COMMOX GARDEN FLOWEES. 



55 



rock-garden, planted in ricli moist loam, or in pots in 

 sandy peat and loam. 



P. nivca, or iiimlis of gaidens, is the Snowy Prim- 

 rose, and resembles P. eiUata in its dense clusters, 

 but the flowera are rather smaUer, and pui-e white! 

 It is quite distinct in aspect fi-om any other species 

 in cultivation ; happUy, it is very easy of cultm-e, 

 and may be grown in pots or in the open ground. It 

 flowers in April and May, is a native of the Alps, 

 and is by some supposed to be a variety of F. viscosa. 

 This is a charming subject when grown in pots, but 

 should be fiequently divided, for it has a tendency, 

 in common with other species, to get somewhat naked 

 about the base of the shoots, and, as these protrude 

 rootlets, the whole plant is likely to go off if not 

 taken up and divided into as many pieces as pos- 

 sible. Every shoot will form a plant, inasmuch as 

 uach is usually furnished with little rootlets, which 

 take hold of fresh soil immediately. Many people 

 keep plants of Primulas like this for years in the 

 centre of the same pot, whereas by dividing them, 

 and placing them down to the leaves in fresh soU, 

 much finer specimens may be obtained. 



P. Burryi is a very fine and distinct species, bear- 

 ing c harmin g rosy-crimson flowers, but scarce, and 

 not easy to cultivate. 



P. pedenwntana is a dwarf species in the way of 

 P. eiliata, bearing deep lilac-coloured flowers, and 

 it is a native of the Alps. It is a charming subject 

 for growing in pots. 



P. pule/ierrima and P. purpurea are both very fine 

 forms of P. denticulata, or verj' closely allied to it. 



P. rosea is a perfect little gem, and bears heads of 

 bnlliant rosy-carmine flowers in early spring ; each 

 blossom is nearly an inch across; the leaves are 

 smooth, and of a bright deep green. It does well 

 planted out in rich loam and peat in moist shaded 

 positions, and it does equally well in pots, in good 

 soil. It is one of the prettiest for general cultiva- 

 tion. It is a native of the East Indies. As it seeds 

 freely it is easy to raise seedlings, and some of the 

 varieties so obtained are finer than others. 



P. rosea grandiflora is one of these selected seed- 

 lings ; the flower is larger, and of a deep crimson hue. 



P. seotica is the Scotch Bird's-eye Primrose, and 

 is one of the choicest little gems in the British flora. 

 Its rich purple flowers, with large yellowish eye, 

 open in the end of April. It is rather difficult to 

 obtain, unless one has an opportunity of getting it 

 from its native localities in Scotland, in the counties 

 of Sutherland and Caithness, as well as in the 

 Orkney Isles, growing in damp pastures. It must 

 have perfect drainage, and be planted in a soil com- 

 posed of friable loam, mixed with sandy peat or a 

 little cocoa-fibre, and piade perfectly firm. 



P. sikkimsnsis is the Himalayan Cowslip ; flowers 



large, and borne in loose, terminal, drooping clus- 

 ters, clesir light yellow in colour, home on naked 

 stalks twelve to eighteen inches high. It is a hand- 

 some plant when well grown, but being of rather 

 tender character, should be cultivated in pots in a 

 gi-eeu-house. 



P. speetabilis is a pretty rosy -flowered species of 

 dwarf growth, highly effective, and does well in 

 pots in a cold frame. 



P. verticiliata is a half-hardy species requiring 

 green-house culture, a species with a free habit of 

 growth, and handsome incaled foliage, producing 

 large whorls of pale yellow, half tubular-shaped 

 flowers. It should be grown in pots. 



P. viscosa is the Viscid Primrose, from the Alps and 

 Pyrenees. It is the lovely little Primrose that tra- 

 vellers who visit the Alps in early summer see open- 

 ing its clear rosy-purple flowers at various altitudes. 

 It is well adapted for rockwork, on which it may 

 be grown in any position, in light peaty soU, or 

 spongy loam, with about one-half of its bulk of fine 

 sand, provided its roots are kept moist during the 

 dry seeison. 



P. Wulfetiiana is allied to P. calycina, and is an 

 excellent companion to it. 



Lastly we have to treat of two new species of com- 

 paratively recent introduction, which, though simple 

 in character, aire yet exquisitely charming. One is 

 P. floribunda, a dwarf, half-hardy evergreen form, 

 presenting the general aspect of P. verticiliata, but 

 smaller. It forms tufts of spreading coarsely-toothed 

 leaves, and numerous erect scapes four to six inches 

 high, bearing whorls of clear chrome-yellow flowers, 

 a quarter to half ' an inch in diameter. It blooms 

 with marvellous freedom, and for a great portion of 

 the year, and it seeds pretty freely ; so it is not diffi- 

 cult to obtain seedlings. Quite tiny plants bloom, 

 when the tufts of leaves are barely two inches in 

 diameter. It should have pot-culture in a green- 

 house. This gem is a native of the Western Hima- 

 layas from Kumaon to Cashmere. 



The other is P. obeonica, or poculiformis, an ever- 

 green species from China, of free robust habit ; the 

 leaves large, roundish, and light vivid green ; flowera 

 an inch or more across, of a delicate lilac, and under 

 glass almost white colour, borne in clusters on stiff, 

 erect stems. It is a very persistent bloomer, flowering 

 almost all the year round, and when grown in pots 

 makes an excellent green-house plant; it is half- 

 hardy, and impatient of cold and undue moisture. 



Slugs are very injurious to Primulas and other 

 plants when grown on rockwork, and such places ; 

 and if they find their way into a cold frame, they 

 will prey upon the hearts of the plants, doing great 

 injury in a small space of time. They should be 

 diligently sought for and ruthlessly destroyed. 



