Part 11. PRIMULA. 279 



purple hue, and have a habit of coming out before the snow has 

 left the ground — thus dethroning, in a way, the common Prim- 

 rose. In leaf it is not unlike P. denticulata, and the fact that it 

 possesses the vigour of that plant, and also has much larger 

 flowers, makes it very welcome. It is so much earlier than 

 the common Primrose that, while that species is in full flower, 

 amoma has quite finished blooming, and sent up almost the same 

 kind of strong tuft of leaves which the common Primrose does 

 after its flowers are faded. I have seen it flourishing quite 

 freely in common borders, on a chalky soil, and doubt not that 

 it will prove one of the most valuable additions to the early spring 

 garden and mixed border that has been made for many years. 

 As the leaves are rather large, a sheltered and slightly shaded 

 position will most tend to the perfect health and development of 

 the plant. It is charming for rockwork or well-arranged borders, 

 and, when plentiful enough, will,- no doubt, be used in other 

 ways. It is readily propagated by division of the root, and is 

 a native of the Caucasus. The corolla is purplish lilac in bud, 

 or when recently expanded, turning bluer after a few days. The 

 umbel is many-flowered, the blooms larger than those of 

 P. denticulata, borne about six or seven inches high ; the leaves 

 woolly beneath and toothed. There is a stemless variety, which 

 would probably prove a great addition to our gardens. 



PRIMULA AXTEICTJLA. — Common Auricula. 



This flower was quite a favourite in England in old times, and 

 Parkinson, writing more than two hundred years ago, enumerates 

 twenty-one varieties, and says there were many more ; and in 

 1792 the catalogue of Maddock, the florist, named nearly five 

 hundred sorts. In our own time they have come to be almost 

 forgotten, and are rarely seen except in the garden of an oc- 

 casional enthusiastic florist. Of course I speak of the plants 

 as florists' flowers ; the common kind has always been, and I 

 trust will always remain, a popular cottage-garden and border 

 flower. Primula Auricula lives in a wild state on the high 

 mountain ranges of Switzerland, France, Austria, and the Cau- 

 casian chain, and has probably a much wider distribution. It 

 is one of tl^^many charming Primulas which rival the Gen- 

 tians, Pinlfs, and Forget-me-nots, in making the Flora of alpine 

 fields so Exquisitely beautiful and interesting. Possessing a 



