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JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ May 21, 1891. 
THE AURICULA. 
[A paper read by Mr. G. W. Gill, at the meeting of the ■Wakefield Paxton Society, 
May 2nd.] 
Before deiling with the cultivation of the Auricu’a I will briefly 
mention it is a mountain plant, and is described by old writers on 
flowers under the name of the Mountain Cowslip. It is said to be a native 
of the Alps, chiefly of their southern and eastern slopes, and it is also 
to be found in other countries farther east. The original colours of the 
Auricula were purple, yellow, and brown of various shades, the brown 
being, in all probability, a hybrid between the yellow and the purple. 
At that time it did not possess the rich edgings which it does now. In 
its florists’ form the Auricula has been vastly improved and changed in 
its aspect by careful hybridisation, a simple process which every raiser 
should thoroughly understand. No jilant produces seeds more readily 
than the Auricula, and if the seeds are properly ripened, and due care 
is taken with the management of the young plants, there is always a 
probability of a reward for labour. 
In an article to the “ Florist and Pomologist,” the Rev. F, D. Horner 
says ;—“ Those two distant flowers, the Auricula and the Chrysanthemum, 
may be c )iipled together for the moment, because of the specially tender 
regard we must feel for them, as appearing the one long before and the 
other long after the full bloom of summer. Florist flowers extend round 
a good part of the year. We have not a very long gap betw'een the 
latest Chrysanthemum and the earliest Auricula or the Polyanthus ; 
while other flowers, such as the Camellia or even the Cineraria, possessing 
to some degree florist properties, fill up the interval. Then with the 
Auricula we enter upon the blooming season that stretches farther into 
the summer with the Tulips (in my opinion the very king of all florist 
flowers), followed clo.sely by those old-established favourites the Carna¬ 
tion and Picotee; and then in the autumn come the Dahlia and 
Gladiolus. There will be much gayer scenes for us farther in the 
summer, but nothing has ever been, to my taste, able to overlay the 
memories of many an April and May with the Auricula and Tulip. In 
olden times I used to look forward to this period with some impatience, 
and afterwards the blaze of bloom and even the wiicheries of the 
almighty Rose have not been able to conso’e me.” 
We will now suppose we are on the eve of a disp’ay of show Auriculas, 
and I will try to give a few hints which I remember my father used to 
act upon when growing for shows, and of course we had his ideas well 
driven into us all when very young, and had to help him with his pets. 
March and April are the proper months for the Auricula to flower ; 
sometimes, however, they bloom in May. Much of the work wuth 
Auriculas in March consists in taking proper care, one way and another, 
of the foliage. Flowers of good quality and abundance cannot be pro¬ 
cured if the foliage is not kept in the best possible health. Do not let 
it be drawn for want of light or want of air, and do not let it flag for 
want of water. Just supply water sufficient to keep the soil moist, but 
never sodden. If a plant which you think is certainly wet enough 
should droop its foliage as if wanting water more will only hasten its 
death. If you turn it out of the soil you will find the neck of the plant 
will be almost decayed through ; therefore the best plan will be to cut 
it back to a sound p'ace, if there is one, and strike again under a bell- 
glass. In this way you will be able to save the least head with hardly 
a ring of neck to it. 
The foliage is very liable to snap if exposed to strong winds, and 
would, therefore, do serious injury to the plant. Neither the Auricula 
nor the Polyanthus can bear having their leaves broken and twisted 
about with the wind, therefore this danger must be guarded against. 
Those who grow Auriculas in houses will often find the sun too powerful 
for the foliage towards the end of March. I do not like to see it much 
distressed by hot sun, though, as a rule, it will freshen again at night. 
I used to throw a shade on the glass if necessary, without shutting out 
the light; I found newspapers, fastened inside the top of the house, 
answer the purpose as well as anything. If, however. Auriculas have 
plenty of ventilation they can bear an amount of sunshine that would 
burn them if they were so shut up so as to allow no current of fresh air 
to pass over them. 
One of the first and most important steps towards securing a fine 
bloom is judiciously thinning the pips. Nearly every Auricula, like the 
Carnation and Picotee, will give more pips than it can properly expand ; 
and it is as unwise to leave a very large truss of Auriculas unthinned as 
it would be for any gardeners to leave every berry on a large bunch of 
Grapes. There is no gain at all, but much confusion among the pips. 
From five to ten flat pips are a much better show than a muddled mass 
of bloom. Thinning must be a daily operation among the plants. 
There is some responsibility in choosing what pips shall be left, and the 
best cannot with certainty be picked out when the operation first 
becomes necessary. The small central pips underneath the larger ones 
may with safety be singled out, as they are generally the weaker and 
smallest. Pulling out the pips is not always safe, as more may be taken 
than is wanted. Be careful to have only one neck between the points 
of a pair of small narrow-pointed scissors (1 always carry a pair in my 
pocket for the Carnations and Picotees). I have frequently seen two or 
more pips taken off by doing the work hurriedly and carelessly. Pips 
of every promise in the bud may prove faulty when opened. Some 
people may, perhaps, think it best to disbud after seeing the pips expand, 
but anyone would then be able to see the gap in the truss ; besides, it 
would have robbed the plant of unnecessary support, and thus tend to 
lessen the size of the remaining pips. 
No Auricula, however strong, should be allowed to carry more than 
one truss, the second would ruin the plant ; besides, all the pips would 
be of inferior size and not fit to show. During my last spasmodic effort 
to grow Auriculas I let all the pips go and run wild, as it were; the 
plants were weakened and neglected, and the result is “ gone for ever.” 
I remember the Rev. F. D. Horner (the best authority on the 
Auricula) saying, “ Every grower, whether of a dozen or a thousand 
plants, and whether he means to exhibit or not, should be determined 
to take as much pains as if he did. Nothing less will make the bloom 
satisfactory to him. It is the poorest mistake and the most pitiable of 
excuses to say, ‘ I do not grow them for exhibition, so they will do well 
enough for me.’ ” 
Many other attentions may be paid to the plants in the months of 
March and April, such as freeing a truss entangled by its guard leaf, 
that is the leaf that rises on the blooming stem with the pips, and which 
bends slightly over the bloom as if for protection, or there may happen 
to be a deformed pip which may want cutting out. Sometimes the 
plant will require a little earthing up to any new root striking out 
above the soil, turning the plants round to render their growth equal 
on all sides. Such little matters as these and others which may seem 
but of small detail, and which would be too tedious to name, are never¬ 
theless of much importance taken collectively, and tend greatly towards 
attaining the high culture and finish which I have seen gained by 
constant and delicate care, and not by any rough or excitable effort. 
I have found that anyone wishing to be successful in growing either 
Auriculas, Tulips, or Carnations and Picotees must make it a duty to 
look over his stock at least once a day and perform any little act of 
kindness. During the flowering season nothing prevents my attending 
to my Tulips one or twice daily. Indeed very often, p rhaps, as many 
as half a dozen times a day, and, of course. Auriculas require it quite 
as much as the Tulip. 
We will now suppose we have the Auricula in full bloom, and a few 
hints as to the method of packing and carrying the plants for exhibition 
may not be out of place. Although I have not been much amongst 
Auricula showing for a long time I have had good cause to remember 
the time when I tramped many weary miles with a hamper full of 
Auriculas in full bloom on my head to shows around Wakefield, and I 
knew then the penalty of any damage done to them during the time 
they were under my care. Of course I am alluding now to the “ good 
old days ” of no railways. 
The trusses are first tied to a stick, wrapped with cotton wool at all 
points of contact with the stem, so as to avoid any abrasion. Soft 
worsted should be used for tying. The stick should reach up to the 
footstalk of the truss, on which the pips must be very carefully parted 
with cotton wool gently placed between each pip. Every one must be 
so embedded as to be beyond the risk of being rubbed by or of rubbing 
any of its neighbours. The plants may now be placed side by side close 
together to prevent jostling in a basket, hamper, or box. 
Now we have the Auriculas ready for judging I will explain their 
properties, but before doing so, and for the benefit of those not intimate 
with the florist type of Auriculas, I will briefly give a description of the 
various classes of which they are comprised—viz., the white edge, grey 
edge, green edge, and the self class. The edge determines the class of 
the flower, and it is a green, grey, or white edge according to the absence 
of or quantity of the meal upon it. The seifs are a class in which the 
body colour is carried through without any change of shade from the 
paste to the petal edge, but in their comparative plainness there is no 
lack of beauty. (To be continued.) 
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
May 12th. 
Scientific Committee. —Present: Dr. M. T. Masters, in the chair ;• 
Mr. M'Lachlan, Dr. Plowright, Mr. Blandford, Rev. W. Wilks, Mr. 
Pascoe, Rev. W. Dod, Sir J. Llewellyn, Mr. Morris, Rev. G. Henslow 
(Hon. Sec.), and Mr. A. Buchanan (visitor). 
Growth in Darkness. —Dr. Masters received a communication from 
Gloucestershire, in which it was stated that wooden props in a coal mine 
at a depth of 1000 feet had sent out shoots with perfectly blanched 
leaves. They had grown vertically upwards, and proved to be Oak and 
Sweet Chestnut. He also exhibited a large mass of interlacing roots, 
apparently of a Lime tree (judging by their bitterness and mucilaginous 
character), which had gro'nm underneath the floor of a house in Bays- 
wa'er. No tree was known to be anywhere in the neighbourhood. It 
was suggested that the root had grown along some drain-pipe, and 
finally found an exit where it could develop into branches. 
Acacia dcaliata. —Dr. Masters showed flowering branches from a 
tree which had been killed down to the ground ten yearn ago, but had 
sent up suckers. These proved to be hardier than the original plant, as 
they were uninjured during the past winter, and were now in full 
bloom. As another instance of a late recovery he mentioned an 
Ailantus glandulosus, which sent up suckers fifteen years after it had 
been cut down. 
Malformed NareissL —Rev. W. Dod exhibited specimens of different 
varieties of Narcissus, showing a constriction of the mouth of the 
trumpet or “ corona.” It was suggested that it might be due to some 
check or enfeeblement, since it was always the later flowers which 
exhibited the peculiarity. An analogous constriction in corollas some¬ 
times occurs in flowers reverting to self-fertilisation—as e.g., in Gentiana 
Andrewsi. 
Excrescence on Willoics. —Mr. Blandford exhibited a branch with a 
tumour-like growth 3 to 4 inches in diameter. They appear to be common 
on Willows by the river Meuse. It was suggested that a species of saw 
