THE AURICULA AS A TOWN PLANT. 



385 



cultivator himself. Here he can attend to his plants at all 

 seasons, let the weather be what it may — hence the advantage 

 of a house. 



An Auricula-house need neither be costly nor large. One, 

 9 feet wide and 15 feet long, will give ample space for 400 plants 

 to bloom in, and will hold many more when not in bloom. This 

 number of plants, if of the best sorts only, should be quite 

 sufficient to compete with at all the best shows in the kingdom. 

 My Auricula-house is 13 feet long and 9 feet wide, and ventilated 

 at the top of the roof with wooden shutters about a foot wide 

 and running the whole length of the house, also ventilated on 

 both sides with shutters near the ground, so that fresh air is 

 freely admitted underneath the staging. The staging is made 

 flat and covered with fluted corrugated iron, upon which is laid 

 about 2 inches of shingle. The house is fitted with a No. 1 

 Loughborough boiler and two rows of 4 -inch pipes, so that frost 

 can be excluded when necessary. I find this kind of a house 

 suits the plants very well. 



The feast of bloom before us to-day, both of Show and 

 Alpines, cannot fail to call forth the admiration of all who have 

 looked upon them, whether out of curiosity or genuine love for 

 the flower ; therefore I need not dwell upon the delicate markings 

 or lovely tints of the Show, or the beautiful shades of colour to 

 be found in the Alpines. The foliage of the plants differs so much 

 that most florists can generally name their collection from the 

 leaves alone ; with some varieties it is a deep rich green, while 

 with others a beautiful silvery streak runs along the whole edge 

 of the leaves, and again in others the meal is laid on so heavily 

 as to form a lovely white coating so delicate in texture that if an 

 insect but settle upon it the footprints of the trespasser are 

 plainly visible. Although it has so many points of delicate beauty, 

 the plant is of a very hardy nature. Frost seldom injures it, 

 although it will sometimes cripple the bloom from an exhibition 

 point of view. It has but few diseases to battle with. Canker 

 sometimes attacks the tap-root ; but, if discovered in time, and 

 the rotten part cut away, and powdered charcoal as a dressing 

 applied to the wound, the plant generally recovers. Damp during 

 the late autumn and winter months is its most deadly enemy, 

 and this should be carefully guarded against. Should there be 

 drip in the frames attend to it at once, and be careful that no 



