April 22, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
309 
Memories come back to me here of some old flowers that might have 
been helpful towards new combinations of colours that are faint and timid, 
and wavering yet. 
Such were Moore’s Violet a green-edged flower, with violet body 
colour, and a green edge of Traill’s (Rev. George Jeans), in which the 
ground colour was of a lilac tint. In white edges were Aston’s Bonny Lass, 
with beautiful violet, and Maria, richer in colour. These, however, and 
others of like colour, all were weakened by a pale and watery tube; and 
further, the ground colour was not of one uniform steadfast shade, which it 
decidedly ought to be in both edged and self Auriculas. Red or crimson 
as a ground colour of edged flowers has not yet been obtained of any 
intensity. Lightbody’s Fairy Queen and Star of Bethlehem, and also 
Smith’s Waterloo, were green edges, in which the body tints were a shade 
of red-plum, and a white edge of McDonald’s .vas lighted up with a brighter 
red. Chocolate-brown is another possible change in ground colours worthy 
of being followed up. It occurred in Lightbody’s white edge Countess of 
Dnnmore, and in Smith’s Ne Plus Ultra. These red and brown ground 
colours are happily not associated with the weak tube colours of the 
blues. 
Hr. Simonite, in his Heather Bell and Aurora, has better blue-grounded 
white edges than the old ones, and the tubes, though not of a strong yellow, 
have more stability. An offer of a red-grounded green edge occurs in a 
rather erratic seedling of Mr. Rolt’s. The edge is pure but insignificant, 
and the red ground colour brightens with age, but is too broad, and runs 
wildly out at the petal edges. Such a flower would be worth crossing with 
some green-edge seedling of fine form, in which existed the fault of a 
ground colour much too slight and narrow. 
In new types of colour in seifs the last great acquisition came through 
Mr. Campbell’s success in his efforts to produce a true crimson self. Some 
fifteen years ago he sent out, as the result of many years’ work abounding 
in failures, two intensely crimson flowers—the one better than the other 
both in its colour and its rich gold tube, but both of them notched in petal. 
These flowers have transmitted their colour well to seedlings of better 
petal. 
iWithin the last two or three years another new and very beautiful 
break in self colours has occurred among both Mr. Simonite’s seedlings and 
my own, showing yet another direction in which we may s ek to enrich and 
improve the Auricula. This new colour is a very lovely and decided pink. 
The flowers have happily been nearly always gold-tubed, and the petal is 
a fully rounded type. This young colour, however, is not easy as yet to 
obtain solid— i.e., unshaded and steadfast. Some have failed by growing 
slightly paler with age, or in losing with age the surface of the petal; so 
that what is velvet at first, is calico at last. 
There is no doubt, however, that the true pink self is a coming flower, 
and I name it as one illustration more of the direction in which the Auricula 
may be improved. 
I have spoken of the failures of this newly-won colour—the successes 
must speak for themselves when they can. 
Adolescence .—There is something very curious in the blooming character 
of the first three years’ life of an upgrown seedling which it is important to 
mark and allow for, because it certainly is connected with the practical part 
of our question. 
It is not an invariable rule, but it is a frequent occurrence for a seedling 
that blooms with brilliant properties in its maiden year to flower the second 
year in much inferior if not loose character. ThiB is oftener the case with 
the complex-edged flowers than with the simpler seifs. At the third year 
the flower may either return to its early promise, or go again astray. I 
do not know how to account for it, but it is a noticeable feature in a long 
experience. 
It would seem as though the plant were affected by some unseen change 
or turning point in passing from its seedlinghood to becoming an estab¬ 
lished variety. Certainly some seedlings that show brilliant properties the 
first year never afterwards display them ; and occasionally others, that one 
has gladly given away to friends with garden borders, have, like the “ ugly 
duckling” of the story, developed into very swans of excellence. 
I mention this, not only that joy over some sudden acquisition may be 
tempered with gravity, but also that doubt may be not unlighted with hop’. 
I do not cease to feel some anxiety for a brilliant seedling, and some 
hope over a rather disappointing one, till I have seen them at their third 
bloom. Some faults are decisive, such as the pin eye, the pale tube, the 
angular paste, the notched or pointed petal. Of such there is no hope. 
But if properties of tube and paste and petal are fine, I do not discard the 
seedling because, at its maiden bloom, the proportions and other qualities 
of the ground-colour and edge may not be correct. There may be a good 
flower in disguise. 
ALPINE AURICULAS. 
I pass on now to a brief notice of that other division of the Auricula as 
a florist flower, which is technically known a3 the Alpine. These very 
beautiful flowers possess, as features of distinction from the edged classes 
and seifs, a perfectly unmealed centre or eye, and petals richly shaded from 
the deepest to the lightest tints of that one colour which the flower has 
adopted. That shading cannot be in tints too numerous or too softly 
blended. 
The tube of the Alpine so closely follows in colour the centre of the 
flower that it should have an expression in form all the more marked, 
because there is the less power of contrast with the centre by colour. It is 
a great point of beauty in all Auriculas that the mouth of the tube should 
be well defined, and rise fully to the level of the flower’s face, otherwise 
there is the appearance of a weak and sunken eye. 
The Alpine Auricula is divided into two sections, distinguished by the 
golden, and the paler, almost primrose-coloured centre. The golden centre 
is the higher type. In the Alpine, as in the edged flowers, it is again the 
flowers possessing violet or bluish colours that exhibit the palest yellows ia 
the tube and eye. Flowers would no doubt be very highly valued in this 
class of violet shades if they could be obtained with the rich golden eye of 
those with crimson. 
THE POLYANTHUS. 
I must not close this paper without including the florist Polyanthus, a 
lovely sister of the Auricula, and in sore need of reinforcement in sterling 
varieties. Some of the very best Polyanthuses, like Kingfisher in the red 
ground flowers, are lost to cultivation ; and among black grounds of high 
merit, Lord Lincoln seems all but gone. Many gardens strains of Poly¬ 
anthus are termed “ gold laced,” but they are a far remove from the florist 
flower with its cultured properties. The resemblanc i in most of them looks 
nearest when seen at the greatest distance. The decision, purity, and refine¬ 
ment of our Polyanthus are not in them. 
Mr Barlow’s success in raising both black and red ground flowers of 
very high character, perhaps in red more especially, is a proof that though 
the flower may not be more ready than its radiant sister, the Auricula, to 
give the properties we would have, still it will repay all good care bestowed 
in judicious crossing. 
I do not think that any foreign blood of strains outside the florist pale, 
however proudly spoken of. should be introduced under the plea of giving 
vigour, which the standard old sorts have, alas 1 too oft :n lived to lack. 
From such extraneous source of robustness will come much unruliness. 
A more safe return to soundness of constitution will be naturally obtained 
through seedlings, because seedlings naturally possess it, and happily young 
blue blood is no exception to the rule. 
For suggestions of improvement in the Polyanthus I can but briefly state 
the properties that require to be exemplified in as many living representa¬ 
tions of their beauty as we can obtain. The two brilliant extremes of class 
colour will be a black ground, or a scarlet ground within the lacing of bright 
yellow. Whatever the body colour be, it must consist of one rich uniform 
shade ; and the yellow, which is best when a clear lemon-gold, must be free 
at the eye or centre from any other shade of yellow. The gold of the lacing 
must exactly match that of the eye, and the lacing itself must be of ex¬ 
quisitely smooth edge and even width. It must both completely edge 
the petal and strike down through the centre of it to meet the golden 
eye. The central line of lacing is frequently broader down the middle 
of the petal than round the edge, but the nearer it is of the same width 
the better. 
It is characteristic of the Polyanthus petal to be deeply notched in the 
centre, so that the circular edge of the Auricula petal is not looked for 
here. 
The centre or eye of the Polyanthus should occupy a wide circular space 
upon the flower. It can hardly be too wide, and is often not wide and 
circular enough. 
The mouth of the tube should be extremely well defined, and even most 
slightly raised above the level of the centre. As in the Auricula, the tube 
should be filled with bold anthers up to the surface, with the stigma almost 
sessile below ; and all flowers should expand equally and well. 
These are the points to be attained and strengthened in the improvement 
of the florist Polyanthus; aud it will readily be seen how far these lines of 
beauty, which give such brilliance, purity, and refinement, lie beyond the 
comprehension of the common garden border strains, and how far too few 
are the beautiful florist Polyanthuses we have that fulfil this standard. 
THE PRIMULA EXHIBITION AND CONFERENCE. 
April 20th and 21st. 
The weather continued unfavourable so late in the season that the most 
hopeful of those who had interested themselves in the proposed Primula 
Conference began to entert tin grave doubts if they would obtain a sufficient 
number of <- ntries to make a good representative show. Until quite recently 
this uncertainty wa9 not removed, and the display provided on Tuesday 
was a surprise to many of those present. Never have so many species and 
varieties of the genus Primula been shown together before, and the 
numerous admirers of these plants had an opportunity of studying their 
favourites in all their varied forms. We have grown accustomed to the 
displays of richly coloured and costly Orchids, showy Pelargoniums, 
Begonias, and other plants, but it was quite a relief to turn to these simple 
yet beautiful flowers, so fresh, pleasing, and unobtrusive. Regarded merely 
from an effective point of view it would not be considered as sufficiently 
bright by those who admire the gaudy tints of the plants above mentioned, 
but there were scores of pretty plants, not large enough to make a great 
display individually or collectively, yet extremely interesting. There was 
a good proportion of really useful garden plants, chiefly varieties of the 
P. vulgaris type, with brightly tinted flowers, the charming P. rosea, and 
the pure white P. nivalis, while there were also large numbers of species, 
perhaps nearly one-half, that would never become popular plants though 
well worth including in collections. 
It would be unnecessary to enumerate in this report all the species and 
varieties shown, and in the following notes it has only been attempted to 
point out the mo3t distinct, handsome, or remarkable. A full detailed report 
will probably result from the labours of the Conference, and in this we may 
expect to see many of the errors corrected which are now only too obvious 
in the nomenclature. There has been much confusion amongst the 
Primulas, and one highly important practical result from this gathering 
will be that some hundreds of plants will be returned to their homes under 
correct names. 
The Primula exhibits occupied a table the whole length of the conserva¬ 
tory ou one side, a table nearly half the length on the other side being 
similarly devoted to Primulas and hardy flowers, Messrs. Paul and Sons’ 
Roses, Barr and Sons’ Daffodils, and the National Auricula Society’s exhibi¬ 
tion filling the remainder of the available space, and together constituted 
both a large and handsome display. 
Of the Primula groups the following were the most important:—J.T. D. 
Llewelyn, Esq., Penllergare, Swansea, had a collection of well-grown plants, 
the most conspicuous being varieties of P. Sieboldi with P. japonica, P. ver- 
ticillata, P. cashmeriana, the old double crimson Primrose, P. obconica, very 
fine, P. intermedia, and P. viscosa varieties, together with the typical 
P Auricula, which was collected by the exhibitor on the Pyrenees. G. F. 
Wilson, Esq., Weybridge, had an interesting series of violet-crimson 
Primroses, seedlings from Scott-Wilson, and including the beautiful 
variety Alice Wilson, which was certificated last week. Some ex- 
j ceedingly fine spikes of P. denticulata were shown from the open 
