CURRENl GARDEN LORE. 



245 



The Aboriginal Cliinese Primrose. — We give an il- 

 lustration of a flowering specimen. The conditions 

 under which it grows in nature are very different from 



Parts of Native Ch 

 two forms ; C, petal 



NESE Primrose. [A and B, leaves c 

 D E F, various forms of the caly.x.] 



those under which it is cultivated here, and any one who 

 will compare the parts of the wild plant here illustrated 

 will see how great a change has been 

 effected in one season only, and with- 

 out any cross-fertilization. Such 

 changes bear witness to the process of 

 evolution. Not many plants would 

 respond so soon to the attention of the 

 cultivator as this Chinese primrose. 

 The flowers of the cultivated speci- 

 men are a pale rosy lilac. The pollen 

 shown at the left is magnified 300 

 times in diameter. — Gardeners' 

 Chronicle. 



Don't Overwater. — When toolittle 

 water is given to house-plants the wilted 

 and drooping leaves soon indicate what 

 the trouble is, and it is very easy to 

 apply the remedy before any serious 

 iajury is done. When too much water 

 ii given, however, the injury is not dis- 

 covered until, perhaps, the leaves turn 

 yellow and begin to fall, and it is then 

 too late to repair the damage. This 

 means that it is easier to injure house- 

 plants beyond remedy by giving too 

 much water than by giving too little. — 

 Garden and Forest. 



The Licorice Tree. — Most licorice 

 comes from Asia Minor, where it is 

 found in great abundance all along 

 the flat, uncultivated, and almost un- 

 inhabited lands of the rivers Tigris 

 and Euphrates. It is a small shrub 

 not more than three feet high, with 

 a light foliage, and is never found far 

 from the water The season for col- 

 lecting the roots is generally during 



the winter, although it is possible all the year round. 

 When the root is first dug it is full of water and must be 

 allowed to dry — a long, tedious process, often taking a 

 year. It is then sent to Bagdad, where it is pressed into 

 bales and shipped to London, and from there to America, 

 quantities of it being used in this country in the manufac- 

 ture of tobacco. The black licorice sticks or rolls which we 

 see in the confectionery and drug-stores come mostly 

 from Spain and are made of pure juice mixed with a little 

 starch, which prevents it from melting in warm weather, 

 and before packing each stick is wrapped in bay-leaves. 

 The word licorice means "sweet root," and is of Greek 

 origin. — Harper' s Yoiiyig People. 



Impatiens Sultani is, I think, one of the most useful 

 plants in cultivation for rooms, as the flowering-season 

 lasts so long and the plants do not suffer much from be- 

 ing in the house, while the same plants will do over and 

 over again if they are not kept indoors too long at a time. 

 The metallic luster seen on the flowers in certain lights 

 makes them very attractive. Though seedlings are the 

 best, I generally contrive to keep a few old plants through 

 winter, and these become large the second year and flower 

 earl V . — Ga 7-dening Illustrated. 



Wild Form of Primula Sinensis after One Year's Cultivation. 



