POT 
PEI 
using light rich earth, and carefully avoid¬ 
ing any excess in the application of wa¬ 
ter, or they are very liable to injury. By 
gradually inuring them to the air, they 
will be ready for transplanting to the 
open borders as soon as danger from 
frost is past, and when once established 
will continue to flower throughout the 
remainder of the summer. 
POTENTILLA (Linn.) Nat. Ord. 
Rosacea. This is a large genus of very 
desirable hardy herbaceous plants, and 
it is somewhat remarkable, when their 
number (upwards of one hundred and 
thirty species and varieties) and their or¬ 
namental character are considered, that 
so few of them are met with in gardens. 
They grow without trouble in any tole¬ 
rably good soil, and produce their pretty 
blossoms freely through the summer. 
PRIESTLEYA(De Candolle.) Nat. 
Ord. Leguminosa. A handsome genus 
of Cape plants, with brilliant yellow 
flowers; they grow best in very sandy 
peat, which must be well drained, by 
placing a layer of potsherds in the bot¬ 
tom of the pot, and by mixing a consi¬ 
derable portion of broken stones and 
pieces of charcoal in the soil itself; the 
necessary water must be given cautiously 
at all times, especially in winter, when 
great care must be taken to keep the 
leaves dry, for if wetted then they die 
off, and frequently kill the plant also. 
The ornamental character of the genus 
is sufficiently great, however, to deserve 
all the necessary attention. 
PRIMULA (Linn.) Nat. Order 
Primulacece. In the present genus we 
find two or three groups of plants, which 
have risen to an immense importance by 
the continued exertions of the indefati¬ 
gable florist. The auricula, the polyan¬ 
thus, the oxslip, cowslip, alpine auricula, 
and primrose, are all included in the ge¬ 
nus Primula , and the value of the several 
families as ornaments of the early spring 
is well known. All find admirers, from 
the lowly primrose on the wind-swept 
bank, to the artistically perfect and prize¬ 
winning auricula at a floral exhibition. 
As a difference exists in the management 
of either class, we propose to take each 
one separately, beginning with the— 
Auricula. Much excellent matter has 
been written on the culture of this flower, 
and information filling goodly volumes 
has already appeared; but we must en¬ 
deavour to condense the subject in a 
manner suitable to our present space, 
and yet sufficiently explicit to furnish 
the young florist with at least the essen¬ 
tial points in auricula growing. It is a 
flower which has long engaged our at¬ 
tention, and being an especial favorite, 
has engrossed no small share of it: the 
following remarks may, therefore, be re¬ 
garded as gleanings from our own prac¬ 
tice. Auriculas, for the convenience of 
description, are divided into four classes, 
named respectively according to the 
colour of their edges, or the margin of 
colour which usually surrounds each 
flower; these are green-edged, gray- 
edged, white-edged, and seifs, or those in 
which the edging is absent. It is not 
our purpose to enlarge on what is term¬ 
ed the properties of the flower; suffice 
it to say, a proportion of fourths should 
exist from the centre of the tube to the 
outer edge of the blossom, that is, the 
£C paste,” or circle of white which sur¬ 
rounds the eve or tube, should be ex- 
actly one half its diameter, the succeed¬ 
ing zones of ground colour and edging 
precisely the same width as the paste, 
and the outline of each a clearly defined 
perfect circle. New varieties are ob¬ 
tained from seed; and though so much 
disthiction appears to exist in the classes 
already mentioned, it is a curious fact, 
that seed from either will produce plants 
whose flowers may belong to one or 
other, or all the classes, so that not the 
slightest dependence can be placed on it 
as to the kind of flower likely to result. 
The seed should be gathered as soon as 
ripe, when perfectly dry, and be pre¬ 
served in paper bags (in the pod) until the 
season arrive for sowing. This we have 
found to be best done early hi March; 
let it be sprinkled evenly over a pan of 
light rich earth, such as leaf-mould, loam, 
and silver sand, and after covering about 
the thickness of a shilling, set the pan 
into a slightly raised atmosphere; a very 
gentle hotbed, or a front shelf of the 
greenhouse, will bring them up very well, 
