PRIMULACE.-E,—THE AURICULA. 
27 
purpose equally well, every grower has thought his own the best 
possible. 
The basis of them all, is loam, decayed vegetable matter, sand, 
and manure ; and though the most stimulating manures have some 
effect on the quality of the flowers, nobody can tell what this 
effect specifically is, and this prevents any farther conclusion than 
that some parts of the very complicated manures and composts 
must be useless. Thus, some recommend goose-dung, but 
there is no goose on the Alps ; and others recommend sea-sand, 
though none ever comes there. Consequently, any other manure 
equally rich, and any other sand equally sharp, would do just as 
well. 
Kinds , parts, and properties of Auriculas .—When we say 
“ kinds,” we do not allude to the tints of colour, but to single¬ 
coloured and painted, the last of which are the most esteemed. 
The parts are :—1. The grass, or bunch of leaves, immediately 
on the root. These leaves should be handsomely formed, a little 
bent back to show the main stem, serrated or cut at the edge, 
and of a fine lively green, whatever may be its shade. 2. The 
main stem : this should be erect, firm, and elastic, so that it 
may support the truss, and as tall as it can be, without making 
that look mean. If the stem-leaves, where the peduncles of the 
florets branch off, are in the way of the blooms, they may be 
removed, at least'from one side; but all trimmings and cuttings 
of an Auricula must be very nicely done. 3. The peduncles, 
or stems of the individual florets. These must not be so short as 
to crowd the florets, nor so long as to scatter them ; and they 
must not be drooping, as that gives an appearance of weakness to 
the truss. 4. The blossom, or pip, is the important part of an 
Auricula, to which all the others are merely auxiliary. It consists 
of the edge or outer rim ; the eye, or inner rim ; the pipe; and 
the lines within the tube or pipe. 
In self-coloured Auriculas there are various shades, but the 
eye and the edge are the only ones that are different in the same 
flower; in painted or party-coloured ones, the eye is generally 
pure white, and the edge or broad part of the petals all of one 
colour; but there very generally is a lacing or small border of 
pale colour round the edge. Taking all the varieties, the shades 
of colour are exceedingly numerous ; but the edges of the finer 
. painted ones, which are most esteemed by cultivators, are white. 
