7« FAMILIAH GARTJEX FLOWERS. 



they are unhappy they shuffle off their mortal coil very 

 C[uiekly, and are thereafter not seen at all. 



There are fully thirty garden varieties of primroses 

 worth growings comprising single and double flowers of all 

 colours except true blue. They are all beautiful, but the 

 double w^hite, double lilac, and double red are exquisitely 

 lovely, and worth any amount of trouble to insure a free 

 growth and a perfect bloom. But observe, further, that 

 they require a deep moist loamy soil, a partially-shaded 

 situation, and to be often looked at, or they will not 

 thrive. It must be remembered, also, that these flowers 

 require a comparatively pure air. They are not town 

 flowers, and therefore in a town garden one rosy pyre- 

 thrum is worth fifty primroses, whether single or double. 

 TBut not a poor soil, not a smoky atmosphere, not a full 

 blaze of summer sun is so decidedly deadly to these plants 

 as dryness at the root. A dry soil is fatal to them, and 

 therefore when there is any doubt about their doing well, 

 be careful to water them freely all through the summer 

 season. As remarked before, they require a deep moist 

 loamy soil, but they will thrive in clay, sand, or peat, if in 

 the original arrangements it is kept in mind that a free 

 rooting ground and constant moisture are essential. If you 

 propose to grow these plants on poor sand or stubborn 

 clay, you have but to dig deep, break up the staple well 

 and mix with it a liberal allowance of fat manure, and the 

 rest is easy. They must have food, they like shade and 

 moisture, and when quite happy in their circumstances 

 they grow " like weeds." 



The multiplication of the choicer kinds of primroses is 

 effected by division, and the months of May and June are 

 the most suitable for the operation, because there is a long 



