THE FLOEAL MAGAZINE. 



progeny yielding, to my great surprise and delight, 

 pure white and yellow flowers. Let me here state that 

 the form of P. altaica in my possession bears pin-eyed 

 flowers — i.e., with the pistil rising prominently in the 

 tube; while P. auriculaiflora has a thrum eye — i.e., 

 the tube nearly filled up with the six anthers, and the 

 pistil down out of sight. Only a few of the seedlings 

 were thrum-eyed, a large number pin-eyed. Now I 

 set out with the determination to have in all my seed- 

 lings selected for distribution flowers answering to the 

 properties required by the laws of floriculture, and 

 however beautiful the flowers having pin-eyes were, 

 they were discarded except for breeding purposes. I 

 cannot do better than give a list of new varieties of 

 seedling Primroses I have put into circulation, with 

 their description : — New single Primroses (Primula 

 vulgaris) — Crimson Banner, very deep maroon 

 crimson, the darkest of all ; rich golden centre, very 

 fine and free, and first-class quality. Gem of Eoses, 

 pale rosy magenta, with golden centre, slightly 

 blotched with orange ; very pretty and striking. 

 Lilacina, pale lilac with yellow centre ; exceedingly 

 pretty and attractive. Queen of Violets, clear pucy 

 violet, with striking golden eye; very fine and 

 pleasing. Eosy Morn, a very fine hue of rosy crimson 

 flushed with magenta, orange centre, very striking. 

 Sulphurata, clear sulphur, with orange centre ; flowers 

 large, perfectly circular ; bold and fine. Sunrise, fiery 

 red maroon, with very showy deep golden centre ; very 

 fine. Violacea, bright rosy violet with golden centre, 

 large, very free, and exceedingly fine. First-class 

 Certificate from the Eoyal Horticultural Society. 

 Primula vulgaris auriculasflora, a splendid rich 

 maroon crimson Primrose with a showy orange eye ; 

 very free, very early, and continues in bloom ; a 

 perfect gem for the spring and for pot culture ; First- 

 class Certificate from the Eoyal Horticultural Society. 

 New Hybrid Primroses : these produce flowers both on 

 a single stem, and also on foot-stalks, which give them 

 a very handsome pyramidal appearance ; they are 

 remarkably prolific in bloom, and will prove of great 

 value in the spring garden — Mauve Queen, rosy 

 mauve, a very pleasing tint of colour, and bright 

 orange centre ; very pretty, and remarkably free. 

 Splendour, very large and finely-formed rosy crimson 

 flowers, centre golden yellow ; a very striking variety 

 of bold character, very profuse of bloom ; First-class 

 Certificate from the Eoyal Horticultural Society. 

 Queen of Yellows, yellow, with deep orange centre, 

 very profuse of bloom, and very early; forms a 

 splendid mass of colour ; extra fine for bedding or 

 pot culture. All the foregoing have given great satis- 

 faction to those who have tried them ; and the great 



demand for these new forms exceeds the supply, as 

 they cannot be rapidly cultivated. All these new 

 forms being of hardy constitution they can be culti- 

 vated if not with rapidity, yet with the greatest ease, 

 and I grow them all in the open air during summer, 

 lifting the plants in October, dividing them and plant- 

 ing them out in oold frames during the winter for the 

 sake of getting at them readily for the execution of 

 orders. I particularly recommend them for the rock 

 garden and the choice border, where they can be care- 

 fully tended, and be allowed to establish themselves. 

 They can also be cultivated in pots for blooming in a 

 cold greenhouse or conservatory during autumn and 

 spring, as well-established plants in pots will throw up 

 flowers in autumn from the growth of the previous 

 summer, and again in spring, from the growth that 

 takes place in February and March. The plants 

 flowered in pots should be re-potted soon after they 

 have done blooming, using a soil made up of fibry 

 yellow loam and leaf mould in equal parts, and some 

 charcoal broken to the size of split peas ; at the time of 

 re-potting any rooted side shoots should be taken off 

 in order to obtain an increase of any variety. When 

 re-potting the long tap-root should be cut away to 

 within an inch or so of the leaves, and then plant 

 deeply and firmly in the soil, as, when the lowermost 

 leaves decay in the order of nature, roots are given 

 forth at the points where the leaves grew. This shows 

 the importance of occasional top-dressing with rich soil. 

 When re-potted, the pots should be plunged in a bed 

 of coal-ashes, cocoa-nut fibre, &c, up to their rims, 

 under a south or west wall, where they can have the 

 sun for a few hours during the morning. Worms and 

 slugs are apt to prove troublesome, and a little attention 

 is required to guard against their ravages. The plants 

 require to be kept moist during summer, and under 

 such conditions they cannot but do well. I have 

 several plants in pots that have been treated in their 

 way, which are now throwing up their flowers, and 

 are very attractive objects in my cool greenhouse. 

 They want plenty of air on all favourable occasions, 

 water to keep them fairly moist about the roots, and, 

 if greenfly puts in an appearance, the insects are 

 whisked away into space by means of a camel's hair 

 brush. If by writing these few lines I shall succeed 

 in awakening some interest in the Primrose and its 

 varieties, then shall I be abundantly rewarded for 

 the slight labour involved in writing the foregoing 

 remarks. 



Eichakd Dean. 



Ealing, London, W. 



