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PRIMULA AURICULA. 



GARDEN AURICULA. 



Class, PENTANDRIA. Order, MONOGYNIA. 

 Natural Order, PRIMULACE^. 



The auricula (or bear's ear) is the beau of 

 the flower-garden; and, though a native of a 

 poor alpine region, yet, when introduced into the 

 more refined ranks of floral society, no other 

 plant assumes a more gaudy dress, nor more 

 capriciousness of taste and feeling. To gratify 

 this artificial character and appetite, the florist 

 ransacks every description of mineral, vegetable, 

 and animal matter — from the mildest maiden 

 loam to the most filthy and abominable sub- 

 stances — to furnish a repast to satisfy the palate 

 and vitiated taste of this fastidious fop of the 

 flower-bed. Divested of its native hardihood 



