Apra 25, 1895. 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
365 
“ Caltare and Classification of Primulas ” was given by Mr. Selfe- 
Leonard. The Chairman, on introducing the essayists, remarked that 
horticalturists derived a large amount of pleasure in cultivating and 
adding to the stock of plants already known, and that gardeners by 
their superior art can do a great deal in the way of hybridisation and 
other means towards bringing into existence varieties of plants which 
Nature under ordinary circumstances does not. 
Mr. Baker then read a highly interesting and exhaustive paper, in 
which he portrayed the amount of work that had been done on the 
genus Primula since the last Conference was held in 1876. At that time 
there were between seventy and eighty varieties, and now there are 
150 known, so that they have been nearly doubled during the last 
twenty years. The essayist then went on to give a graphic and 
historical view of the whole genus, stating that in 1888 Dr. Parker of 
Berlin wrote a monograph of the whole, in which he divides the genus 
into twenty groups. Another book, also from Berlin, deals with the 
European species. According to tne “ Kew Herbarium ” out of the 
150 species now known fifty-four of them hail from China and Japan. 
Of the Sinensis group, of which there are fifteen varieties, seven are 
natives of China, one of Japan, and the remainder from the Western 
Himalayas. The well-known verticillata is a native of Arabia and 
Abyssinia, and bullata, of which there are four varieties not yet in 
cultivation, is a native of China ; this is an interesting group, very like 
Primroses. Primula vernalis, to which Primroses and Cowslips belong, 
is confined solely to Europe. 
By the aid of a diagram a vivid description of the different species 
was given, also showing in what parts of the world were their native 
habitats. 
In a few brief remarks on the cultivation of new and as yet little 
known Primulas, Mr. Baker said he thought the best method was if 
possible to obtain all available information on the habits and positions 
of growth in their native climes, and failing that to try the treatment 
under which known members of the same group were grown. 
Mr. Selfe-Leonard, in course of his paper, said that in looking at 
hardy Primulas from a gardener’s standpoint, it was a surprising thing 
to notice the small extent to which they were cultivated in English 
gardens, considering the comparative ease with which they may be 
grown. This might be traced to the fact that some few had failed to 
give satisfaction, and so the whole class had become discredited. 
At the last Primula Conference a list of those then known was pub¬ 
lished, since then the number of species and hybrids has been greatly 
augmented, which, however, are in need of a better classification, as 
competent botanists think that the confusion which exists amongst 
them is extreme. For instance, Primula integrifolia has been known by 
five different botanists under other names. 
In commencing the cultivation of these plants he thought the best 
plan was to begin with those varieties which arc most distinct and easy 
to grow. In exhibition, too, he thought the mode of staging was not of 
the beat, and could be made to look much more pretty and natural than 
by the present system of showing them in pots. The classes, too, might 
be better arranged—namely (.1) Greenhouse species ; (2) Large habited, 
hardy, and of easy culture ; (3) Small growing mountain varieties. The 
reasons for this was that the greenhouse kinds, though beautiful and 
interesting, were out of place with small and alpine sorts, though all at 
present can be accommodated under one class at shows. 
In speaking of Alpii e Primulas he said the culture was simple, the 
treatment usually applied to Auriculas being suitable, with the exception 
that they should not be allowed to go entirely to rest in the winter as 
is the case with the former. Soil was not of the first importance, as 
good loam with a little sand suits them well, abundance of good drainage 
being essential. The east and north sides of rockeries were the most 
suitable for them, as the partial shade is not only congenial to them but 
assists in prolonging the flowering. 
That they delight in cool conditions is seen by the fact that Northern 
Europe is more suitable for them than South. He thought a chalk soil 
was in no way essential for them, and they may be grown in gardens to 
advantage without the presence of a particle of chalk or lime. In 
selecting a few suitable for the rockery and garden the following were 
given—P. Auricula (golden yellow), P. viscosa nivalis, P. rosea in its best 
varieties, P. viscosa major, in many forms, P. spectabilis and its varieties, 
and P. marginata, together with P. integrifolia, P. Fosteri, P. longiflora, 
and several others. 
But little discussion followed, and the Chairman, on rising to propose 
a vote of thanks to the essayists for their interesting papers, said he 
thought the Society might issue an authentic list of known Primulas 
that would prove of great service, and that botanists, when collecting 
and sending home any new ones, might also send some details regarding 
the character of the soil in which they were found growing, as this 
likewise would prove useful in their cultivation in England. 
After the usual votes of thanks had been given, the Conference was 
brought to a close. 
ILLICIUM FLORIDANUM. 
This plant is commonly known as the Florida Orange tree, and 
" A. B.” will find no difficulty in growing it. The flowers of this 
Illicium (fig. 62) have a strong aromatic odour resembling aniseed, 
and are composed of a great number of radiating, slightly recurving, 
dark reddish crimson flowers borne singly near the points of the shoots, 
but thrives best in a warm sheltered position. In the southern and 
western counties of England, and near the sea coast, it succeeds in 
the open border, but in northern or cold districts it might fwith 
advantage be grown in cool conservatories or greenhouses. It requires 
an abundant supply of water all through the summer, and must not he 
allowed to become dry in the winter. A mixture of peat and light loam 
forms a suitable compost for it when grown in pots, though in the 
open air it will flourish in any ordinary garden soil, providing it is 
fairly rich and of a loamy or peaty nature. 
MARKET PLANTS AND FLOWERS. 
( Continved from page 344.) 
The market grower with capital has a manifest advantage over one 
whose capital lies, as it were, in his hands. The one can use a little more 
patience and manipulate his productions to perfection, while the other 
/? 
Ilf r 
FIG. 62.— ILLICIUM FLOEIDANUM. 
rushes off to market with more moderate stuff, and, as a matter of 
course, he neither finds so ready a sale nor so go^ a price. Yet if he 
be favourably situated, and not overburdened with rent, and strictly 
sober and industrious, there are few professions that will give him more 
comfort in the decline of years than that of horticulture. 
Railway facilities are of vast importance to market growers ; there 
they can obtain in a general way fuel for the furnaces, and send off 
light goods, such as cut flowers. Kent is fairly interlined, and the 
north of London is quite a network of railways. To the west of London 
they have been somewhat slower in developing, but now that the 
Metropolitan has an extsnded service to the Vale of Aylesbury we shall 
see in the near future market growers springing up in such localities as 
Wembly, Harrow, Pinner, Northwood, near to the famous “ Moor Park,” 
and Rickmansworth, all as yet in a state of virgin purity as far as 
market growers are concerned. 
Growers for market, especially the flower market, should never have 
