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REPORT ON THE 



very liberal dressing of sand, and leaf-soil if possible. Others 

 that I thought required calcareous soils I supplied with old 

 mortar rubbish or crushed bricks. In that way I have found my 

 mode of culture successful, in nine cases out of every ten, with 

 the so-called species of Primula. I think none of those are more 

 difficult to manage in English gardens than the Fairy Primula 

 (P. minima) ; I have flowered that species with unwonted success, 

 and I must say that abundance of water, liberal drainage, and a 

 dry, airy atmosphere during the winter, are the only means I 

 have used to bring about success. 



Mr. Wilson : I understood Mr. Jenkins to say he found 

 Primula capitata a " niiffy " Primula. 



Mr. Jenkins : It is so regarded by some growers. 



Mr. Wilson : I have grown a great many of them in many 

 situations in my own garden, and I find the only conditions 

 they require are to have rather a moist soil, shade and shelter. 



The Chairman : Are we speaking of the same capitata ? 



Mr. Wilson : I am talking of the true capitata. Those are 

 the only two conditions it requires. It lives through the winter 

 and makes fine plants. 



Mr. Jenkins : That bears out my remark. With regard to 

 its being a 44 miffy " plant, I regard it as a good plant on certain 

 soils, but I consider that it is more a question of altitude than of 

 soils. It is not a question of being fed from below as much as 

 altitude. Particular descriptions of soil may be supplied in any 

 locality, but without necessarily ensuring success. 



Mr. F. Moore (Glasnevin) : As to Primula capitata, Mr. 

 Wilson has said that it requires shade and moisture to attain per- 

 fection. In Ireland I find the Primula capitata must have 

 exposure to the sun, and the more sun it gets the richer it comes. 

 I allude to the intense blue of its flowers, different from any other 

 of that section. As to P. sikkimensis and cachemiriana, I can grow 

 both these far better in a shady place and a moist soil. I have 

 a cachemiriana now, with eight large heads, grown in the shade, 

 perhaps larger than any I have seen in this Exhibition. I have 

 a smaller plant of a similar colour grown in quite as moist a 

 situation, in full exposure to the sun, and it is not nearly so good 

 in its colour nor so vigorous in its growth. To get the glorious 

 yellow coloiu* in P. sikkimensis, which no other Primula possesses, 

 you must grow it in moisture and shade. That is my experience, 



