210 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The Auricula is a flower that I have carefully cultivated and 

 crossed with the intention of producing seedlings superior to the 

 parents ; but I must confess that no better opportunity could be 

 afforded to anyone who keenly desires to practise patience than 

 by attempting to raise Show Auriculas. 



The Show Auricula, as some of you are aware, is divided 

 into four classes — viz., Green-edge, Grey-edge, White-edge, and 

 Selfs. The Green- edge has the margin of the corolla green, 

 without any spot or symptom of farina. Next to this margin of 

 green is a ring or band of dark maroon ; some are almost black. 

 The centre is white, caused by a very dense coating of white 

 farina ; and the mouth of the corolla is a bright deep yellow. 

 The Auricula fancier knows the points of his flower, and if 

 desirous of producing a new variety with a green edge, he takes 

 the two best he can get and cross-fertilises them. The process 

 is first to remove the anthers from the intended seed-bearer 

 before the pollen cases burst. After two or three days the pollen 

 should be carried on a small brush, and placed on the stigmatic 

 part of the intended seed-bearer. This is done three days in 

 succession, and generally a cross is effected. The young and 

 ardent florist may fancy he is to have a fine lot of Green-edged 

 Auriculas, but if his expectations are high they will soon have a 

 fall. Not one in ten will have a pure green edge, and if he gets a 

 really good one out of 500 seedlings he may rest and be thankful ; 

 and that he may not be too overjoyed at even this limited success, 

 it may be as well to add that a good seedling will not always 

 retain its first promise of high-class quality, but often sadly 

 degenerates after the first year's bloom. On one occasion, some 

 twenty-five years ago, I cross-fertilised a fine Grey- edged Auricula, 

 ' George Lightbody,' with pollen from ' Smiling Beauty,' a fine 

 white- or grey-edged variety. There were about 1,000 seedlings 

 flowered from this attempt. I saved about half-a-dozen pro- 

 mising varieties for further trial, but they had to be discarded 

 one after another until only one remained ; but it is still culti- 

 vated by amateurs under the name of 1 Silvia.' Some years 

 afterwards I made another successful cross with the best green- 

 edged forms, and after a very nearly similar weeding-out, I 

 produced 'Abbe Liszt,' which is considered one of the best 

 green-edged varieties. 



Of course, the seedling-raiser of any type of florists' flower 



