58 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
introduce another Alpine species or variety, Primula venusta. 
This is probably a variety of P. Auricula, but it has deep purple 
flowers, and from it we have the dark purple and maroon selfs ; 
and these poor varieties are quite likely reversions to it, as the 
fancy varieties are to the yellow type. By selecting the very 
worst seedlings, and crossing and recrossing them, it would not 
take long, I think, to get back to the source whence our best 
varieties have been derived. 
I come now to the Alpine Auricula, which botanists suppose 
to be derived from Priviula pubescens. It was introduced to 
cultivation by Clusius some 200 years ago ; but the whole matter 
was so exhaustively treated by Mr. J. G. Baker at the previous Con- 
ference (see page 213 of "Report on Primula Conference"*) that 
it wo aid be presumption on my part to go further into the matter 
to-day. I will confine myself to the statement that it is easy to 
raise seedlings of good quality from the Alpine Auricula, there 
being really very few bad ones amongst them, and nothing like 
the variation that is to be found amongst the edged classes. I 
have already pointed out that there is no difficulty in obtain- 
ing crosses between the edged varieties and the Alpines, but 
such crosses as garden plants are of no value whatever. 
The cultivation of the Auricula has been fully described by 
competent authorities, and we do not find much fresh informa- 
tion on this point in recent years. The Auricula, as well as all 
similar Alpines, may be propagated either by seed, offsets, or 
division of the plants. The seed should be sown in pots or seed- 
pans as soon as it is ripe, and the pans set in a shady place, as 
the seed is usually ripe about midsummer and the seedlings 
suffer from excessive heat. A few plants will appear in about 
three weeks from the time of sowing, but the greater portion of 
the seed will remain dormant until spring, when it will vegetate 
freely. The plants are pricked out as soon as the first leaf, 
after the seed leaves, is formed, and when large enough are 
repotted singly. They flower strongly the second year after 
sowing. It requires an entire season to grow an Auricula plant 
to its full size from seed or from an offset. Offsets are the side- 
growths, which are removed from the parent plant as soon as 
roots are formed from their base. Tliey are planted in very 
small pots. They should be put into close hand-lights, with the 
air almost excluded at first, and sliaded from bright sunshine. 
* Juimuil of the ll.II.S., Vol. VIL, Tart 2, 188G. 
