PRIMULA CONFERENCE. 



259 



but I am sure there are many people here who have quite a 

 contrary experience. I think we should try plants not only in 

 various soils, but in various positions. 



Mr. George Paul : I can very much endorse what has been 

 said, but I do not think it is entirely a matter of shade or exposure, 

 provided they have sufficient moisture at the root. They seem to 

 want moisture even when growing in a natural bog ; and if they 

 are exposed to full sunlight, I do not think it matters a bit so 

 long as they have a continuous supply of water. The one thing 

 that has caused them to be unsuccessfully grown is the absence 

 of a continuous supply of water. So far as my experience has 

 gone, some species rejoice in a bog, in a full exposure to sunlight, 

 but they must have a continuous supply of water. Your bog may 

 be so formed that you can regulate the supply a little, and keep the 

 channels open in winter, so that they may not be smothered with 

 water. But there is no difficulty about that. I have tried a 

 great many species, including also P. minima, and they seem to 

 require the same conditions. 



Mr. Jenejns : There is one remark I should like to add with 

 regard to P. sikkimensis. I am strongly of opinion that it should 

 be grown as a biennial to bring about the best results. In its 

 native home it covers some acres of ground, the roots extend to a 

 considerable extent, and we never get such good flowers after the 

 second year. • I am of opinion that it would well repay growing in 

 a bog by itself, having the bog well under control, as Mr. Paul 

 remarks, so that you can flood it or drain the water off at your 

 pleasure, and so keep up a continual supply of water. In a deep 

 bog with two feet of peat I have had it two feet six inches in 

 height, which is very rarely excelled in this country. I believe 

 that in its native home, the Sikkim Himalayas, it is about two 

 feet high on the average. I think it is one of the most glorious 

 of the Primulacea3 if we give it attention. Nothing can surpass 

 the beautiful soft yellow, and the number of flowers, sometimes 

 as many as 20 or 30 in one umbel, it produces under good culture. 



Mr. Paul : I think the general impression among cultivators 

 is that all these Himalayan Primroses are better treated as 

 biennials. 



Eev. C. Wolley Dod : The Himalayan Primroses are plants to 

 which I am beginning to give attention. I came here more to learn 

 than to speak, because I have not had much experience on the 



