334 BRECK’S NEW BOOK OF FLOWERS. 
be done soon after flowering, and new varieties may be 
obtained from seed. A little protection of leaves in the 
winter will be beneficial. 
P, Auricula,—The Auricula is a florist’s flower of great 
beauty. It is a native of the Alpine regions of Switzer- 
land and Germany. The most common colors in its wild 
state are yellow and red, sometimes purple, and occasion- 
ally variegated or mealy. In this country the cultivation 
of this beautiful flower has received but little attention, 
probably on account of the severity of our winter and 
spring months, or the great heat of the summer, which is 
more destructive to it than cold. The extremes of heat 
and cold render its cultivation difficult. But in England, 
near most of the manufacturing towns, and in Scotland, 
the cultivation of this flower has formed a favorite amuse- 
ment of weavers and mechanics. The flower-stalk springs 
from radical leaves, is six or eight inches high, and bears a 
truss of six or eight flowers, which are of various colors. 
These flowers are called pips, which should be raised 
with a light-colored eye; the ground color, when very 
dark-purple, blue or brown, edged with green, contrasts 
finely with the eye, and such are considered richer than 
those varieties where the color is lighter. The best soil 
for the Auricula is a compost made from loam from an old 
pasture, kept and turned over occasionally during a year, 
and then mixed with hot-bed dung rotten, to a mould, or 
with leafmould and some sand, to keep it open. The 
soil and manure must be well mellowed by time before 
using, and not mixed until it is wanted. 
P. Sinénsis.—Chinese Primrose.—This beautiful green- 
house species is a native of China, and is too tender for 
out-door culture ; but is fine for the green-house or sitting- 
room, where it will produce a succession of flowers all the 
winter and spring, and if turned out in the open ground 
in June in a cool shady place, will continue to bloom all 
