PRIMROSES AND THEIR CULTIVATION. 377 



commonly cultivated in frames than in the open soil, and to do 

 well on ordinary level borders they require favourable conditions 

 not often found. Perfect drainage and moisture through summer 

 are necessary to them. They like the shelter of stones to grow 

 amongst and to spread their roots on ; most of them succeed in 

 fine debris of rock, mixed with a small proportion of loam. They 

 delight in a steep slope, facing south or east, and to grow from 

 under an overhanging stone; and where moisture does not fail, 

 they like sun. In such situations P. calycina, P. Clusiana, 

 P. auricula, P. intermedia, and such like grow into large plants 

 of a dozen or a score of tufts without becoming long-necked and 

 leggy. But the best of all for rockery decoration are P. mar- 

 tjinata (Curtis), a beautiful plant at all times, with a bright 

 silvery edging of meal on its leaves, and the white-flowered Prim- 

 rose often called nivalis, but probably a white hybrid of P. viscosa. 

 This last produces seed freely, and the seed comes true ; but 

 many of this class produce seed sparingly in cultivation. These 

 kinds all become long-legged and bare in time, and at last fall 

 to pieces, but are easily propagated by cuttings of the branches, 

 and three or four small plants generally make a better show of 

 flower than one large plant. 



To pass from Europe to North America, the new world is 

 not rich in Primroses, but three may be noticed as good : 

 P. suffrutescens, mentioned already as the extreme of shrubby 

 growth, is neat and pretty, but wants a warm situation. 

 P. Rusbyi, from the mountains of Mexico, is very distinct, and 

 flowers for two or three months through summer, but it is 

 scarce and not very robust. P. Parryi does well on a raised 

 peat-bed facing east ; it lasts for several years without being 

 divided, and is very showy and of excellent habit, seeding freely 

 and coming up readily. 



The Primroses of the Caucasus and Central Asia are not of 

 great value to the gardener. P. nivalis of Pallas, as figured in 

 Regel's " Gartenflora," is not known in cultivation in England. 

 P. auriculata and P. algida are hardly better than P. denti- 

 culate, and less easily grown. P. grandis and P. luteola have 

 less to recommend them than the wild Oxlip of Britain. Gardens 

 can do without them. 



We pass next to P. cortusoides, of which the best variety is 

 known as var. amce.ia, or Siebold'ii. The old form of this, with 



L 



