31 
SHORT NOTES ON FLOWERS. 
BY JAMES MAIN, F.L.S. 
Chinese Primrose. —A Chinese primula lias been, within the 
last twenty years, added to our collections, and is well worthy 
cultivation, not only because it is easily kept, but because by a 
little heat it may be made to flower any time in the winter It is 
the Primula prcenitens of authors, and already two or three 
varieties have been obtained from it by seed. 
The Lily. —The Lily (Lilium) is the name of a pretty exten¬ 
sive family of ornamental plants universally cultivated. The white 
lily (L. candidum) is, except the peony and sunflower perhaps, 
one of the most conspicuous of our flowers. Its large, scaly bulb, 
and strong upright stem, bearing a short spike of large, diverg¬ 
ing, odorous blossoms, not unlike the regal ornament called a 
sceptre, are most attractive ; and as it is, though a native of Greece, 
perfectly hardy, neither impatient under frost, nor nice as to either 
soil or situation, it is as frequently seen in the cottage as in the 
palace garden. Its congener, the common orange lily (L. bulbi - 
ferumJ, is also a conspicuous object ; and the curious manner in 
which it produces deciduous progeny in the axils of the leaves, 
like some others of the genus, is remarkable. That species called 
the tiger, from its spotted petals, is also a common favourite ; 
and among twenty-four others, all hardy bulbous plants, there are 
many notable beauties, especially among those called martagons. 
They all succeed well in a free, rich soil. Some of the North 
American sorts, as the Z. Carolinianum, L. superbum , and L. 
Canadense, require a considerable portion of peat earth to grow in. 
The six anthers, and single exserted style of the blossoms, indi¬ 
cate at once that the lily belongs to the sixth class and first order 
of Linnsean botany, and to the natural order Tulipacece. 
Fritillary. —Fritillary (Fritillaria) is a nearly allied genus 
to the lilies ; similar in root, stem, and form of flowers, though 
not in the position of the latter. The oldest—that is, the first 
introduced species, are called Crown Imperials , from the circum¬ 
stance of their bearing a tuft, or crest of leaves, above the flowers, 
which latter hang like bells beneath. They are generally natives 
of Asia ; a few are American, and one is found in Britain, namely, 
