March 24,1881. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 225 
24th 
TH 
Roral Society at 4.30 p.M. 
25th 
F 
Quekett Club at 8 p.M. 
26th 
8 
Royal Botauic Society at 3.45 p.M. 
27th 
Sun 
4th Sunday in Lent. 
28th 
M 
Royal Geographical Society at 8.30 P.M. 
29th 
TU 
30th 
W 
Royal Botanic Society—First Spring Show. 
CULTURAL NOTES ON PRIMULA SINENSIS. 
£^JARDENERS and amateurs have often told me 
that their Primula seed does not germinate 
freely, and more frequently than otherwise 
they blame the vendor for selling bad seed, 
when the sower is often in fault. We are all 
liable to overlook small matters ; and as success 
depends in a great measure on such, a few notes 
upon Primula culture will be seasonable and useful. 
If Primulas are required to flower in the winter, 
March and April are the best months to sow the seed ; 
if wanted in bloom in March and April, sow in May and June. 
Whether sown in pots, pans, or boxes these should be well 
drained with broken potsherds, covering them with the rough 
siftings from the soil, filling-up with fine soil within an inch 
of the rim. Place the pans on a level surface, and give a 
good watering sufficient to moisten the w'hole of the soil; in 
about an hour the pans will be ready to receive the seed. 
This should be spread evenly over the surface, and covered 
lightly with fine soil. Do not give any water after the seed 
is sown, but cover the pans with a piece of paper ; and if the 
soil is likely to become too dry before the seed has germinated, 
sprinkle some water on the paper occasionally. Dryness of 
the soil while the seed is germinating is, I believe, often the 
cause of failure. The pan can be placed in a warm vinery, or 
any other house or pit where the temperature is kept to about 55° 
or 60°. When the seedlings are appearing through the soil the 
paper should be removed and the pan placed in a light warm 
place and shaded from bright sun, never allowing the soil to 
become dry. As soon as the young plants have two or three 
leaves they should be pricked off about 2 inches apart into 
pans or boxes. I prefer this plan, as the plants make roots 
faster than when at first placed in small pots. The pans should 
be still kept in a rather warm position until the plants touch 
each other, when they should be potted into large 60-size pots. 
As the weather will be warmer by this time, a cold frame kept 
rather close at first will be the best place for them until the 
end of September, when they should be moved to a green¬ 
house or pit heated sufficiently to exclude frost. If allowed to 
remain in a cold frame a covering should be employed every 
night, as they will not be safe from frost after the time named. 
As soon as the small pots are full of roots the plants should 
be potted into 48 or 32-sized pots, and again shifted, if large 
specimens are required, into 24’s. I do not recommend over¬ 
potting, as the plants will flower better and be less liable to 
damp off in pots of moderate size. Be careful in watering at 
all times, and never allow the plants to flag. Should flower 
6pikes be produced before they are required, pinch them out 
during the summer months, and be careful to shade from 
bright sunshine from 11 a.m. till 3 r.M., unless the frame is 
placed in a shady position. 
A suitable soil for potting may be prepared by mixing 
together one-third of turfy loam and one-third each of well- 
decayed leaf soil and manure, with a portion of silver sand 
and a little charcoal or soot. Should there be one or two 
plants of a superior quality and distinct from the rest, these 
should be placed on a shelf for seed and be carefully fertilised. 
If green fly appear fumigate with tobacco or tobacco paper. 
As the double varieties do not produce seed freely, these 
should be increased by cuttings ; or a safer way is, after the 
plants have flowered to remove the lower leaves from each 
crown, pegging the growths down a little towards the edge of 
the pot, and filling up with a little fine sandy soil, covering the 
whole of the soil with sphagnum moss or cocoa-nut fibre 
refuse. Place the plants in a warm house or pit, and keep 
them well supplied with water. In about six weeks the layers 
will be rooted, and should be cut off below the new soil and be 
placed in small pots, still keeping them in a warm position 
until well established, when they can be removed to a cold 
frame and treated like the single varieties. The old Double 
White (Alba plena) is the most useful of these, but it should 
be kept in a warmer temperature than the other varieties during 
the winter. I do not recommend any particular varieties, either 
single or double, as almost every seedsman has his own strain, 
and, I think, can generally be depended on, although there are 
some handsome named varieties in commerce at the present 
time.— James Child, Gcirbrand Hall. 
GARDENING AT LONGLEAT. 
An observant visitor to Longleat will at once perceive that 
what Mr. Taylor, the clever gardener in charge, considers 
worth growing at all is worth growing well. This applies to 
the garden generally, including more especially fruit, vege¬ 
tables, and flowers. Only what have proved profitable and of 
exceptional merit are retained, and of no kind do we see a 
great variety. In this respect a valuable lesson is taught those 
who are constantly craving for variety, the said “ variety " not 
infrequently including many sorts which, if not absolutely 
worthless, are at all events unprofitable, especially where the 
demand or the resources of the garden, as at Longleat, are 
exceptionally heavy. We do not go so far as to say Mr. 
Taylor’s selections are infallible, as what may be found most 
serviceable and which succeeds admirably with him may either 
be uncalled for, or probably may not succeed in the next 
district even. t What we wish to impress on our readers, 
private enthusiasts excepted, is the advisability of growing a 
limited number of varieties of known excellence in great num¬ 
bers in preference to an equal number of plants in many 
varieties, some of which are of doubtful merit. 
Perpetual-flowering Carnations are in great favour at Long¬ 
leat. To meet the demand large numbers of healthy floriferous 
plants are grown which probably are unequalled in any private 
establishment in this country. The chief variety is the Belle 
Rose, and a bright “ beautiful Rose ” it undoubtedly is, and 
should be found in every establishment where buttonhole flowers 
are in request. A good white companion for the Belle Rose is 
Purity, though i is scarcely so vigorous and floriferous. Both 
are clove-scented, the latter strikingly so. A stock of Miss 
Jolliffe is being worked up, a variety probably the most easily 
No. 39 .—Yol. II., Third Series. 
No. 1695.—Yol. LXV., Old Series- 
