AND GENERAL HOKTICULTURE. 



347 



PKI 



frames or in a cold green-house in the same 

 manner as Pansies, In order that they may be 

 better protected from storms, that destroy 

 the powdery bloom upon the surface of 

 the flpwer, itS' greatest feature of beauty, 

 and also to enhance its commercial value. 

 The Auricula is propagated by division 

 of the root, or by cutting off slips with a por- 

 tion of the root attached ; but a still better 

 plan is to sow seed in March, which make 

 fine flowering plants the next season. We use 

 this method exclusively. The common Prim- 

 rose, P. vulgaris (syn. P. acattJis), which grows 

 "wild and abundantly in Britain and on the con- 

 tinent of Europe, has been a favorite with 

 American planters for generations, and may be 

 found taking care of itself in old-fashioned 

 gardens for years, especially north of Massa- 

 chusetts where it is protected by heavy snows 

 all winter. F. L. Temple, of Cambridge, 

 Mass., in a communication to "Garden and 

 Forest," 1888, says : " I never knew it, how- 

 ever, to establish itself outside of the rich soil 

 and limited space of the garden where it was 

 given a place by man, until the past season, 

 ■when I was shown a locality in Massachusetts 

 where it took possession of a piece of pasture 

 along the sides of a brook, and among scat- 

 tered clumps of the Barberry and other shrubs. 

 In this heavy, clayey soil it was perfectly at 

 home, and thousands of vigorous plants were 

 disputing successfully with grasses and weeds 

 for a chance to live. This spot, in spring, 

 when these beautiful blossoms are like a 

 brilliant carpet of crimson and yellow, cover- 

 ing many square rods with their bloom, and 

 peeping out of the half-shaded nooks among 

 the wild undergrowth, is a sight to be long 

 remembered by anyone who knows and loves 

 this old Primrose. This is the only case, as 

 far as I know, in which the English Primrose 

 has become really established and capable of 

 propagating itself permanently so far north, 

 and it is hoped that this hardy strain of these 

 wholly delightful blossoms may hereafter pro- 

 vide us with a race of these Primroses which 

 will be really hardy throughout a considerable 

 part of the Northern States." The Polyanthus, 

 probably derived from a cross between the 

 Primrose and the Cowslip, P. officinaMa (syn. 

 P. veris) has been in cultivation for many 

 years, and is one of the most popular of 

 Florists' flowers, especially in Britain. There 

 are a great number of varieties from light 

 yellow or straw color to deep maroon, with 

 an endless variety of shades and markings. 

 The section known as the "Gold-laced" is, 

 however, the most admired, the flowers of 

 which are distinguished by a clear even 

 margin or lacing of gold, then a ground or 

 body-color, similarly well defined, with a 

 stripe passing through the centre of each 

 division to the eye. The pip, as a single flower 

 is termed, should be large, flat and round, 

 with the exception of five or six small divi- 

 sions on the margin. Besides these varieties 

 there are others designated respectively, 

 "Fancy" and "Hose in Hose." Fancy 

 varieties are of various hue, the plants being 

 of vigorous habit ; and some of the Hose in 

 Hose sorts are curious and very uncommon. 

 P. obeonica, a species introduced from central 

 China in 1882 with pale lilac, almost white 

 flowers, is a much admired species for spring 

 and early summer flowering. Unfortunately 



PRI 



its leaves and flowers have, to some persons, 

 poisonous properties similar to those of the 

 Poison Ivy, and persons susceptible to plant 

 poisons should handle it with caution. Many 

 new and distinct species, among them several 

 absolutely different from anything previously 

 known, have of late years been introduced 

 from the Himalayas, China and Japan, but 

 which have not yet been cultivated enough to 

 show if they are suited to our climate or not. 

 P. Sinensis (syn. prcBnitena), and its varie- 

 ties, are extensively grown as plants for 

 pot-culture for the sitting-room or the 

 green-house, as well as for use in winter 

 for cut-fiowers. To get strong plants it 

 is best to sow the seeds about March or 

 April ; the English plan of sowing in July or 

 August will not answer well in our hot, dry 

 climate. The seed should be sown in shallow 

 boxes, which may be two inches or so in depth ; 

 the soil used may be good friable loam, which 

 should be sifted fine and pressed down nicely 

 with a smooth board, so that it is perfectly- 

 level; on this smooth level surface of soil 

 sow the seeds thickly, and press them down 

 into the soil, which will sink them level with 

 the smooth surface. Next take sphagnum 

 moss (dry refuse hops or leaf mould will also 

 do, but moss is best) and rub it through a 

 sieve as fine as a mosquito-wire, and sift this 

 pulverized moss over the seed just thick 

 enough to cover the seeds up, which will be 

 something about the one-sixteenth part of an 

 inch. This covering is light, and, at the same 

 time, its spongy character keeps the seeds in 

 the necessary condition of moisture for ger- 

 mination, we have found that this method 

 for the sprouting of all seeds that are diffi- 

 cult of germination Is excellent, so that if the 

 seeds have any vitality whatever, germina- 

 tion is certain. After the Primulas have 

 started to a full development of the seed leaf, 

 they are "pricked off" in the same sort of 

 shallow box that the seeds were started in, at 

 a distance of half an inch or so apart. If this 

 is not promptly done there is great danger of 

 the young plants being attacked by a species 

 of fungus, which is quickly fatal. In from 

 four to six weeks after the young Primulas 

 have been growing in these boxes. they will 

 be of sufficient size to be placed in two and a 

 half inch pots ; and by about this time the 

 weather will have become warm, and the 

 plants should be placed in the coolest place 

 to be obtained with partial shade. If the 

 plants will remain without shifting until Sep- 

 tember, do not shift them, as our experience 

 has shown that they keep best through the 

 hot summer months if rather cramped for 

 pot room. As soon as cool weather comes in 

 fall they begin to grow rapidly, and if judi- 

 ciously shifted into larger pots as the balls be- 

 come filled with roots, they will make beauti- 

 ful plants from twelve to eighteen inches in 

 diameter, which will flower in profusion from 

 November to May. Although the double 

 varieties are also raised from seed, yet, like 

 nearly all double flowers, quite a proportion 

 of the seed saved from double flowers will 

 come single; and though many flne double 

 flowers are thus produced, yet exact types 

 can never be depended on from seed, so that, 

 as a rule, the double kinds, particularly -the 

 Double White, which is the kind most valued 

 for winter flowers, are grown exclusively from 



