February 25, 1905. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
Primulas at Reading. 
The Chinese Primulas are usually timed to be at their best 
lh V d of January or in the early part ot February 
£” e trial «•»<"* l*“‘ ~ n S e °' Me T' “1 75 
J Hn- They have been in fine form tor some time past a 
Reading. 7 insured by the development ot early, 
2s LTn a^d late° varieties, which although sown at the 
d i come into bloom at different times, and thus carry 
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t-ion to 
d. 
see 
which the flowers are subjected for the production of 
'll,' a private establishment where this is not required the 
■ riould continue to increase in size and produce a 
l , ‘ t quantity of bloom over a much longer period even it 
• 1 L ririetles were sown simultaneously. After one good 
i' Ls 0 f seed has been set it is immaterial whether the plants 
i Tpv trusses or not, as a limited quantity of seed, to 
develop"to the high-class order desired, is sufficient to tax the 
el ‘As usual, tl Si 1 e‘Ducliel takes a very high position in the 
collection of varieties, both on account ot 
tlle s i Z e of the flowers and their remarkably 
distinctive colour. We have no reason to go 
back on our opinion concerning this variety 
which we formed in 1902 and again in 1903. 
When it appeared before the Moral Com¬ 
mittee of the K.H.S. in 1902 it had no diffi¬ 
culty in gaining the highest award tor a 
florist’s flower. Even those who have long 
been acquainted with the beauty and variety 
of the Chinese Primula admitted that it was 
the most distinct novelty that had appeared 
for many years amongst this class of plants. 
The variety produces seeds freely, and tor 
that reason many cultivators were able to 
have it in their greenhouses and conserva¬ 
tories very soon after its introduction. Being 
of remarkable vigour and good constitution 
there is no difficulty in raising it from seed 
and getting a tine batch that will continue to 
bri°hten the houses for months to come, and 
that at a period of the year when effective 
flowers are' none Mo common. On March 
14th, 1903, we gave a coloured plate of this 
splendid variety, showing its distinctive char¬ 
acter in having large white flowers with a 
rosy-carmine zone round the bright yellow 
centre. 
A variety of more recent origin is being put into commerce 
this year by the Reading firm as a novelty, 'this is name 
Brilliant King, and is well worthy of such a distinctive name, 
for the flowers are of a brilliant fiery crimson, and, notwith¬ 
standing their intensity, are more effective than very dar v 
flowers usually are. This is owing to the fiery glow ot the 
colour, which is neither scarlet nor vermilion, but truly desenb- 
able as a brilliant crimson shade. It is of the same shade o 
colour as Crimson King, but the flowers are larger. It is a 
well-known fact that dark flowers are usually smaller than 
those of other colours, and in this respect it marks a distinct 
advance upon Crimson King, fine as that is. Lord Robeits 
is another single crimson variety of still more recent mi re¬ 
duction and not yet put into commerce. 
A double variety of The Duchess is already a reality, and 
before long may probably be available for distribution. m 
flowers are the exact counterpart of the single form first sent 
out, but in the new comer they are double, with the losj-cai 
mine zone round the outside of the small petals, a Inch fill up 
the centre. The flowers are as large as most of the double 
kinds, and as well formed, while the distinctive colour lends 
them an additional attraction. It will form a fine companion 
to The Duchess, and for those who like double flowers it wilt 
prove an acquisition. Double flowers are more durable than 
sino'le ones ; hence the additional value of this acquisition. 
Another novelty which is not yet available C The Czar, 
having flowers of the darkest shade of heliotrope. It ha 
evidently been derived from some of the blue varieties, and 
notable not only for its distinct colour, but for the size of the 
flowers. Some might describe the colour as dee]) purple, but 
there are so many shades of this colour that we think it would 
be more correct to describe it as intense heliotrope. We have 
previously seen this shade when the strain was in the course 
of development, but it was very much paler. For those who 
like variety in this class of plants The Czar will prove an 
acquisition. 
The most recent addition to the fine collection of fixed 
varieties at Heading is the double white variety named His 
Majestv, which received an Award of Merit from the Royal 
Horticultural Society on the 14th inst. Measuring a bloom 
at random, we found this to be 2 in. across the pip. This is 
certainly a dist inct advance amongst the strain of double varie¬ 
ties obtainable from seed. The outer petals spread horizon¬ 
tally, while the small white ones till up the centre as in the 
best of them in this particular strain. 
Daphne blagayana, shoxving the process of layering. (See p. 165. > 
There are many who prefer a good old standard variety 
which they know ; that is well supplied by Pearl, which has 
stood the test of twenty years, and is still as good as ever, 
both in flowering capacity and vigour of constitution. Other 
old varieties are also well up to the usual standard, including 
that splendid ivory-white variety Royal A hite, the colour of 
which is admirably set off by the dark green, red stalked 
foliage. Brilliant Rose is of a light shade of that coloui when 
it first expands, but as the flowers attain their full development 
they deepen in a remarkable manner. Flowers as a rule fade 
with age, but that is not the case with this and several other 
varieties m the collection. Reading Blue maintains its tiadi- 
tions, being kept up to its high standard of colour by a system 
of cultivation adopted here, and the extreme care that is 
exercised in the fertilisation of the flowers by using only one 
brush for the colour. 
A much lighter shade of colour is that named Reading Pink, 
which will please those whose fancy prefers the lighter < oloui . 
These of this variety are of a light and pleasing- pink shade, the 
segments of the flowers being beautifully fimbiiated. Readme 
Scarlet still maintains the high quality for which it was first 
sent out, but being an early variety is now getting over. 
Rosy Queen is not exactly the same shade of coloui a* 
Reading Pink, though in the same class, but the Fern-leaved 
foliage gives variety and sets off the beauty of the flowers. 
