PRIMULA CONFERENCE. 



217 



we see that they have simply arisen by reason of a long course 

 of selection through centuries of cultivation. 



Mr. Potter : I think P. Auricula is a variable plant ; and I 

 believe, if we could trace it back, we should find that Primula 

 jnibescens is a hybrid between P. hirsuta and a form of 

 P. Auricula. In pubescens the absence of the meal is to be noted. 



Mr. Hibberd : It will be prudent, I think, to say a very few 

 words, because the discussion has taken such a course as this, 

 that when one calls black white, the other one asserts it to be 

 black, and the different speakers have corrected one another. 

 They seem all to have come to the same conclusion as myself, 

 and although my brother Baker disapproves of my cavalier way 

 of treating the old botanists, I consider them of little value 

 when considering edged flowers. He considers the Primula 

 Auricula as the parent of the edged flower. There is this 

 difference between Mr. Baker's story and mine, that he gives 

 more importance to P. pubescens in reference to the Alpine 

 section. Now my paper says that the edged and the Alpine are 

 two distinct classes, differing in their origin. I have satisfied 

 myself of that by endeavouring to breed one into another, 

 and they won't do it, so that the differences amongst 

 us are very slight. We have before us a fine business 

 proposal from Mr. Lynch — that it should be now treated syn- 

 thetically. We have been pulling it to pieces, and we ought 

 perhaps to build it up. I know of no man so competent to 

 undertake that task as Mr. Douglas, because he is not only a 

 cultivator, but a thoughtful, observant man, who would not 

 trouble us with any mistake, and if once more the variations to 

 a certain extent can be obtained from the wild plants, then we 

 should have something solid to stand upon. The best part of 

 our business this morning has been to record our opinions ; but 

 permit me to say, if my friends will allow me to do so, that 

 with respect to that, my opinions and all other people's opinions 

 are of very much less importance than demonstrated facts. 



Mr. Churchill on the Origin of the Auricula. 



[Since the discussion on the subject of the origin of the 

 Auricula took place, Mr. Churchill has been good enough to con- 

 tribute to the Gardeners' Chronicle the following statement of the 



