February 18, 1893. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
887 
THE A BORIGINAL 
CHINESE PRIMROSE. 
The number and infinite variety of the popular 
Chinese Primrose, and their general usefulness, is 
matter of common knowledge. At this time of year 
they are ubiquitous—everybody grows them. It is 
not, however, of Primula sinensis (so called) and its 
multifarious forms that I now wish to treat, but of 
the beautiful aboriginal ally of this interesting group, 
blooms of which were recently exhibited at a meet¬ 
ing of the Ealing Gardeners' Society, by Mr. Jones, 
gardener to E. Hyde, Esq , Ealing, W., and which 
■created no small amount of interest. Since then I 
have had an opportunity of inspecting the plant, and 
I must confess that I have a strong partiality for it 
over its more substantial derivatives. 
A sight of this wild plant excited in me the live¬ 
liest feelings of curiosity. I had heard of it before, 
it is true ; but, like a first vision of some great 
natural phenomenon, its presence constrained one to 
regard it with veneration. Six thousand years, per¬ 
haps, it has been cultivated by the Chinese in their 
peculiar gardens, and thus come down to us ; while 
it has, probably, perpetuated itself in its native wilds 
for many generations anterior to that far-away 
epoch. 
What reflections do not such conditions call to 
mind ? Yet here, in these latter days, with all our 
appliances and progress, and with the grand "im¬ 
provements ” that have been effected, this "ancient 
mariner ” comes, as it were, to check our calcula¬ 
tions. Neither the flowers nor foliage will, of course, 
bear comparison, in point of substance, with our 
modern varieties, but by measurement we found the 
diameter of a single pip to be ig in. [sent herewith 
for your inspection]. On the other hand, pips of 
Veitch’s Snowflake-a favourite plant here—only meas¬ 
ured 2 in. in diameter. The beautifully delicate rosy- 
mauve flowers, however, do not strike one as being 
so large as they really are, 'because, by reason of 
their flimsy texture, they do not present a perfect 
disc. They are, nevertheless, intrinsically meri¬ 
torious, while their shape—five lobed and distinctly 
notched—drooping character, and freedom of pro¬ 
duction, render the plant a decided acquisition for 
greenhouse work. The foliage is not unlike Primula 
obconica, with which Mr. Jones thinks it might be 
possible to effect a cross. 
What a happy union, could it be so “ arranged ” ! 
And there is much to be said in favour of this view, 
as both species are natives of Central China, and 
bear a strong family likeness. I recommend this pro¬ 
blem to Mr. Jones’s consideration, because it has 
been said that gardeners have contributed relatively 
little to our knowledge in this direction. Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons, I know, are working systematically 
towards this end, but that is no reason why the 
gardener should not vary the monotony of his calling 
by philosophising occasionally on the more recondite 
processes of vegetable matter.—C. B. G., Acton, W. 
WITLOOF. 
In winters like the present, when so many of the 
green vegetables have been destroyed by frost and 
other unfavourable conditions in the open air, 
fortunate is that gardener who has a plentiful 
supply of roots for forcing. Witloof comes under 
that heading, and is a variety of Cichorium Intybus, 
or Chicory, a native of the southern counties of 
England, where it usually grows in waste ground, by 
the waysides and occasionally finds its way into 
gardens as a herbaceous plant. As a vegetable or 
salad it is less known in this country than as an 
ingredient for mixing with coffee. Witloof is largely 
grown upon the Continent, particularly in Belgium. 
The ordinary form of Chicory may be blanched in 
the open ground in summer, or simply used in the 
green state. When forced and blanched in winter 
it forms what is tfermed Barbe de Capucin. 
TheWitloofis a large variety, forming a fleshy, white 
tap-root that may be compared to a Parsnip. From 
its larger size, and the greater amount of reserve 
matter, we should expect larger leaves or a greater 
bulk of them than from Chicory when forced. The 
process of forcing is a very simple one to those who 
have a command of fire heat. The roots may be 
lifted at any time from autumn through the winter 
and onward till spring, according to the time the 
leaves are wanted. The latter are most acceptable 
of course when green vegetables become scarce. The 
roots should be lifted and put in boxes of soil, about 
3 in. apart each way, or they may be potted up in 
pots sufficiently large to cover all but the crown. 
The pots or boxes may be stood on a hot-bed in a 
pit used for forcing purposes, and to save the trouble 
of using blanching pots a double layer of mats may 
be placed over the lights ; should there be plants in 
the pit requiring light, blanching pots or boxes will 
be necessary. Those having a Mushroom house 
kept at a temperature of 55 0 or 6o° will experience 
even less trouble by simply placing the pots contain¬ 
ing the roots there, when the darkness of that 
structure will be sufficient for blanching purposes. 
The cultivation is also simple. The plants are not 
particular as to soil, but if it is light rather than 
otherwise and rich, the plants will do well. The 
seeds may be sown in April or May in the open 
ground, in lines about 12 in. apart, and when the 
seedlings are well up they should be thinned to 6 in. 
or 8 in. apart in the lines so as to enable them to 
make vigorous growth and ensure good crowns for 
forcing. The ground should be kept thoroughly 
clear of weeds all through the summer, and the 
surface loose by frequent hoeing. 
--t-- 
CINERARIAS AND CALCEOLARIAS AT 
READING. 
The collections of the various florists’ flowers, 
grown at the Portland Road nursery of Messrs. 
Sutton & Sons, Reading, are well worthy of in¬ 
spection, each in their various season. Of course 
there is a considerable overlapping of the flowering 
season of some of them, such as the Chinese Primu¬ 
las and Cyclamens, which were for the most part at 
their best by Chistmas, and the later varieties soon 
after. The Cinerarias had commenced flowering 
then, but,were purposely sown a month later than 
they could have been, so as to come into bloom when 
the days should be longer, and the light and atmos¬ 
pheric conditions better. The Calceolarias are later 
than either, and will not be in their glory for some 
time to come. The houses are all comparatively 
new and built on modern principles, specially for 
the culture of soft-wooded plants, or low growing 
in general for the matter of that. They are span- 
roofed structures running east and west, with stag¬ 
ing so that the plants may be as near the glass as 
possible. The sash bars and other parts are of 
strength as to be effective, while admitting the great¬ 
est possible amount of light. The stages consist of 
corrugated iron covered with ashes, so as to keep 
them cool and preserve moisture about the plants. 
Everything is kept clean and neat, as they should be 
in all private or public establishments. 
Cinerarias. 
As already stated these were not meant to flower 
early, consequently the seed was not sown till May, 
and were kept in cold frames till the advent of frost 
rendered it necessary to take them into the house, 
where they are now flowering. The cool treatment 
to which they were subjected enabled the plants to 
make fine foliage and to preserve them in the most 
healthy condition, thus assuring a good display of 
bloom while adding to their effective appearance. 
The seedlings were shifted on from the seed-pans to 
thumb pots, and again in succession as the pots be¬ 
came filled with roots, till they were placed in their 
flowering pots, 32 being the size. Large plants are 
not required when the object is to get seed ; and the 
best is obtained from the blooms surmounting the 
main stem. The first flowers commenced to open 
about Christmas, and since then they have been 
gradually increasing in beauty. A dwarf and com¬ 
pact habit, with large flower heads and bright 
colours are aimed at. The starry appearance of the 
heads has long since disappeared, and the florets are 
now so broad and so much overlapped that they 
form as it were a solid ring. 
The colours are varied, but preference is given to 
the rich ones, whether the flowers are seifs or zoned. 
Very choice is Sutton’s White, which is now as much 
improved in form as any of the varieties, and pure 
white with a violet disc, the strong contrast adding 
additional interest and beauty to the whole. Other 
varieties are of an intense blue, or blue with a white 
zone encircling the violet disc. A similar set has 
self purple heads, and purple with a white zone sur¬ 
rounding a purple disc. There are various other 
combinations as well as self colours, all of sterling 
quality. 
Calceolarias. 
As may be taken for granted the Calceolarias are not 
in bloom, and will not be so till April and May. 
he seeds were not sown till June, and the seedlings 
were brought on with cool treatment as were the 
Cinerarias; they were shifted onwards as the state 
of the roots required it, until it was necessary to 
take them into the span-roofed house they now 
occupy. At present they are in 24-size pots, and 
present a bushy, healthy and vigorous appearance, 
branching freely from the base. The house is venti¬ 
lated night and day, except in very severe weather, 
and to this may be attributed their present healthy 
condition. Another fact is, that they are not neg¬ 
lected at any stage of their growth, as frequently 
happens in private establishments, where the plants 
are allowed to get crowded in the seedling pans, or 
even after they are transferred to small pots. As 
the plants approach the flowering stage they will be 
accorded at least double the space they at present 
occupy. 
-—- 
fnmt fftq Hhiultr 
.uf SriEnce 
Hybrids of Dianthus.-— It has repeatedly been 
proved that the species of Dianthus, or many of 
them, hybridise freely with one another. Yet, not¬ 
withstanding this fact, very little evidence of hybrid 
progeny may be seen in gardens at the present day. 
About 150 years ago, or thereby, a race of hybrids 
between D. Caryophyllus and D. barbatus were 
grown under the name of Sweet Johns, but they 
gradually reverted to the parents. The most popular, 
and indeed the only hybrids of any considerable 
notoriety at the present day, are those derived from 
D. sinensis and Caryophyllus, distributed under the 
name of D. Margaritae. Within the last few years 
there has been ample evidence of reversion to the 
parent types, but more particularly to D. Cary¬ 
ophyllus. Mr. F. N. Williams in his monograph of 
the genus in the Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. 
29, p. 467, says that the hybrids revert to D. Cary¬ 
ophyllus after three or four generations if they are 
repeatedly fertilised by that species. On the other 
hand, these hybrids revert to D. sinensis only 
after five or six generations, when they have 
been fertilised with that species. Now the fine 
varieties of the Carnation (D. Caryophyllus) 
in cultivation offer many attractions to florists, and it 
is but natural to suppose they would make use of 
them either as pollen or seed parents, and we cannot 
be surprised to note that the so-called Marguerite 
Carnations are year after year becoming more nearly 
identical with the true Carnation. 
Huge Museum Specimen. —The Americans 
continue to fell and destroy the aboriginal giants of 
their forests, so that in a few years, probably, but 
little will remain to demonstrate the actual size to 
which living vegetation may attain. They have re¬ 
solved, however, to preserve a specimen, or piece of 
a huge tree, in the Museum of Natural History at 
Nev York. This specimen, as recorded by L'Illus¬ 
tration Horticole for the 15th of January, consists of 
an immense ring measuring more than seven yards 
in diameter. The tree grew in the country of 
Fresno. In order to make it transportable it was 
necessary to divide it into twelve pieces, running 
from the circumference towards the centre. The 
tree was known under the name of Mark Twain. 
The trunk near the surface of the soil was more than 
thirty yards in girth, and at three yards above the 
ground its girth was still twenty-one yards ; its total 
height exceeded one hundred yards. The Garden and 
Forest gives a figure of the tree from a photograph 
taken during the fall of the colossus. 
New theory concerning Potato disease.— 
It is easy to formulate a new theory about any given 
subject, but it is quite another thing to demonstrate 
the truth of it, and in consequence such theories 
have often most weight and seem most plausible 
when left without explanation or attempt to demon¬ 
strate them. Dr. J. Bohm has recently been stating 
that all our botanists and scientists generally have 
been misleading the public when they stated that the 
fungus lives in the tuber during winter. He also 
states that the germinating spores of Phytophthora 
infestans are unable to penetrate the skin of tubers 
covered by soil so long as the skin is intact, and that 
the fungus can only effect an entrance when the tubers 
have been injured by snails, insects, etc. Diseased 
tubers, he continues, either do not grow at all, or 
they give rise to a healthy offspring. He forgets 
that the so-called offspring, that is the young tuber, 
is merely an extension of the growth of the mother 
plant. He might as well say the latter would first 
contract the disease and then grow out of it, if 
merely to prove his theory. 
