404 



THE GAKDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



easily trace the yellow and buff selfs of the early 

 writers breaking into the flakes and stripes of 

 the Flora Exotica of Count Dermatt, the green 

 edge of Painted Lady Diamond, and the white 

 edge of Honour and Glory. The origin of the 

 black and purple-coloured forms is not so clear, 



but it is probable that the purple-flowered P. 

 venusta has played some part in their evolution. 



The origin of the Alpine Auricula, cultivated 

 by Carolua Clusius in Vienna as early as 1582, 

 would appear to be P. Auricula and P.jmbescens, 

 the latter a natural hybrid producing rosy -crim- 

 son flowers. 



Hogg's Treatise on Florists 1 Flowers, published 

 in 1824, mentions ninety-three varieties of edged 

 Auriculas and thirteen selfs; but no distinction 

 is made between the green, gray, and white 

 edges. This has been done in more recent 

 years, the show Auricula being divided into four 

 well-marked divisions — viz. green-edged, gray- 

 edged, white -edged, and selfs. The Alpine 

 Auricula as a florist's flower is divided into 

 white-centred and yellow-centred varieties. 



The characters of these are as follows: — 



Green-edged. — Leaves invariably green. Flower-tube 

 yellow, the mouth filled with the anthers: the pistil 

 should be hidden by the anthers. The limb or radiating 

 part of the corolla is densely coated in the centre with a 

 white farina or powder called '"paste "; next to this is the 

 ground colour, a violet, purple, or deep-maroon, in some 

 instances a blue-black or a purple-black; the inner 

 margin of this ground colour should form a perfect circle 

 around the white paste, the outer margin being more or 



less irregular. The edge should be of a lively green 

 colour as free from paste as possible. A pale-coloured 

 tube or angular paste are serious faults. 



Gray-edged. — In this section the outer edge only is 

 green, but so thickly powdered that the green is scarcely 

 discerned. Gray-edged varieties are easier to obtain than 

 either white or green. The best gray-edged is George 

 Lightbody, which is a model of what an edged Auricula 

 ought to be. Lancashire Hero is also very good. 



White-edged. — These are distinguished from the gray 

 merely by the denser coating of farina on the margin, 

 which in some instances is as pure and clear a white as 

 the centre. 



Selfs. — These, as the name suggests, have a uniform 

 colour surrounding the white centre ; this colour should 

 be solid, uniform throughout, and of the same shades as 

 in the edged flowers generally. 



Cultivation, — Auriculas are propagated by 

 seeds and offsets, the former to obtain new 

 varieties, and the latter to increase the stock of 



: any particular variety. 



To raise new varieties, select only the best 

 varieties as breeders. The seed-bearer should 

 have plenty of vigour and a good habit. Ke- 



I move the anthers with a pair of sharp-pointed 

 scissors before the pollen is ripe. This is neces- 

 sary to prevent self-fertilization. The pollen 

 parent should belong to the same section as 

 the seed-bearer. The seeds ripen in July, and 

 ought to be sown at once in pans, which should 

 be placed in hand-lights on the north side of a 



I wall as being the coolest place at that time of 

 year. The seeds will begin to vegetate in about 

 three weeks, and the seedlings may be pricked 

 out as soon as the first true leaf is formed, about 

 a dozen or so into a 3-inch pot; they are then 

 potted on singly as they require it. A suitable 

 potting material is yellow loam four parts, leaf- 

 mould one part, and one of decayed manure. 

 Should the seeds sown in July not all vegetate 

 in the autumn, they will remain dormant until 

 February, when seedlings should appear freely. 

 Seeds sometimes lie for twelve months before 

 germinating. 



Offsets, although generally freely produced 

 by mature plants, sometimes will not develop 

 on one for years. They must be carefully 

 removed from the parent plants with a small 

 portion of roots attached, and planted separately 

 in a small pot in sandy soil. They should be 

 placed in a hand-light until they become estab- 

 lished, when they may be repotted. They take 

 at least twelve months to grow into good 

 flowering plants. 



The season of growth in the Auricula is from 

 February till June; active vegetation is then 

 suspended till the beginning of August, when 

 it is resumed, continuing till about the middle 



