Part II. PRIMULA. 281 



but so thickly covered .with powder that this is not distinctly 

 seen. This, too, is the case with the "white-edged," the dif- 

 ferences being in the thickness and hue of the " paste " or 

 powdery matter. In fact, the terms green-edged, grey-edged, 

 and white-edged, are simply used to express slight differences 

 between flowers all having an abnormal development of the 

 petals into leafy texture. It is a curious fact that between 

 the white and the grey the line of demarcation is imaginary, and 

 both these classes occasionally produce green-edged flowers. 

 The " selfs " are really distinct, in having the outer and larger 

 portion of the corolla of the ordinary texture, a ring of powdery 

 matter surrounding the eye. 



- Xhe enumeration and classification of such slight difierences 

 merely tend to throw obstacles in the way of the flower being 

 generally grown and enjoyed in gardens. By all means let the 

 florists maintain them, but those who merely want to embellish 

 their gardens with some of the prettier varieties need not trouble 

 themselves with named sorts at all. One fact concerning the 

 florists' kinds should, however, be borne in mind — ^they are the 

 most delicate and difficult to cultivate. The curious develop- 

 ments of powdery matter, green margins, &c. have a tendency to 

 enfeeble the constitution of the plant. They are, in fact, varia- 

 tions that, occurring in nature, would have little or no chance of 

 surviving in the struggle for life. The general grower wiU do well 

 to select the free sorts — alpines, as they are called — or even good 

 varieties of the common border kinds. An especial merit of 

 these is that they may be grown in the open air on rockwork 

 and borders, while the florists' kinds must be grown in frames. 



At the risk of earning the contempt of the florist, I must first 

 allude to the culture of the free-growing kinds, those most likely 

 to be enjoyed in all classes of gardens. It is very simple : light 

 vegetable soil and plenty of moisture during the growing season 

 being the essentials. In many districts the moisture of our 

 climate suits the Auricula to perfection, and in such may be 

 seen great tufts of it grown in gardens without any attention. 

 In others it must be protected against excessive drought by 

 putting stones round the plants, and cocoa-fibre and leaf-mould 

 are also useful as a surfacing. However, none but good varieties 

 of the '' alpine " section would justify even this trouble ; and, 

 wherever practicable, we should prefer to place these on rock- 

 work, on spots where they could root freely into rich light soil, 



