334 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ AprI. 1888. 
ornamental plants, appear to be grown more quickly and cheaply 
than in England. They are grown to be killed in the windows 
and halls of cities and towns, and they answer the purpose, room 
being constantly made for more ; and so the demand continues, 
and the supply is commensurate with it. Wages are lower in 
Belgium than in England, and the hours of labour are longer there 
than here, while the activity of the men employed in the nurseries 
denote that they take no small interest in their work. Belgium is 
a hive of industry, and at the least ten times more men, women, 
and children, besides bullocks and dogs, are seen working on the 
land than can be found on a given area in this country, where the 
oxen chew their cud in laziness, and dogs are luxuries and not 
labourers. —A Jurok. 
CULTURE OF TFIE DOUBLE VARIETIES OF 
PRIMULA SIXENSIS. 
I A Paper by W.H. Divers Ketton Hall, Stamford, read at the Meeting of the Scottish 
Horticultural Association, May 7th, lb86 ] 
I SELECTED this Subject for my lecture for the following reasons. 
The double Primula is the most useful plant we have here for 
winter flowering, as by growing about 300 plants we can always 
rely on having plenty of white flowers from November to April. 
I think in a few years when its culture is better understood this 
plant will be largely grown by most persons who have a supply 
of flowers to maintain during the winter months. It does not re¬ 
quire such a great amount of heat to flow'er it in perfection as the 
Eucharis, Gardenia, and other favourite white flowers. If liberally 
treated it gives a good succession of flowers which are useful for 
all ordinary purposes, and by carefully attending to a few chief 
points in its culture it may easily be grown in large quantities. 
Before proceeding any further I may as well state that what is 
here mentioned refers altogether to the double Primula proper, 
and not to the semi-double varieties which are raised from seed. 
They may be useful for some purposes but are no favourites of 
mine, as I consider either the true doubles or the singles far prettier 
and more satisfactory in every Avay. 
Uses of the Floavers.— We use the old Double White or alba 
plena when cut for wreaths, vases, bouquets, buttonholes, and 
sprays, and the plants when in flower for dinner table, room, con¬ 
servatory, and church decoration. The newer varieties should be 
mounted singly for buttonholes and bouquets, and are very pretty 
and useful for this purpose. They are, however, rather peculiar 
flowers to wire effectually. The best w'ay is to take a piece of 
ordinary stem wire, turn a very small hook at one end with the 
pliers, push the other end down through the centre of the flower and 
pull it through far enough to be out of sight, wind a small piece of 
binding wire round the stem lightly, and all is complete. The old 
Double White is often most useful if wired in whole trusses ; this is 
easily done by strengthening the main stem with a short wire and 
twisting some binding Avire round the small stems of the bunch so 
as to draw'^ all of them nearer together. They may also be Avdred 
singly in the same way as the newer varieties. The binding Avire 
must be very gently placed around them. 
Propagation.— The chief reason this plant is not more exten¬ 
sively grown is because it has obtained a bad name with many on 
account of failures in propagating it, and if it is attempted to strike 
the cuttings in the same Avay one would proceed Avith Verbenas or 
Heliotropes, for instance, or even like Pelargoniums, failure is 
almost certain. It is too succulent in its nature to be struck the 
sarne way as most plants are treated ; at the same time it will not 
strike under treatment given to ordinary succulent plants. The 
system I have found to answer best for propagating them may be 
described as a combination of the tAvo, and by the plan I am about 
to describe 99 per cent, may be rooted. They require a place to 
themselves for propagating, a separate case in the propagating 
house, where such conveniences are at hand, or a propagating case 
fixed in a Melon or Cucumber house, or some house with a similar 
temperature, or failing either of these conveniences, a frame fixed 
on a hotbed is the next best obtainable, and that is probably within 
the reach of every gardener. The bottom heat should range 
between 70° and 75°, and may be derived from a heated chamber 
with plunging material on the top, or failing this, any kind of well- 
sweetened fermenting material will do which can be depended upon 
to maintain a steady temperature for four weeks. Cocoa-nut fibre, 
old tan, or saAvdust should be spread on the top of the bed as a 
plunging material just deep enough to hold the pots. 
I have seen it advised in gardening periodicals to strike the cuttings 
in August and grow the plants about fifteen months before flowering 
them. But this is a great mistake. There is no nece.ssity to lose a 
whole season if the plants are struck early and liberally treated. 
We haA^e had plants of the old Double White struck here the first 
Aveek in June 18 inches across in the folloAving January, and bear¬ 
ing twenty-eight trusses of flow'ers in 6-inch pots. I mention this 
to show that plants may be grown in nine months large enough for 
all purposes. 
The best time for propagating is at the end of April or early in 
May for those required to floAver early in the winter, and the end 
of June is not too late if they are not Avanted before the following 
February. The old plants should be induced to start growing 
freely before the cuttings are taken off by keeping them a little 
warmer, &c. The soil for propagating must consist of one-third 
leaf mould, two-thirds light sandy loam, and one-sixth of the whole 
good sharp sand. Take the cuttings with a portion of the old 
brown stem attached, cut off closely any leaves likely to decay soon, 
and the remains of the old dry leafstalks, using a very sharp knife, 
and being careful not to injure the bark on the stem of the cutting. 
Insert the cuttings as soon as possible after they are detached from 
the plant, and each one should have a small stake and a piece of 
matting run from the stake all round the leafstalks and tied, in 
order to steady it in its place. Give all a good wintering before 
placing them in the propagating case, being careful not to wet the 
foliage more than is necessary, and as soon as the water has drained 
off place them in the frame. If this is a propagating case inside a 
house leave the lights off until all superfluous moisture has evapo¬ 
rated. If the frame is an ordinary one outside, of course this 
w’ould not be advisable, but the light should be fixed for a time so 
as to allow a current of air to pass through. This must be stopped 
before the cuttings commence to flag. It is a good plan to lay a 
few lumps of charcoal among the cuttings. This helps to keep all 
sweet and absorbs some of the superfluous moisture. 
Provision must be made to keep all sunshine from the cuttings 
until they are rooted. There are now two dangers to steer clear 
from. The first is having the atmosphere in the frame too dry and 
causing the cuttings to flag, which weakens them and delays their 
progress. The second is a stagnant atmosphere overcharged with 
moisture. Of the two the last is the greater evil, but the chief 
point to aim at in order to secure the greatest success is to keep a 
little ventilation on the case or frame without allowing the cuttings 
to flag. It is, however, safer to let them flag a little rather than to 
keep the air confined around them for any length of time, but 
much depends on the amount of moisture arising in the frame, and 
the air must be regulated accordingly. If this frame is fixed inside 
a propagating or other house the lid may often be left open after 
the ventilators are closed in the house in question, provided it has 
been well syringed and the sun is not shining directly on the case. 
During the night, and when the ventilators in the house are open, 
the lid of the frame should be tilted about a quarter of an inch 
Avhenever the cuttings will bear it without flagging, and very often 
it will be advisable to open the lid wide for an hour or tAvo at six 
o’clock in the morning after it has been partially or wholly closed 
all night. But much of this matter of ventilating must be left to 
the judgment of the propagator. No two cases will require exactly 
the same treatment. Much depends on the form and character of 
the house itself, the position and proximity of the hot-water pipes 
and ventilators, &c., but a person Avith ordinary intelligence will 
soon be able to judge for himself. If the frame is an ordinary one 
outside on a hotbed a similar course must be pursued, only the 
lights will not require to be open wide as in the other case. Water 
should be supplied to the cuttings from the spout of a small water¬ 
ing pot when they require it, but in such a way as to avoid wetting 
the foliage, and on no account must the cuttings be syringed. 
I will now briefly allude to another system of propagation which 
I have practised when circumstances have prevented the cuttings 
being inserted at the usual time. Prepare the old plants by taking 
off all partially decayed leaves and remains of leafstalks, &c. Insert 
the pots containing the plants to be operated upon inside of others 
one or two sizes larger. Fill the space between the pots with the 
coarser parts sifted out of the propagating soil, then place some of 
the soil recommended for cuttings under the branches of the old 
plant, slightly notch each branch and, if possible, peg it down on to- 
the soil, then place some more of the soil around and over the stems 
sufficient to cover all the old portion securely, place the pots in a 
close frame for about four weeks, when the layers maybe detached, 
potted singly, and treated as cuttings just struck. This is perhaps a 
safer system for beginners, and in most cases it may be advisable for 
inexperienced persons to retain some of the old plants for this, 
system of propagation the first time they attempt to propagate these 
plants, to avoid losing their stock in case of a failure in striking, 
which sometimes happens with beginners; but a rule I consider 
cuttings by far the best, as they are ready before the shoots are long 
enough for layering, consequently they have a longer season to grow 
in and are also less trouble in other ways. 
(To be continued.) 
