April 18th, 1885. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
515 
“ Gardening is the purest of human pleasures, and the greatest 
refreshment to the spirit of man.”—D acon. 
Cjf Ikrkmng Wurfc. 
SATUIWAY, APB1L 18 Tm 1885. 
The Auricula Snow.—Somewhat earlier than 
usual, and in a decidedly late season, the Southern 
Section of what is termed the National Auricula 
Society will hold its annual exhibition of the 
flower it is specially established to promote, at 
South Kensington, on Tuesday next. The 
appellation “National 5 ’ is an ambitious one, but 
it is no fault of the promoters of the Society 
that it is not more comprehensive, with respect 
to numbers. All the encouragement that can be 
afforded is given to cultivators of the Auricula, 
hut in spite of this aid and support, the partizans 
of the florists’ Auricula scarcely increase, and as 
a rule the plums which constitute the chief 
attractions in the schedule of prizes, still 
invariably fall to the share of some half-dozen 
prominent growers. 
Of course blame is not to be attached to these 
growers because their products are the best; on 
the contrary, they deserve all possible credit and 
praise. The committee can hardly accomplish 
more than they do in the efforts thus made to 
popularize the Auricula, and their efforts merit 
all praise also. In spite of these things, how¬ 
ever, new growers of the Auricula fail to present 
themselves in appreciable numbers, and the fault 
must be laid at the door of the Auricula itself. 
The fact is the section of this interesting portion 
of the Primula family which alone commands 
the attention and esteem of the Auricula con¬ 
noisseur is of a very high bred and almost 
enervated hind. It is a section of one of our 
hardiest of spring flowers, which will display 
little growth and less of beauty if treated as 
a hardy plant; it needs great care, constant 
attention, no little patient watching, and some 
coddling, and even when all this care is bestowed 
failures and losses are not at all uncommon. If 
the simile may be used, show Auriculas are the 
very aristocracy of hardy plants, in respect of 
the patient solicitude which must be given to 
them by man, and after all they often prove to 
be an ungrateful race. 
Those whose knowledge of Auriculas is limited 
to the coarse, though often showy, forms found 
in garden borders, will perhaps marvel to learn 
that show Auriculas compare no more with these 
than a thoroughbred racehorse docs with a 
coster’s hack ; and whilst both the select examples 
have points of quality which the initiated onty can 
understand, they also need care and attention 
beyond all ordinary conception. To the general 
public who may be attracted to see the Auricula 
Show, the result is, without doubt, disappointing, 
for the flowers, even if shown by hundreds, give 
little to look at and much sameness. Only those 
who have made Auriculas the subject of patient 
study can comprehend the points over which 
growers and judges contend with the utmost 
minutise, and utterly fail to understand the 
divergencies between a white and a grey edge. 
It is true that the Alpine section gives charms 
which are more striking and more readily please 
even the uninitiated, but then these cannot follow 
the connoisseur in his technical descriptions of 
edged, shaded, and self flowers, or those which 
have gold and creamy centres, or good or imper¬ 
fect tubes. A show Auricula bloom is indeed 
fearfully and wonderfully made. It is the product 
of several generations of raisers, and is far away 
removed from that which is produced by its 
original parents. The offspring could hardly be 
expected to recognize its projenitor, indeed, in 
the process of evolution, that disputed one of 
man from monkey hardly admits of more question 
than does the wondrous developments seen in a 
show Auricula bloom. But happily the exhibi¬ 
tion is not confined to “ show ” Auriculas, and 
under that term we, for the present, include all 
those flowers which are esteemed correct in their 
respective classes. 
That more amenable aud perhaps more popular 
member of the Auricula family, the Polyanthus, 
will also be on view, and we may add also the 
Primrose, though the distinction between that 
section known as Fancy Polyanthuses and Prim¬ 
roses is not great. But the florists’ Fancy 
Polyanthus is by no means that of the general 
public. Theirs is of an enervated and select 
race, a section indeed so exhausted by constant 
and debilitating intercrossing, that in a remark¬ 
able degree the progeny of the very best forms 
often turn out rubbish; in fact the gold-laced Poly¬ 
anthus seems to have reached a point of excellence, 
if not perfection, in refinement and markings, 
beyond which it seems difficult, if not impossible, 
to pass. The cultivator of these choice spirits of 
the Primula family will revel in the contempla¬ 
tion of a perfect bloom or truss of Exile, Cheshire 
Favourite, or other high-class variety, even 
though the pips be of trivial dimensions. To him 
it is enough that the thrum, centre, ground, and 
lacing are all perfect, to excite his warmest 
admiration, whilst the ignorant uncultured public 
pass it by with indifference, and cluster in crowds 
around the showy border kinds, with their largo 
flowers, big trusses, gay colours, and varied 
markings, or else they will gloat with delight over 
the Primroses, which though in size, colour, 
and beauty are a long way ahead of those humble 
denizens of hedgerow and meadow so loved of 
country people, yet which serve to remind them 
of the floral companions of their childhood, and 
thus recall loving memories that will not be 
repressed. 
Happily, if we cannot all be Auricula and 
Polyanthus fanciers as are the growers who will 
compete at South Kensington on Tuesday next, 
we may always have in our gardens many plants 
of the border kinds, all producing large, bold 
flowers, mostly robust growers, easily raised 
from seed, and freely withstanding rain or frost. 
Those who would enjoy next spring the delights 
incidental to the possession of good batches of 
border Auriculas, Polyanthuses, and Primroses, 
should get seed at once and sow in pans or 
shallow boxes, placing them in a frame near 
the glass, or even in a greenhouse, but slightly 
shading the seed during sunny days. In some 
two or three weeks it will germinate, and in a 
few weeks more the seedlings will be ready to 
prick out into other pans or boxes, or into a 
cool frame, and from thence may be transplanted 
in October next to beds or borders, or some 
perhaps into pots, and a glorious reward will 
come next spring for the trouble given. Flowers 
from which the connoisseur would turn with 
contempt, will by others be regarded with intense 
pleasure, not the less that the plants will all give 
even better results in succeeding years. 
-•>**- 
Wallflowers. —We are just now in the full 
season of single Wallflowers, and tens of thousands 
of bunches pour into the London markets daily. 
Those residing in country districts hardly realize 
how important an article of culture and commerce 
the Wallflower is, although confined almost 
exclusively to that superb variety—the single 
Blood Bed. How many acres of these are grown 
within a radius of twenty miles of Covent Garden 
it would be difficult to say, though it may bo 
that 500 would not be beyond the mark. We 
saw the other day men busily employed dibbling 
out plants over a large breadth of ground, aud 
that at a time when most people, perhaps, are 
about to sow seed. 
As a rule, the market-growers sow seed in 
February, if the weather be fine and the soil 
dry; but some sow in August, and thus have 
stout, hard little plants to pull from the seed-beds 
and plant out now. These, of course, make big 
bunches, and bloom freely next October and on 
through the winter, giving good cuttings long 
before the bulk of the plants are in flower. A 
few of the earliest and richest-coloured are saved 
for seed, and as all that exhibit inferior colouring 
arc cut, of course the strain always possesses a 
high average. Earliness is as great an essential 
as colour, but both must be good in combination. 
Yellows, though so beautiful, have not been 
taken in hand to any appreciable extent, although 
there can be little doubt but that these would 
command a ready sale, so much are all who see 
them growing struck with their richness and 
beauty. 
We saw something of a novelty the other day 
in the shape of four generations of plants of that 
remarkably fine new kind, Bedfont Yellow, for 
whilst the present year’s sowing was up in the 
shape of seedling plants, there were the last and 
the two preceding years’ plants in full bloom; 
pretty good evidence of the endurance of the 
kind. 'The tall golden kind, though loose in 
habit, yet gives a splendid lot of bloom for 
cutting, and is fairly early. The Dwarf Bel voir 
Yellow is both too late and too dwarf for that 
use, but it is a good bedder. 
* Sixpenny Telegrams : Seed Trade Statis¬ 
tics. —Messrs. James Carter & Co. write: The 
discussion upon Sixpenny Telegrams, and 
the desirability or otherwise of abbreviated 
addresses, brings out some curious statistics in 
the history of the Seed Trade. We find upon 
scrutiny that amongst our 48,500 customers wo 
can only muster 851 Smiths against Messrs. 
Sutton’s 1,060, but when we come to the “Browns,” 
we are brought to the front with a total of 503 
against Messrs. Sutton’s 450, and we can “ throw 
in” 205 Bobinsons. We must leave some wiser 
heads than our own to account for the pecu¬ 
liarities of these statistics .—April 9 th. 
Andersonias. — Closely allied to Epacris is 
the genus Andersonia, a genus consisting of nine¬ 
teen species, all natives of Australia. They are 
attractive and interesting little shrubs, though, 
like many other hard-wooded plants, somewhat 
neglected at the present day. The treatment 
required is precisely that of the Epacris, or of the 
Heaths, and the chief thing to be attended to is 
care in watering. The balls should never be 
allowed to get dry, and when water is required it 
should be enough to penetrate thoroughly. In 
The Gartenflora for February, a plate is devoted 
to three of the species, which we may briefly 
notice. A. depressa is a dwarf compact plant, 
with white calyx, and azure-blue corolla, the 
flowers being arranged in somewhat loose termi¬ 
nal panicles. A. cceruleais larger, the calyx rosy- 
red, the corolla of a deeper shade, and the flowers 
more compactly arranged. A. homalostoma is 
similar to the last in size, habit, and colour of 
calyx, the corolla being of a rather deeper blue. 
All the species are rigid little shrubs with Epacris- 
like leaves, and one peculiarity of the genus is 
the coloured calyx. The preceding have blue 
corollas, but in other species both white and rose- 
colour are represented. 
