rUIMULACEiK. 133 



of liluiuli'ring. rrimorole is on abbreviation of French pn'mefWoJc, Italian /)n'maiTro?<r, 

 dim. o( firima rem, from Jior ill jirinui vera, the firHt spring flower. Primervh; aa an 

 outluiulisli, uniiitelligiblo wortl, was soon fumiliariscd into prime roller, and tlilH into 

 2>niiiroec. Tliis is expliiiiu'd in pupiilur works as meaning the first rose of the spring, 

 a name that never woiiKl have been given to a plant that in form and colour is so 

 nnlikc a rose. But the rightful cluiniant of it, strange to say, is the daisy, which in 

 the south of Kurope is a common and conspicuous flower in early spring, while tho 

 PriiMi-oso is an extremely rui-e one, and it is tho daisy that bears the name in all tho 

 old books." Tlio roots of the Primrose are emetic, and Gerardc reports that a drachm 

 and a half in the powdered state act stronglj- and .safely. A wine resembling cowslip 

 wine is also made from Primroses ; and we have lately seen a receipt for making :i 

 Primrose ])udding. Pretty flower as it is, all animals i-eject it as food, exccjitiiig the 

 pig. The common Primrose is peculiarly the flower of pleasant a-ssociations — not 

 the varieties, single and double, which are cultivated in tho gardens, or the lilac 

 Primrose, to which we give the name but in courtesy — it is the sulphur-coloured 

 Primrose of our youtli which speaks to us of tho early days of spring, and tho first 

 ramble in tho meadows or by the hedge-side. It is peculiarly the flower of an 

 English home, and we remember seeing, in one of our j)icturc exhibitions, an attnictive 

 painting of tho arrival of a growing plant of bright Primroses ou the shores of 

 Anstralia. The eager gazo of those who loved tho flower which spoke to them of 

 liomc and childhood, and tho anxiety to look upon it, arc well depicted. Wo believe 

 it to bo a fact that this plant was exliibited for some time in tho city where it 

 arrived, at a fixed charge, to admirmg thousands. We all know and love some retired 

 spot 



" AVliere tho hardy Primrose peeps 

 From the dark dell's entangled steeps." 



The Isle of Wiglit, and indeed the whole of tho south of England, abounds with 

 Primroses in the early part of the year, and we have lately been interested by tracing 

 their ix'lation to the cowslips in form, and the tendency there evidently is for one 

 variety to run into tho other. Wo have seen Primroses becoming small, and gi-owing 

 two or three on one stalk, on a plant bearing single stalked Primroses, and cowslip 

 flowers on single short stalks, amidst the tiny clusters of cups generally found on a 

 cowslip stalk. 



SPECIES II.-PRIMULA OFFICINALIS. Linn. Jacq. 



Tlate MCXXX. 



RcUh. Ic. Fl. Germ, ct Ilelv. Vol. XVII. Tab. MXC. Fig. 2. 

 Blllol, Fl. Gall, et Germ. Exsicc. No. 4-14. 

 P. veris, officinalis, Liii>i. Spec. Plant, p. 104. 

 P. veris, var. b, Benlh. Handbk. Brit. Fl. ed. ii. p. 302. 



P. veris, 7/i(f7.<!. Sm. Engl. Bot. No. 5. Bah. Man. Brit. Bot. ed. v. p. 277. JTooi-. & 

 Arn. Brit. Fl. ed. viii. p. 345. 



Leaves ovate-oval or ovate-obov.ite, abruptly contracted at the base 

 into winged petioles, rounded at the apex or subobtuse, irregularly 

 crosc denticuhite, rugose. Untbel raised on a scape; pedicels usually 

 shorter than the calyx, more or less droo})ing. Calyx 5-si(led- 



