February, lUH 



A great id«a is to fill one's flat 



box with soil and keop the lid 

 wefl closed on the soil for a few 

 days till it |s well warnicd. 'Then, 

 sow the seods, and for at least 

 twentv-fonr hours keep the Hat 

 wooden lid closed, after that prop- 

 pinjr it open. The soils lycts nice- 

 ly wanned hv this method, and 

 the seed iicrniinates all the sooner. 

 Protect them from the wind and 

 inclement weather, far althouj^h 

 these plants require exposure and 

 lif^ht, still thev need to be guard- 

 ed from extreme heat, wind, or 

 cold. Auriculas are essentially an 

 Rn<jH.sh plant, and it is just one 

 of those curious things so often 

 found in {rardening, that the feed- 

 ing- thev like best of all is liquid 

 mamire made from shed]) dung, 'but 

 not too strong. 



Aurictilas have a great tendency 

 to throw out a number of suckers 

 or weak offshoots. These should 

 alwavs be broken verv briskly off, 

 so that there is not any brusino- 

 to the parent plant. Directly this 

 is done, it is well to apply a little 

 fine charcoal to the place where 

 these' suckers have been taken 

 from. Otherwise these will often 

 become like a woimd. The char- 

 coal acts as an antiseptic 

 ing. Tn watering auriculas, the 

 roots should be well irrifrated 

 onlv. Then, again, a splendid 

 clan is after these plants have 

 l>een in the pots, sav, six or seven 

 months, loosen well the surface 

 soil and .shake it well out, and 

 then fill un agrain with fresh soil 

 from the comnost heap. The auri- 

 cula makes a lovely pot plant. 



— Varieties. — 



There is one particular variety 

 of the auricula, which bears the 

 name of " Dustv Miller." It is ex- 

 tremelv lovelv unless the bloom is 

 touched, and then it is spoilt, for 

 the surface of the flower is cov- 

 ered like a biitterflv's wing, with a 

 sort of sheen or nowder, and the 

 ■'■^ery touch of one's' fino^er ■ ' • 



brings it all off, and so detracts 

 from the beauty of this variety. 

 There are many other sorts. That 

 called the green-edge'd is prettv, 

 bitt the silver-edg-ed is rarely beau- 

 tiful. There is a very pretty one 

 of the old-fashioned lavender shade, 

 with a dark purplish ring around 

 it. \\1ien I was a child this bore 

 the very appropriate name of 

 *' Granny's brocade," and the Bo- 

 tanical gardens boasted some ex- 

 quisite plants of this variety. 



If one has e^'en a very small 

 chimp it is such an «asy matter to 



dinde it and propagate some of 

 the side plants. The trouble is, of 

 lourse, the long, drv summer. 

 — I'rimnhis. — 

 There is not much doubt about it, 

 hut as a pot i)lant the primula 

 takes a lot of beating. iCveryone 

 seems to have a soft si)ot for it, 

 for it certainly is a brave, .sturdy 

 little plant ; its blossoms are so 

 daintv and sweet, and its pretty 

 leaves are a model in themselves. 

 Primulas are so very, very easily 

 grown from seeds, and these art; 

 not reajllv expensive. They need just'- 

 the same sort of soil as the auri- 

 cula and primrose tribe, and are 

 undoubtedly the hardiest of all 

 these flowers. It is wonderful in 

 IMelbourne how one sees these 

 plants growing, and in liower 

 most of the year, but, of course, 

 they are not the same plants. 

 Growers now have conceived the 

 happy notion of sowing month by 

 m.onth, and so ensuring a continu- 

 ous succession of llowering pot 

 plants of this delicate colouring 

 blossom. — Kxchange. x, 



♦ 



Primroses, &c. 



Many of the poets rave about 

 the dainty primrose. The cowslip 

 and oxslip are so \'ery nearly allied; 

 to this charming little llower, for 

 they all need exactly the same 

 treat'ment, for while the prim- 

 rose grows on a single stem, the 

 others have several blossouns on 

 one stalk. Spenser, one of the 

 poets, must have been very fond 

 of thie primrose, for he wrote these 

 fairy lines about it : — 



Sweet is the Primro.se that peeps 



beneath the Thorn ; 

 S'he is the ro.se and glory of the 



day, 



And mine the Primro.se in the 

 lowly sihade. 



Shakespeare writes very pensive- 

 ly about it — 



With fairest flowers, 

 I'll sweeten thy sad grave. Thou 



shalt not lack 

 The flower that's like thy face, pale 



primrose. 



Disraeli made the primrose the 

 flower of the hour in England. 

 After his death some of the dames 

 of the Primrose Tveague inaugurat- 

 ed the great Primrose Daj^, when 

 thousands of primroses are gather- 

 ed and purchased and laid on the 

 statue erected to his memory. 



Many folks sav they can never 

 distinguish a primrose from a cow- 

 slip, but there is a trenx-ndous dif- 

 ference in tlu- si/.e of the blossoms 

 alone, apart froir. the loriner hav- 

 ing a single stalk for each llower. 

 The same treatment, though, in 

 growing may be meted out to 

 these three members of this tribe, 

 vi/.., primroses, cowslips, and ox- 

 slips, and they are all admirable 

 flowers for lasting, once they are 

 plucked. 1 have often knc)\vn 

 these blossoms to keep. fresh for a 

 fortnight or longer. Shakespeare, 

 in speaking of cowslips in his 

 " Midsummer Night's Dream, ' des- 

 cribes them as " fairy favours." 

 He says : 



I must go and iseek some dew- 

 drops here, 



And hang a pearl in every cow- 

 slip's ear. 



♦ 



Polyanthus. 



Manv people persist in calling 

 them " coloured primroses." The 

 rich brown and yellow colouring is 

 very like the cowslip and oxslip in 

 form, and has the foliage and fra- 

 grance of the primrose, the poly- 

 anthus clum.ps are easily separ- 

 ated and are rapid growers. They 

 are prettv happy and contented in 

 a soil that suits the auricula, but 

 are decidedly hardier than that 

 flower. Keat says of them in his 

 well known poem', "Endymion" :— 



Oft have I 'brought thee flowers, on 



their stalks set 

 JAve sweet primroses, but dark 



velvet 



Edges them round, and they have 

 golden jets. 



Right well must this poet have 

 known his polyanthus, for he des- 

 cribes it so well and truly. 



— Polyanthus Primroses. — 



If the seed be fresh it is not at 

 all hard to raise. Put an inch 

 of drainage in a i'2in. seed pan and 

 fill it up to within half an inch of 

 the rim with leaf mould and sand, 

 sifted through a medium-sized 

 sieve. Water with a fine can, and 

 some two hours , later, when the 

 pan has drained, sow the seed as 

 evenly and thinly over the surface 

 as possible, and cover lightly with 

 some sifted leaf mould. Water 

 aeain and cover with a sheet of 

 glass. The pan must not be 

 placed where the direx-t rays of the 

 sun may shine upon it, but stand 

 it in the shade. It will scarcely 



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