398 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER, 
May 9, 1895, 
charming little Potentilla which came into flower in the beginning 
of April, and which some of my visitors, even those well acquainted 
with flowers, at flrst sight take for a variety of Anemone nemorosa. 
This is Potentilla alchemilloides, which, besides its attractions of 
beauty and neatness, has also the merit of continuing in flower for 
a very long period. This will be apparent when I mention that it 
was one of the last of the rock plants to go out of flower last 
autumn, and that in such a late spring as this it came into flower 
with the opening of April, It does not seem to be generally 
known, nor to be in the hands of many of the nurserymen. The 
flowers are pure white, and are very freely produced. 
The plant is aptly named alchemilloides from the resemblance 
of the leaves to those of the Alpine La'Jy's Mantle, and the habit is 
exctedingly good. On a somewhat dry rockery this little Potentilla 
only grows to about 4 inches in height. It may be increased by 
division, and as it has survived last winter without protection it 
may be considered quite hardy in dryish soils. 
No one can write on hardy flowers at this season without 
thinking of the Daffodils, among the most graceful and beautiful 
of our garden flowers. While the fine forms and colours of the 
yellow and bicolor trumpet varieties are ever welcome, we cannot 
feel our garden complete without some of the white and sulphur- 
coloured kinds. Some years they disappoint us, but this year they 
are blooming with unusual freedom, and their chastely coloured 
flowers are much admired. Very beautiful, indeed, are such flowers 
as cernuus, moschatus of Haworth, if in truth it is Haworth’s 
plant; albicans, tortuosus, Colleen Bawn, and others, Pallidus 
praecox, too, always a good bloomer in my garden, has flowered even 
more freely than usual, and I feel inclined to add to my stock of 
this early and pretty Trumpet Daffodil. It flourishes better on the 
rockery than on level ground, and in a position where it has a good 
deal of sun. 
A day or two spent in other gardens than my own has made me 
resolve to make a fresh attempt to succeed with the Puschkinias, 
which have hitherto baffled me to establish. In the course of 
some three days I saw them growing well in as many gardens and 
under different conditions of soil and situation, so that I am hopeful 
that in some part of my garden I may be able to establish this 
pretty bulbous plant, which is also known as Adamsia. There 
seems to be some confusion regarding the specific name or names 
of the plant or plants to be found in gardens. I have been turning 
up some of my works of reference to endeavour to reconcile the 
various statements I had previously heard and read, and find that 
it seems to be now accepted that P. scilloides, P. libanotica, and 
P. sicula are the same, and that P, s. compacta has more numerous 
flowers than the type, and has also a more compact habit. 
I had for some years been under the impression that P. scil¬ 
loides and P. libanotica were not the same, and that the former had 
narrower and fainter coloured blue lines down the centre of its 
white flowers than P. libanotica. One must, however, bow to 
superior authority, but it will be noticed that the difference which 
was supposed to mark two species will be found to exist in the 
plants grown in gardens under either name. One can only suppose 
that in a wild state the Puschkinia will show considerable variation. 
P. scilloides is a native of Asia Minor and the Mediterranean 
regions, and grows from 4 to 8 inches high. The flowers, which 
are produced in racemes on a leafless stalk, are white with a pale 
blue stripe down the centre and on both sides of the perianth 
segments. The leaves are narrow, rather lance-shaped, and grow to 
7 or 8 inches in length. 
It is named in honour of M. Pouschkin, a Russian botanist. 
Sandy loam and leaf mould is said to be the most suitable soil, but 
it has not succeeded with me in this medium, while I have seen it 
doing well in a good loamy soil, and also in that of a stiff, clayey 
nature. Bulbs should be procured and planted in the autumn. 
For some time the various hardy Primulas have received an 
increased share of attention from hardy flower growers. This they 
well deserve from the beauty of many of the species and their 
hybrids, and from the fact that there is hardly any limit to the 
possibilities in store for these plants, when the skill of the 
hybridiser is devoted to their improvement. We can all admire 
the beauty of the Auricula, whether seen in the hardier alpines or 
in the more refined stage varieties, and what has been done with 
these may be done to some extent with many species not yet taken 
in hand. 
Not that they have been entirely neglected, for many of the 
fine Primulas generally supposed to be species, are either natural or 
artificial hybrids. For some time I have been gradually forming 
a small collection of the hardier sorts, and among these few have 
this spring given greater pleasure than P. Steini. This is said to 
be a hybrid, and according to Mr.D. Dewar’s “ Synonymic List of 
the Species and Forms of the Genus Primula,” drawn up for the 
Primula Conference at South Kensington in April, 1886, its parents 
are P. minima and P. hirsuta. It is an exceedingly beautiful little 
Primula, with small toothed spathulate obovate leaves, and very 
bright purple flowers produced on short stalks, which in my garden 
are net more than 2 inches high. 
It is grown on the east side of a terraced rockery in a 
“pocket” filled with sandy peat, and planted between two stones, 
so that its roots come in contact with them. It has stood the last 
two winters without covering or protection of any kind, so that its 
hardiness seems to be quite beyond doubt. It is to be hoped that 
the Primula Conference this year may cause still more interest to 
be taken in this beautiful class of plants. 
Among my acquisitions in the way of hulbs last autumn was 
Tulipa Kaufmanniana, of which I had heard a great deal. My 
solitary bulb flowered early in April, and proves to be the variety 
known as T. K. albo-variegata, which has the inside of the perianth 
white, becoming yellow towards the base, the outside being also 
white bat tinged with grey and rose. It grew about 9 inches high, 
and although a pretty Tulip is rather lacking in the brilliancy we 
look for in nearly all the plants of this ornamental genus. 
It is, however, one of the flowers which improve on examina¬ 
tion, and recalls such flowers as some of the Water Lilies, 
although this is only from the colouration. As may be gathered 
from the specific name, which indicates the advance of the Russians 
in Central Asia, it is a native of that region where the name of 
Kaufmann has become so well known. Although introduced in 
1877 it is not as yet widely known in gardens. From the descrip¬ 
tion of the type it should be more brilliant than the one under 
notice, as it has a bright yellow perianth. 
Even as one writes growth is rapidly advancing, and before this 
appears the rockeries and borders will be bright with flowers of 
many hues, and so attractive that it will be only with difficulty that 
we are able to leave them even for the congenial task of telling 
their charms through the unsatisfactory medium of pen and ink.— 
S. Arnott, Dumfries. 
WALLFLOWERS. 
One glance at the above familiar name is this year quite enough 
to bring to the minds of many of us thoughts of dismal failure. 
Spring time has, however, again arrived, and it would be unwise 
to allow one failure to deter us from making adequate provision 
for another season, when the chances are all in favour of a success¬ 
ful termination of our labours. 
Independent of these considerations it seems to me that Wall¬ 
flowers are quite indispensable spring-flowering plants, because they 
supply flowers with a rich perfume which at the same time can vie 
in brilliancy of colours with anything to be found in the open air 
during the early spring months. All varieties of Wallflowers are 
suitable for planting in large beds and borders. Hitherto the great 
difficulty has been to secure a variety sufficiently dwarf and com¬ 
pact in growth to admit of its being planted in groups of formal 
beds without destroying the balance of growth so necessary in such 
instances to secure a good effect. Fortunately, however, the right 
thing has come at last in the form of Sutton’s dwarf bedding 
varieties. The intrinsic merits of these cannot be too widely 
known, for they are simply perfect. 
In a short note published in this Journal recently I referred to 
