2IO 



Garden and Forest. 



[May I, iS 



latter plant Dr. Kcrncr experimented, and found it to be a hy- 

 britl between P Auricula and /'. hirsiita — exactly what one 

 would exi)ect to find on a study of the plant as we know it at 

 the present time. About 1582 Clusius began to distribute 

 these two plants to his friends, and in tiie year 1664 several 

 forms of P. pubescens were known with different colored 

 flowers, and these spread shortly after to England, Germany, 

 Holland, etc. The true P. Auricula, as is well known, is not 

 prolific in varieties, ancL as the other is known to succeed in 

 almost any position, it was naturally much sought after imtil 

 the varieties increased to something like a thousand or more. 

 Til is P. pubescens will, no doubt, do very well for the origin of 

 the alpine Auricula, but it does not account for the abundance 

 of meal and the abnormally large bracts of the show kinds 

 now in cultivation. We must look somewhere else for indi- 

 cations of this characteristic form, and P. Palinuri is the only 

 species that is likely to help us. Just lately, however, another 

 plant has been foiuid wild in upper Styria, namely, P. Goblii. 

 It was described by Kerner in 1875, and is said to be a hybrid 

 between P. Auricula and P. villosa, which is very likely. Here 

 we get meal in profusion, the large bracts and the dark-col- 

 ored, pasty llowers of an inferior show Auricula. The perfec- 

 tion of the present times has been the result of selection to a 

 large extent, and it will be many years before the investiga- 

 tions now proceeding will give us any real clue, and this only, 

 on the one hantl, by reversions and, on the other, by working 

 with P. pubescens, about the parentage of which we are now 

 quite certain. 



To show what the conference has done for this genus one 

 has only to glance at the nimiber of species and varieties re- 

 cently introduced, and the number of people interesting them- 

 selves in their cultivation. Hardly an English garden nowa- 

 days but is rich in Primulas of some kind, and not the least 

 beautiful and interesting are the gold-laced Polyanthuses, 

 which are once more coming into favor with us. Including 

 species, hybrids and varieties there are, exclusi\'e of Auricu- 

 las and tiie PolyaHithus forms, no less than 150 different kinds 

 of Primrose in cultivation. A few years ago it would have 

 been hard to find a third of these in this country. 



America has helped to swell the number, and few species 

 introduced of late years equal the charming P. y?z<j(^j// found 

 by Greene on the summit of Moiuit Wrightson, and described 

 in the Bulletin Torrey Club, viii, 122. P. suffriitescens, P. 

 Parryi, P. niistassinica, P. angustifolia and P. Cusickiana are all 

 in cultivation now, adding much to the beauty and interest 

 of our rock-gardens and marsh-beds. The greatest number 

 in Hower at present are, of course, European species and 

 hyl)rids, to which P. Auricula, in some way or other, has 

 contributed largely. Amongst the most distinct are P. 

 Christii, P. venusia, P. Escheri, P. Kcrncri, P. discolor, P. 

 Alpina, etc., some have the fiower of one and some of the 

 other parent, but all are v\'orth including in a collection and 

 are easily managed with ordinary care. P. Balbisii deserves 

 special notice. It is somewhat like P. Auricula, but the 

 leaves are smaller, rounder and less mealy, and the flowers 

 deep-golden yellow. The Marginata varieties are now at 

 their best; they add immensely to the interest of the rock 

 garden and never fail to produce their fiowers in the greatest 

 profusion. It is characteristically called the silver-edged Prim- 

 rose, from the margins Ijeing covered with meal, giving quite 

 a character to the leaves. The plants have been likened to 

 miniature, stunted, stone Pines, to which tiieir long, bare stems 

 have really a resemblance. The varieties are Grandiflora, 

 Densiflora, Coerulea, etc., varying in color from clear lilac to 

 purple. They are quite hardy, and affect exposed rather than 

 sheltered spots. P. minitna is one of the little gems, but a 

 most difficult plant to manage even when under full control 

 in pots. It is found on the highest mountains of Switzerland, 

 almost to the limits of perpetual snow, forming large sheets of 

 rose and white flowers. It also has given rise to numerous 

 hybrids, most of which are in cultivation, many far exceeding 

 it in beauty, notably P. Forsteri arnX P. Pseudo-Forsteri, which 

 produce larger flowers and usually bloom twice a year, name- 

 ly, in spring and again in autumn. They both are more robust 

 and easier to manage than the type. To tliis class also belong 

 P. glutinosa, P. Huteri, P. biflora, and others of equal beauty. 

 P. Allionii and P. Ayrolensis are two dwarf species with large, 

 pretty, pink flowers, also quite hardy and amenable to ordinary 

 treatment. 



The Himalayas, give us a great wealth of beauty in this 

 class of plants, amongst the most notal)le being: P. Sik- 

 kinensis, P. Stuarlii, P. purpurea, P. obtusifolia. P. Reidii, P. 

 rosea, P. involucrata, P. prolifera, P.petiolaris and others, vary- 

 ing in color from yellow to rose and purple and all perfectly 

 hardy in our climate. P. denticulata, P, erosa and P. capitata 



arc among the most Ijeautiful of our spring flowers, the former 

 esi.iecially, with its large, lilac balls, is very interesting. They 

 stand our rougli weather very well, continuing in flower for a 

 considerable ti me. Some of these, however, like P. Sikkiniensis, 

 P. capitata, etc., are best treated as biennials, and, as they ripen 

 seed freely, no difficulty will be experienced in keeping the 

 stoclc up. The best of the Himalayan species have yet to be 

 introduced, namely, P. Elwesii, P. Gambelliana, P. Kingii, etc. 

 These are said to be the cream of Indian Primroses and al- 

 though we have already had seeds we have failed to raise the 

 plants. The most interesting discovery of recent years, how- 

 ever, has been made by Delavay in the mountains of Yun-nan, 

 western China. He discovered no less than sixteen new spe- 

 cies, and, although some few were closely allied to Himalayan 

 types, they are distinct enough for specific rank, and will, \\w- 

 doubtedly, add much interest to this class of plants when they 

 can be introduced to our gardens. 



Kew, April 6tli. D. Dcwar. 



The Miiskmclon. 



T N its delicious and refreshing qualities, the IMuskmelon at its 

 -^ best is scarcely surpassed by any fruit of any clime. 

 Though essentially a tropical fruit, its development is so rapid 

 that it may be successfully grown in comparatively northern 

 latitudes, provided the summer's sun shines for a few weeks 

 with something like tropical intensity. But its foliage is in- 

 jured by very slight frosts, and it cannot even endure the 

 chilly winds of autunni if these are long continued. 



The Muskmelon is emphatically a fruit for the home garden. 

 It does not endure long transportation well, and its flavor de- 

 teriorates soon afte-r being picked. Indeed, in quality it is 

 quite capricious. If pickled a little before ripe, or if left a little 

 too long before using, it is quite unpalatable, and sometimes 

 even nauseous, and if the foliage of the plant is not in a 

 healthy condition, the flavor of the fruit will usually be quite 

 inferior. 



A light, somewhat sandy, fertile soil, and a sunny exposin'e, 

 sheltered from north winds, best suits this Melon. It may be 

 grown well on a naturally heavy soil tli;it is well drained, and 

 that has been lightened somewhat by sand or coal ashes, and 

 Mdiich contains abundance of humus from decayed barnyard 

 manure. But it is useless to attempt Melon culture on a 

 poorly-drained, clayey soil, without a favorable exposure. In 

 the climate of the Northern States it is essential that the plants 

 be started quite early, in order that the friuting season may be 

 prolonged as much as possible. As they cannot, however, 

 endure the slightest frost in spring, it is well to plant the seeds 

 on inverted sods in the cold frame the latter part of April. 

 Cover the soil in the frame with sods, neatly fitted together, 

 the grass side down. Then with a sharp lawn-edger or sod- 

 cutter, cut these sods into pieces about four inches square, and 

 on each of these place about five seeds. Now cover with 

 about three-fourths of an inch of fine loam, and give a good 

 watering. Keep the sash on, except on bright, warm days, 

 watering as often as is needed. In about a month the plants 

 will have formed their first rough leaves, and may be trans- 

 planted to the garden. If the weather is dry, give one very 

 thorough watering at the time of transplanting. It is under- 

 stood that the little pots are to be taken out of the frame and 

 planted out without disturbing the roots of the plants more 

 than is necessary. When the plants are started in this way, 

 they are not apt to l.)e troubled niuch by insects, but if the seed 

 is planted in the open ground, the hills must be protected with 

 boxes covered with mosquito netting. 



The varieties of the Muskmelon are readily divisible into 

 two classes, namely, the green-fleshed and orange-fleshed. 

 The former have softer, sweeter and more juicy flesh, while 

 the latter are firmer and more highly flavored. Each class has 

 its advocates, but I think the latter are generally preferred. 

 As a rule, the smaller the fruits produced by a variety the 

 higher the quality, and when the seed of any variety is pure, 

 its quality can be fairly judged by the color of the flesh and 

 the size of the fruit, without much regard to the particular 

 name the seedsman has seen fit to give it. And yet we can- 

 not get along without the name. In my own experience, the 

 Emerald Gem, Miller's Cream Nutmeg, Casaba, Surprise and 

 Christiana rank very high in quality among the orange-fleshed 

 Muskmelons. Among the green-fleshed, the New Orange 

 Cream, Queen and Baltimore Nutmeg have proved very good. 

 Livingston's Perfection, which I first tested last season, is a 

 happy combination of the orange and green-fleshed Musk- 

 melon, a union seldom met with. The ricii, yellow flesh 

 unites to a N'ery considerable extent the juiciness and sweet- 

 ness of the one class with the high flavor of the other, and in 

 quality it is very difficult to surpass. 



