110 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



P. glutinosa is a very beautiful sweet- smelling deciduous species 

 that nourishes and flowers freely where it grows wild in marshy ground, 

 but under cultivation my experience is similar to that of Clusius, 

 the greatest botanist of his time, who lamented his ill success with it. 

 In the rockery and also in the moraine it comes up year after year, 

 but flower it will not. The leaves are sticky ; in shape lanceolate- 

 cuneate or oblong-lanceolate, obtuse. They are erect, stiff and 

 smooth, toothed from the middle upwards. This species is found 

 in the Central and Tyrolese Alps. 



P. deorum. From the name one would imagine this species to 

 surpass all other Primulas, but this is far from being the case when 

 the plant is under cultivation. It is difficult to grow, and does not 

 well uphold the reputation of its name when in flower. The leaves 

 are from 3 to 4 inches long, J an inch broad, rather coriaceous and 

 stiff with a cartilaginous margin, oblong or lanceolate, quite entire, 

 and acute. The scape, about 6 inches in height, is sticky and darkly 

 coloured in the upper part. It has an umbel of from five to ten 

 flowers, all carried on one side. The bracts are oblong, linear. Calyx 

 sticky, blackish green, cleft to the middle with acute triangular lobes. 

 It is said to be a bog plant and a native of Bulgaria. (Fig. 39.) 



Subsection (7), Chamaecallis. — This subsection only contains one 

 plant, the small but well-known minima, one of the most exquisite gems 

 in the genus (fig. 40) . It is found in the limestone and granite mountains 

 of Austria and the Balkan Peninsula. The firm smooth leaves are 

 little over \ an inch long, with no cartilaginous margin. In shape 

 cuneate, abruptly truncate, and serrate at the apex. The scape is 

 short, carrying one to two large rose-coloured flowers with white eyes. 

 There are several forms : 



forma subacaulis. The scape and leaves shorter. 



forma caulescens. With rose flowers. 



forma alba. With white flowers. 



forma fimbriata, which gets its name from the fringed and deeply 

 incised corolla lobes. 



Cultivation. 



I have so far been dealing with the chief characteristics of the 

 European Primulas, but before concluding I should like to say a word 

 about the conditions under which they thrive best in cultivation, 

 for after all that is the most important part of the subject to those 

 who wish to deal with them, not as botanists, but as horticulturists. 

 From what I have already said of their distribution you will have 

 gathered that these plants are all naturally hardy, and I may here 

 add that they are all more or less amenable to pot cultivation. At the 

 same time, if they are to prosper and remain healthy, they demand 

 certain physical conditions which I may summarize as : — 



Firstly. — Plenty of air. 



Secondly. — A moderate amount of sunshine. 



Thirdly. — Abundance of moisture in spring and summer. 



