THE GARDENING WORLD. 
February 13-, 1904. 
1.36 
W© feel sure this will form a splendid and popular variety 
when once it becomes known, owing to the richness of the 
colours and their novel distribution. 
Seeds of these new strains and crosses, while still only grown 
in small quantity, will find their way into the hands, of cu to 
valors in mixed packets of seed. In the case of named 
varieties, those who ask can get them true to colour, but those 
who delight in mixture of colours are sure to find many of 
these novelties in a, packet, thereby securing them while they 
are practically quite new. Another variety still in the initial 
stages had rich crimson flowers, with a white lacing round 
the edge. The nearest to scarlet yet raised has not yet been 
christened, and, being only in small quantity, is used for the 
mixed packets. A blue Duchess seems on the way, and it will 
no doubt be greatly improved in the course of a year or two. 
The seedlings from the second generation of a; cross usually 
show more characteristic features the second or third year. 
Those who like spotted, speckled, mottled, or striped flowers 
will find a very good one in Pink Beauty, which is marked in 
a varied manner with carmine on a white ground. The flowers 
■are of large size', pleasing colour, and very freely produced. 
Quite of a different, kind is Pearl, having pure white flowers 
and light green foliage and petioles. Royal White is a 
splendid variety, with large white flowers, contrasting beauti¬ 
fully with the dark eye. The leaf stalks of this robust variety 
are dark in colour. Quite a contrast to both of the two pre¬ 
vious standard varieties is. Snowdrift, the earliest white variety, 
having flowers of a dead white, Fern-shaped leaves, and the 
flower stalks carried well above the foliage in great abundance. 
Fern-leaved Blue has dark petioles and clear blue flowers. 
Reading Blue differs chiefly by having leaves of the ordinary 
form, and is certainly still one of the finest of the blues 1 , not¬ 
withstanding the many years it has been in cultivation. Bril¬ 
liant Rose has flowers of a rich rose colour, but they deepen 
considerably during the' development of the flower after expan¬ 
sion. 
All these standard varieties, which received special names, 
are grown in considerable quantity. Last year we gave a 
coloured plate of The Duchess, and this, is again grown in large 
quantity, and was just in perfection when we saw it. last week. 
The white flowers have' a very characteristic rosy-crimson 
zone round a. distinctly-angled eye. The contrast of colours is 
admitted by everyone to be beautiful, and the variety to be 
one of the most distinct that has found its way into cultivation 
for many years past-. Our illustration represents a portion of 
the plants cultivated at Reading this year, and we predict that 
in a few years it will find its. place in every garden of any 
pretensions. 
Doubles. 
Double varieties have not greatly increased in recent years, 
but a very distinct one has now been added to the list in the 
form of a White Duchess, which is very similar to the type, but 
the flowers are semi-double, and every flower would make a good 
buttonhole. As the supernumerary petals stand erect, they 
cover the centre of the flower, but the dark zone of The 
Duchess is outside of these petals, and therefore still a feature 
of the flower. The' foliage is of the ordinary plain-leaved type, 
with a. dark petiole. Double White throws its flowers well 
above the foliage, and would make a very useful variety for 
cut flower purposes, the great beauty of the flowers making 
them suitable for mixing with others. The leaf-stalks are 
dark, and serve to show off the purity of the flowers. 
A very soft and pleasing colour is Double Pink, having light 
green foliage, including the leaf-stalks. Carnation Flake is 
mottled and flaked with purple, and makes a useful variation 
for those who like flowers coloured in this way. Improved 
Double Scarlet is very similar to Crimson King in having bril¬ 
liant crimson flowers with red petioles, but differs in being 
double. It make® a beautiful and striking contrast with 
Double White. Double Blue throws its trusses of bloom well 
above the foliage, thereby giving it a very distinctive aspect. 
A strain is here known as Double Moss Curled, having rela¬ 
tively large flowers and very much divided leaves, both the 
latter and flower's being very much crisped, or curled, a® the 
name would imply. 
Giant Primulas. 
The giant Primulas still maintain the large size of the 
flowers, the robust habit of the plants, and their lateness in 
blooming. They seem about ten days later than many of those 
above described, but all of them had flowers sufficiently far 
advanced to show their true character. A very fine one was 
that named Giant White, having flowers of great substance and 
purity. It exists in two forms, one with dark petiole and the 
other with a pale green leaf-stalk. It. is difficult to say which 
is the more handsome, but either or both of them are indis¬ 
pensable in this class. Another very fine one is Giant Crim¬ 
son, having flowers of remarkable size on plants of great vigour 
with red leaf-stalks. We measured some of the individual 
pips of bloom, and found them varying from in. to 2| in. 
Giant Pink has very soft pink flowers of great beauty and 
robust foliage, wholly of a light green. Giant Terra Cotta is 
a pleasing shade of rich dark salmon, with red leaf-stalks. 
Giant White (Fern-leaved) has very robust foliage and green 
leaf-stalks. • Giant Lavender is a, pleasing variety, but at pre¬ 
sent exists only in small quantity, and is used for mixing. 
Star Primulas. 
The Reading firm clearly recognises the great value of the 
decorative type, which they continue to improve every year. 
They have already obtained between twenty and thirty 
varieties of this strain, but only a certain number of them are 
yet. grown in quantity, these being the standard varieties. 
Star Pearl has pure white flowers, produced in tiers one above 
the other in great abundance. The leaves and stalks are all 
light green. A very striking variation upon these is Star 
Pearl (Fern-leaved), having short and broad leaves, but de¬ 
cidedly of the Fern type. The flowers; expand a few days 
later than the original. 
Star Blue, as now sent out under that name, is many shades 
darker than the original blue type, which might be described 
as soft sky blue', or almost lavender, by comparison with the 
deep tint of the new one. The two colours are so distinct and 
beautiful that we think there is room for both of them. A 
very promising seedling of this race has relatively large rich 
salmon-pink flowers, produced in abundance, and in tiers above 
the foliage. Another Star seedling has its flowers closely 
spotted, mottled, and flaked with pink, and rose on a white 
ground. A very fine variety with which we are veiy much 
taken was that named Star Ruby, having flowers of a. rich and 
brilliant, ruby colour, with a. small, clear yellow eye and a 
crimson line round it. It is. almost impossible to describe the 
peculiar shade of colour, but it is certainly one of the darkest in 
this strain, and we give an illustration of it to show the 
characteristic build of the plant and the graceful habit which 
enables decorators to us© it with great advantage where the 
ordinary dwarf type with large flowers would be either inad¬ 
missible or ineffective. Double Ruby is already in existence, 
and differs from the type only in. having semi-double flowers, 
and will find it's way into the mixed packets. 
Star Pink, as its name implies, has soft pink flowers pro¬ 
duced in great abundance on stems 12 in. to' 15 in. in height. 
Giant Star has pure white flowers about 2 in. across 1 , with 
darker bronzy foliage and red petioles. Although the flowers 
have been so greatly increased in size', they still retain their 
open and starry character. Star White is the original form 
with white flowers and dark stems. Star White Queen has 
pale brown leaf-stalks and white flowers 1 , with some other dis¬ 
tinctions. Very distinct in its way is that named Star Prim¬ 
rose Queen, having a very large yellow eye, covering a greater 
portion of the flowers. 
Star Mont Blanc has pure white flowers', bronzy Fern foliage, 
and very dark metallic brown leaf-stalks. The most striking 
feature of this variety is; the great length of the flower-stalks, 
which have attained a length of 15 in. to 18 in. at the present 
time, but if the old plants were grown on a. second year they 
would form magnificent, specimens of 2 ft. or 3 ft. high. The 
first tier of flowers at the present is G in. to. 9 in. above the 
flower-pots, making the variety a useful one for cut-flower pur¬ 
poses, particularly where long stalks are wanted. The rosy- 
carmine flowers of Star Carmine are very handsome, being set 
off with a. small and neatly-formed yellow eye to the pip, while 
