THE AURICULA. 
145 
THE AURICULA. 
WITH AN ENGRAVING OF DICKSON’S DUKE OF SUSSEX. 
In the production of seedling varieties, whether of established 
favorites of the florist, or of other and more recent plants, there 
are always so many little cares, with their concomitant appre¬ 
hensions, in every stage of their rearing, as to deter many from 
the attempt; but to the real enthusiast, the true florist, all these 
fears, and the thousand actual disappointments which uniformly 
occur, are but so many exciting causes to assiduity, giving an 
additional zest to the pursuit, and increasing his determination 
to proceed until some really good thing results. As a natural 
consequence, this untiring perseverance, when controlled and 
directed by even a moderate share of judgment, cannot fail to 
reap its reward at some period, though it be distant, when all the 
troubles and vexations of years of unrequited labour are in a 
moment absorbed and forgotten in the admiration of some newly 
developed form. 
In no class of plants is this unwearied attachment more re¬ 
quisite than with the Auricula, with which the chances are not 
greater than one in a thousand; but, on the other hand, few 
other flowers possess the lasting value of these, for if they are 
difficult to obtain it necessarily follows, that once established, 
they should maintain their position, inasmuch as there are so 
few rivals. 
We proceed to the details of the operation, previously re¬ 
marking, that unlike most other florists’ flowers, little dependence 
can be placed on the parentage of the Auricula. There is a great 
paucity of white-edged varieties, which no art seems capable of 
removing, for though seed may be carefully saved from flowers 
of that class, grown alone, still the product is more than likely 
to be distinguished by the opposite character; deep green, and 
gray edges, and even seifs, being produced from one and the 
same' pod of seed. To improve the probability of a valuable 
result, the seed of thoroughly good flowers only should be saved, 
as it would be a retrograde movement to trust to second or third- 
rate varieties for the production of seedlings, which, unless perfect, 
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