February 11, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
117 
gretted the absence of several of his brother nurserymen. However, in 
their names aDd his own he desired to recognise the valuable support given 
to horticulture by the many gentlemen who delight in their gardens, and 
who furnish them in a befitting manner. He desired also to make a sug¬ 
gestion to the Council of the Royal Horticultural Society, and would ask 
them to not forget the existence of nurserymen and practical gardeners. 
He thought it would not be inappropriate for both the classes named to 
be directly represented on the Council, as in past time,when the Society was 
at least as flourishing as it is now. He had often heard his father say that 
when any practical matter was under discussion, and the late Prince Consort 
presided, his Royal Highness always turned to the practical men for an ex¬ 
pression of their opinion. 
Dr. Allman, in responding, said the pleasure derivable from gardening 
and the cultivation of plants no one kn-w who had not experienced it. 
Every moment added to their delight, and fresh joys were ever arising. It 
was pleasant to bring plants from other lands and localities and establish 
them in positions where they can be enjoyed. He wished success to all who 
were engaged in the delightful pursuit to which they had devoted them¬ 
selves. 
A vote of thanks was cordially proposed to Mr. Lee, the newly appointed 
Secretary, for his services in regard to the dinner, and in other ways. 
This gentleman, in briefly responding, said it was their intention to carry 
out every good practical suggestion, and to place the Society in a position to 
enjoy the confidence of all horticulturists in the kingdom. The proceedings 
■of a very successful and enjoyable evening then terminated. 
THE PRIMULAS. 
(Continued from page 578.) 
P. mollis, Nutt .—The soft-leaved Bhotan Primrose is included 
by many botanists under the large section “ Primulastrum,” but we 
prefer for simplicity M. Stein’s plan of classing it in “ Cortusina, 
Schott, in company with P. cortusoides and its forms and the new 
P. Kauffmanniana, Regel. The latter classification seems the best 
as far as affinity goes, besides being much more convenient for 
cultivators. P. mollis is one of those Primroses which it is almost 
hopeless to attempt cultivating in the open air in this country—not 
so much from the cold, as we believe it is found at fairly high 
elevations, but from damp, caused by fog, &c. We have tried it in 
the neighbourhood of London under almost all the conditions con¬ 
ceivable, sometimes with apparent success, but which invariably 
ended in failure. Even under glasses and overhanging ledges it 
was found to have decayed. We winter it successfully in a dry 
cool frame, airing freely on bright days and watering only when 
very dry, and even then care is required to keep the water from 
lodging about the woolly crown. We succeed with it best in pots, 
having given up planting it out, and as it is a quick coarse grower 
it requires plenty of pot room and plenty of feeding. It makes a 
charming greenhouse plant when well grown, and it not uncom¬ 
monly produces from twenty to thirty flower stems, each averaging 
from four to five whorls of its large bright flowers, presenting with 
the densely hairy foliage a really magnificent sight. If flowered 
early in good seasons it produces seed, but it may also be readily 
propagated by division of the crowns in winter. The foliage all 
rise from the root, the leaves on long petioles entirely covered with 
curious spreading hairs, the blade almost round in outline with a 
cordate base, and lobed and crenated margins, veined or reticulated. 
The flower stems vary from 12 to 18 inches in height, the flowers 
being arranged in whorls ; the corollas about an inch in diameter, 
of a bright rose or brick-red colour ; the petals deeply lobed ; the 
calyx campanulate, hairy ; the teeth short and broad at the base. 
It flowers from April until the end of July. It was found in the 
Bhotan Mountains by Mr. Booth about 1852. 
P. Muretiana, Moritizi .—A hybrid between P. subintegrifolia 
X viscosa, A Kern. It is closely allied to P. Dinyana, which is 
superintegrifolia, and easier to grow than the latter hybrid. It is 
also more robust in habit, having a larger share of viscosa. This 
plant seems to show more clearly than any we have yet described 
that hybrids are more vigorous than their parents ; and although, 
as may be seen, it possesses more of integrifolia than viscosa, yet 
the plants equal if not surpass the later vigour, raising the lowly 
integrifolia to a striking plant. It requires deep, rich, but light 
well-drained soil to grow it well, and apparently taking best to a 
■western exposure. We grow it on steep slopes with only a few 
stones round the base of the stems, they serving the double purpose 
of keeping the surface roots cool, and just retaining sufficient 
moisture for the plants. The whole plant seldom reaches more 
than half a foot in height, the leaves nearly those of P. viscosa, 
with fewer and shorter hairs and more dilated at the base. Flowers 
large, of a deep rich purple, opening earlier than integrifolia. 
1 lentiful on the high Alps. Syn., P. Mureti, Rch. 
P. Nelsoni, Hort. — Another Primrose I have not seen, and 
only mention it in the hope that it may appear from some obscure 
corner, as M. Stein says he has only seen it once at Innsbruck, 
whence it was received from London, and according to English cata¬ 
logues it can only be a form of the P. villosa group with pale 
flowers. 
P. nivalis, Pall., is a very distinct plant from the one we 
generally find in gardens under that name, the latter being only 
a white variety of the European P. viscosa, and may perhaps be a 
corruption of nivea or niveus, a name by which the variety is known 
in the trade. P. luteola is another plant sometimes sent out under the 
above name, and although when out of flower there is some affinity. 
The flowers are so very different that when seen all doubt is dis¬ 
persed as to which it is. Six or more years ago P. nivalis was in 
cultivation in our gardens, and the admiration expressed concern¬ 
ing it at that time falls to the lot of few Primroses, and yet at 
the present time, when so much interest is being raised in their 
favour, this remarkable plant is hardly to be found. It seems more 
adapted for general cultivation than any other of our Alpine species, 
for not only is it extremely variable both in form and colour, but 
it is perfectly hardy and may be cultivated in an ordinary border 
with comparatively little trouble. Its variable nature suggests, 
under cultivation, quite a new race of Primulas, more especially if 
it be found amenable to the ingenuity of the hybridiser. In the 
“ G-artenflora ” Dr. Regel gives a very interesting history of this 
plant, part of which I append. P. nivalis proper, not including the 
two nearly allied forms— i.e., longifolia and turkestanica varieties, 
is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful species of the genus. 
From the high mountains of the Caucasus it is distributed north¬ 
wards to Altai and the mountains of Transbaicalia, as well as to 
Eastern Siberia, Kamtschatka, and N.W. America. Southward it 
is spread all over the mountains of the provinces of Turkestan, as 
well as the Alps of Afghanistan and Nepal. It was re-introduced 
by Regel and Tetison from the Alps of Thian-Shan and flowered 
in the St. Petersburg Botanic G-arden. It has in its wild state 
produced several different forms, by the introduction of which our 
collection can be considerably augmented. Thus we have dwarf 
varieties and tall-growing ones, with broader leaves, glabrous forms, 
and others with a dense coat of white powder either on the under 
or on both sides of the leaves, on the petioles and also on the calyx ; 
the flowers being either arranged in one whorl or in two or more 
in robust specimens, the colour ranging from rose to dark violet 
purple, the corolla tube varying from the same to twice the length 
of the calyx. As a guide to its cultivation it is found growing 
with the following plants, and in gardens where they succeed there 
will be found little difficulty with this noble Primrose. Potentilla 
fruticosa, Caragana jubata, and at the base of the large snow fields 
at 11,000 feet we found Callianthemum rutifolium and Carex atrata, 
and even at 11,500 feet traced specimens of P. nivalis. 
It grows about 18 inches in height, many flowers in a whorl, 
reddish or rose-coloured in typical plants, but, as before stated, 
variable. The leaves are distinct, and may be recog lised by the 
margins always being curled or turned inwards, and also in the 
purplish tinge of the midrib, especially towards the base. It flowers 
with us from May onwards. The variety turkestanica has very 
deep violet flowers and elliptic lanceolate leaves more deeply cre¬ 
nated at the edges than the type. Syn., P. nivalis var. colorata. 
P. longifolia has longer and altogether narrower leaves than either, 
with rosy flowers. 
P. Obovata, Huter. — An interesting hybrid. P. Balbisii X ty- 
rolensis, A. Kern , I believe to be in cultivation, although I have 
never seen it alive. 
P. Obristii, Stein ; super-Balbisii X Auricula, Stein .—This is too 
near P. Balbisii, as far as we have yet seen in the young plants, to 
warrant a detailed account. It is, however, more robust than 
P. Balbisii, and flourishes equally well on the rockery in a rather 
exposed situation. 
P. obtusifolia, Royle .—Under this name seeds were freely 
distributed two or three years ago, but afterwards it was found to 
be a form of P. involucrata. It is, however, quite distinct from 
the latter, and more nearly resembles forms or states of P. Stuarti, 
from which it may be distinguished by the thin texture of the 
leaves and the round capsule. It is a very variable plant, however, 
and extreme forms, such as the one with the deeply toothed obeor- 
date leaves, appear quite distinct from the one with the spathulate 
leaves. It grows about a foot in height, the leaves having distinctly 
winged petioles, and generally covered with yellow meal beneath. 
Flowers collected in a loose capitate head an inch or more in 
diameter, of a bright blue purple with a fine yellow eye. Flowers 
about July. It seems partial to peaty soil in a cool shady situation, 
and likes plenty of moisture during the growing season. It is per¬ 
fectly hardy, and no fear need be felt about planting it out. It is 
found in the East and West Himalayas, Kunawar, Kumaon, and in 
Sikkim at elevations at 11,000 to 12,000 feet above the sea, also in 
Bhotan. The varieties Roylei and Griffithi are both distinct, 
although no advance on the type as garden plants.—D. 
