THE GARDENING WORLD 
361 
February 
6, 1897 . 
and lasting heat. Shake the leaves and the straw 
well up together, and give them at least two turnings 
with an interval of three or fourdays between. The 
hot-bed must not be less than 4 ft. in height before 
the frame is put on, and if 6 ft. so much the better. 
In area the bed should be 3 ft. bigger each way than 
the frame that is to stand upon it. This will allow 
of a margin of 18 in. all round the frame, which will 
be necessary in order to attend to its occupants 
properly. Build the fermenting materials up round 
the frame until they are on a level with its sides. 
Put the soil in several days before planting is thought 
about, so that it shall become thoroughly warmed 
through. 
A Pretty Fernery.— On one of my journeys a few 
days ago I came across a very pretty fernery in one 
of those conservatories attached to the modern villa, 
SUTTON’S STAR PRIMULA. 
We have been watching this strain of Primula 
sinensis for some time, and note that people are now 
beginning to recognise its value for conservatory 
decoration. The prominent characteristic of a batch 
of plants is their graceful elegance; and whether 
seen alone or in proximity to the highly evolved 
modern race of Chinese Primulas, their distinctness 
is very striking. The stems are slender and tall, 
bearing successive tiers of flowers one above the 
other after the manner of P. japonica, P. imperialis, 
or P. poissonii, although so strikingly different to 
either. The next point that strikes the observer is 
that the segments of the flowers never overlap as in 
the highly-evolved forms, hence the name “ Star.” 
These two races, in fact, if they had been introduced 
from China together, would, years ago, probably 
variations without bridging over the gap between 
this and the dwarf type. Already, however, there is 
a quantity of a lilac variety and a semi-double one, 
which may give rise to something better. We are 
obliged to Messrs. Sutton & Sons for this opportunity 
of reproducing the photograph of a houseful of 
Sutton’s Star Primula. 
-4.-- 
SPECIMEN CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
Mr. Pettinger, says, concerning specimen plants 
(p 314), that " the idea of perfection should be left 
out,” but he does not believe in leaving it out 
himself; because he says he well remembers seeing 
“ the nearest approach ” to a perfect plant. Now 
without the idea of perfection in his mind he could 
not say whether it was a near approach to perfection 
or not. Then he says “ pre-eminent must stand 
A Houseful of Sutton’s Star Primula. 
which always locks as if it had been put up by the 
architect just to fill up an odd corner, and regardle?s 
cf its suitability, either of position or construction. 
The wall against which the house in question was 
built was covered with sheets of virgin cork, 
arranged so as to form pockets, in which Ferns were 
planted. Ornamental fern-tiles of various shapes 
and all filled with healthy-looking plants were hung 
against the glass sides of the house, and several 
baskets were pendant from the roof. On the floor a 
rockery about three feet in height had been built, 
and this ran in irregular mounds and ridges all 
round the house, also planted with Ferns, leaving a 
winding passage of between two and three feet in 
width. All the plants looked to be in the pink of 
health, and bore evidence of very tender care. The 
whole house was an excellent example for amateurs 
who have been puzzled to find out what plants will 
grow in their conservatories. 
have been considered distinct species, and described 
as such. The leaves form the closest connecting 
link between the two races, for those of the Star 
Primula are of the plain-leaved type, and are, 
perhaps, more slender than usual. 
At first this type was grown in small quantity by 
Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, but visitors to their 
Portland Road Nurseries at present are delighted 
with the spectacle of a houseful of plants. They 
serve to relieve the dwarf and massive character of 
the large-flowered types admirably. They vary from 
1 ft. to 2 ft. in height and carry pyramidal bunches 
of white flowers, faintly flaked with purple or red. 
Each blossom measures from f in. to 1 in. in 
diameter and is sufficiently large for this particular 
strain, to give a decidedly decorative effect. It 
remains for this race to be evolved into colour 
varieties; but of course it is merely a question of 
time. A few years will be necessary to get 
quantity of flowers combined with freshness and 
size.” These again, are just a few characteristics of 
a perfect plant as it exists in his mind. 
If Mr. Pettinger had just given us a clear definition 
of a perfect plant as it exists in his mind (as it does 
exist by his own showing), without going into side 
issues, as he has done, he might have aided in setting 
up a standard of excellence that would have been a 
guide to both competitors and judges. He does not, 
however, see any necessity for this ; but just to try 
and find out the leaning of the judges in our own 
country, and play up to it. That would be pure 
‘‘jockeying” to gain a prize, without the slightest 
consideration for the advancement of horticulture. 
At the conference held by the National Chrysan¬ 
themum Society at their last show, they had under 
consideration the setting up of a standard of 
excellence for blooms, and why not for plants ?— 
Muni. 
