botanical Magazine, nine of them during the 

 last four or five years. The species P. villosa is the 

 most useful of all for garden culture if we except 

 the parents of the show Auriculas, P. auricula and 

 of the alpines, P. pubescens. This last species Mr. 

 Baker informs us was introduced into cultivation 

 200 years ago, by Clusias, as stated in the report of 

 the Primula Conference. This ought to read 300 

 years ago, as we read further on that, " about 1582 

 Clusius sent from Vienna, to his friend Van der 

 Dilft, specimens of P. auricula and P. pubescens." 



P. marginata is another species which has been in 

 cultivation in England for more than a century. I 

 obtained from Messrs. Backhouse, of York, many 

 years ago, two distinct forms of it, named P. margi- 

 nata grandiflora and P. m. ccerulea. They are both 

 distinct, and superior to that grown usually as P. 

 marginata. It was named by Curtis, and figured in 

 the Bot. Mag., t. 191, and it is stated that it was 

 " received from the Alps in 1781, and has continued 

 in our gardens since unaltered by culture." This it 

 probably would do if no seedlings were raised from 

 it ; but I find the seedlings vary considerably, espe- 

 cially in the form of the leaves and density of the 

 marginal farina. It is an easily cultivated species ; 

 small plants soon grow into handsome specimens. 

 It does well out-of-doors, on the rock garden, or as 

 a pot plant. The large masses of it in Messrs. Back- 

 house's rock garden at York have a striking effect 

 when in flower. 



Interesting garden plants, too, are the forms of 

 the ordinary garden Auricula, found wild in the 

 mountainous districts of Southern Europe. The 

 original plant, pure and simple, has mealed foliage 

 and small trusses of yellow flowers, with a small 

 mealed centre. The variety Balbisii is a neater 

 plant, with brighter coloured flowers, but it is not so 

 free in growth. P. Obristii (Stein) is just another 

 form of P. Auricula. There is also a pretty little 

 variety of it we have grown for some years under 

 the name of marginata. P. Allionii of the Mari- 



time Alps is one of the most desirable of the small 

 growing species ; its flowers are large for the size of 

 the plants. P. spectabilis is a useful species, both 

 for growing in pots and planting out in the rock 

 garden ; it grows very vigorously, and forms a hand- 

 some tuft. The little P. minima we always grow, 

 and it sometimes produces its pretty rosy-tinted 

 flowers on the smallest possible plants. 



We grow all we can obtain of the Indian Prim- 

 roses. They seem to differ very much more in habit 

 and constitution from each other than the European 

 species do. This may be observed even in the matter 

 of roots. The hardy free-growing P. rosea has quite 

 a mass of fibrous roots clustering round the base of 

 the crown, with scarcely any root-stock ; while P. 

 capitata sends down a Carrot-like root, with a few 

 lateral fibres diverging from it. 



One of the earliest introduced Indian Primulas is P. 

 denticulata. It was first described by Sir James Smith 

 in Exotic Botany. It is also figured in the Botanical 

 Magazine, from a specimen flowered by Mr. Veitch 

 in March, 1842. The Primulas grown as cash- 

 miriana and pulcherrima are merely varieties of 

 this. It grows well in pots, and establishes itself 

 freely in partially shaded places out-of-doors. Some- 

 times it is grown under the name of P. purpurea, but 

 this is a different plant altogether, and is a variety 

 of P. Stuartii ; we have it in cultivation, but the 

 plant, though a strong one, has not yet made any 

 attempt to flower. The true purpurea of Boyle has 

 flowered with the Rev. C. Wolley Dod at Malpas, 

 and was figured in the Garden. P. Stuartii I have 

 not seen, but the foliage resembles Boyle's plant as 

 it is figured in the Botanical Magazine ; the colour is 

 primrose, and the flowers well formed. Boyle found 

 Stuartii also at an elevation of 9000 feet, and says it 

 gave a rich yellow glow to those regions. It 

 flowered in the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens in the 

 summer of 1847. 



P. rosea is one of the most desirable of the Indian 

 Primulas to cultivate ; it grows anywhere, but likes 

 to have the roots always wet. This species might 

 soon be greatly improved by selecting only the very 

 best varieties to save seeds from. It can hold its 

 own with the grass and weeds at the edge of a pond, 

 anl is the best Primula of this type for semi- wild 

 places. The Auricula aphis is a pest to it in pots, 

 but when aphis-infested plants have been put out-of- 

 doors the insect disappears. The lovely deep rose 

 flowers are charming in early spring. P. prolifera, 

 with a spike of yellow flowers like P. japonica, is not 

 worth growing, except by those who want a complete 

 collection. The best of the recent Indian species 

 are P. obtusifolia, with a deep claret-coloured flowers 

 and a yellow eye ; P. Beidii, with ivory-white 

 flowers. The fiist-named is a vigorous growing 

 plant, and will, I fancy, succeed as well out-of-doors 

 as P. denticulata ; it is very correctly figured in the 

 Botanical Magazine, t. 6956. It is there stated that 

 a dried specimen in the Kew Herbarium has yellow 

 flowers. This was collected by Dr. Watt, and he 

 also in a manuscript note, gives yellow as the colour 

 of the flower. Boyle represents it with a long 

 corolla tube, and the colour of the flowers lilac. 

 Our plants were raised from seeds sent by Dr. 

 King, and have all deep claret or rich purple 

 flowers. P. Beidii is quite a distinct and 

 peculiar species. The seeds are very small 

 indeed, the young plants are also remarkably small 

 and move very slowly at first, nor does it seem as if 

 it would make a large plant. I will try both this 

 and P. obtusifolia planted out. Mr. Duthie dis- 

 covered the plant in 1884 on wet rocks in the 

 Balam valley of the Western Himalayas, near the 

 glacier, at an elevation of 12,000 to 13,000 feet. 

 P. japonica should be grown everywhere in the wild 

 garden. A large mass of it in the wood at Kew was 

 a striking sight in its season of bloom. 



The vigorous growing P. sikkhnensis seems to do 

 well out-of-doors, and is distinct and very beautiful ; 

 its drooping primrose flowers are very sweet. Primula 

 Parryi, a Bocky Mountain species, I cannot praise 

 very highly. I have large plants of it growing in 

 the open garden and in pots, but none of them have 



produced trusses anything like the figure in Bot. 

 Mag., t. 6185. It is certainly a very distinct species, 

 but as it does not flower until the end of May, or, as 

 it did this year, in June, it has to compete as a 

 decorative subject with more showy plants. It 

 seems to grow near the snow line of the Colorado 

 district, and flowers in July so plentifully that " it 

 gives the name of Primrose Creek to one of the 

 affluents of the Colorado Biver." It does well out- 

 of-doors in heavy soil on the edge of a small pond. 

 Jos. Douglas. 



Orchid Notes and Gleanings. 



OECHIDS AT ALLERTON BEECHES. 

 QrjiTE recently an opportunity afforded me the 

 pleasure of paying a visit to the garden owned by 

 H. Tate, Esq., an enthusiastic horticulturist, which 

 is situated in Allerton, a delightful suburb of Liver- 

 pool. The principal feature of the establishment is 

 the collection of Orchids, which the owner is fast 

 increasing to a rich and extensive one. All were in 

 the best possible condition, and do great credit to 

 Mr. Edwards, the gardener. Just now interest 

 centres in the beautiful Cattleya Hardyana, a sup- 

 posed natural hybrid, supposed to have sprung from 

 C. aurea and C. gigas. I had an opportunity of com- 

 paring a flower from the original plant belonging to 

 G. Hardy, Esq., of Pickering Lodge, Timperley, a 

 figure of which is given in Williams' Orchid Album, 

 vol. v., plate 231, and of the two the former is an 

 improvement 'in regard to size of the flower and the 

 depth of its colour. The plant in question was pur- 

 chased with others as C. aurea from Mr. Sander, St. 

 Albans, and judging from other plants that are 

 pushing flowers through their sheaths, it appears 

 probable that Mr. Tate will be the fortunate pos- 

 sessor of more than one example of this fine species 

 of Cattleya. In the same house as the above a very 

 fine form of C. gigas Sanderiana was observed. The 

 Cattleyas generally are very vigorous and compact, 

 with numerous sheaths, a good number of which, 

 especially the Mendelii section, are as yet unflowered, 

 and, judging from the characteristics observed in 

 pseudobulb and leaf, a rich harvest of blooms in 

 great variety may be expected. A fine plant 

 of C. Trianas nivea of Backhouse, and C. 

 Trianas Victorise, are sheathing up well, as 

 also C. Skinneri alba and other excellent forms too 

 numerous to be mentioned. Two well-flowered 

 plants of Laslia Dayana and a very fine form of 

 L. elegans were attractive. Amongst other Lcelias 

 with bloom or coming forward were well-grown spe- 

 cimens of Perrinii, cinnabarina, albida, autumnalis. 

 Some fine plants of L. anceps morada of the Liver- 

 pool Horticultural Company were pushing sturdy 

 spikes. This variety is reputed to be darker in shade 

 than the well known variety, L. Barkeriana. L. 

 anceps alba is well done by Mr. Edwards, the newly- 

 made pseudobulbs being very fine, and will, in due 

 time, afford a fine display of flowers. Amongst 

 Odontoglossums a fine O. crispum var. guttatum was 

 noticed in flower. Amongst a group of the favourite 

 O. grande some very dark forms likewise. O. Har- 

 ryanum, just over, is said to be one of the darkest 

 forms as yet flowered in this country ; the plant is 

 in superb condition, as were all the plants grown of 

 this favourite genus. In the warm house a well 

 flowered plant of Vanda Sanderiana presented a 

 remarkable sight, and profusely flowered examples 

 of Oncidium Jonesianum were observed. The Pha- 

 lsenopsis were very striking examples, with some 

 strong spikes pushing up. Cypripediums Ashbur- 

 tonia;, cenanthum superbum (off the original plant 

 from the late Mrs. Morgan's collection), Harrisia- 

 num, insigne, and its var. violaceum punctatissi- 

 mum, with twenty spikes; villosum Spicerianum, 

 Sedeni, and others were in flower. I may add, in 

 conclusion, that Mr. Edwards is busy hybridising, 

 and that most of the crosses effected (which have 

 flowered) denote the employment for this purpose 

 of the finest forms ; therefore it is only reasonable to 



