THE GARDENERS’ MAGAZINE. 
301 
auloug tlw? lio\vei*s of tlie 
Bunch Primroses. 
j . true primrose in time of 
‘ V buucli primroses, and 
there are also tine things 
, ; ■ k and red colourings, the best 
* art the whites and yellows. 
strains, the i^ult of nearly 
' aatchful selection, have pro- 
. ^-ui flowers of large size and 
I Stalks a foot long and in- 
' ^ s two inches across are by no 
-on. and yet there is no tiling 
an ;iranee about the tlower. 
» Li!> and yellows alone there 
■!raary variety of detail, which, 
• apparent in the mass', makes 
■stniii^Iy interesting as indivi- 
iy tuv two that may be seen near 
t)u^ >aine physiognomy. Tlie 
^♦ tinly in the form and disposi- 
T tals. for some are smooth-edged 
I Iv or tinely notched; some 
*-thors are imbricated ; some 
; .,;h.Ts waved. 
full yellow • colouring and additional value 
by contrast to the tenderer tones of pale 
^ yellow a,nd white that are seen iu the more 
’ distant stretches of the garden. 
At the time of fullest bloom the best are 
marked for seed, and every year some thou¬ 
sands of seedlings are raised; one portion of 
the garden being given to tbe divided plants 
and another to the seedlings. In the case 
of a good loamy soil the seed may be sown 
at once, but in lighter soils it is found better 
not to sow till spring. In stronger soils the 
plants may also stand two years if it is de¬ 
sired, though it is generally safer to divide 
yearly. 
Auriculas. 
Border auriculas enjoy a rather stiffer soil, 
and especially one that contains chalk. They 
are derived from natives of the Alps and are 
in beautiful ranges of colouring of purple, 
crimson, and yellow. Tbe border varieties 
are commonly called Alpine auriculas to dis¬ 
tinguish them from the show kinds, though 
the name is ambiguous and even misleading, 
as there are several primula species of the 
auricula class, natives of the Alps, that are 
some of these belong to tlie calcareous and 
som^ to the granitic regions. Thus P. auri¬ 
cula, P. integrifoiia, and P. minima will be 
thankful for lime in any form and, for pre¬ 
ference, limestone rock; while P. hirsuta, P. 
marginata, P. glutinosa, and P. viscosa wili 
flourish' in sandy peat with granitic rock or 
sandstone. 
The primulas that, from th© garden point 
of view, it is convenient to put in the third 
division are those that may be regarded as 
bog plants. Tliese will include the pretty 
little P. farinosa of our own northern moors 
and of Alpine marshland, three Himalayan 
species, and one from Japan. The Himalayan 
are P. involucrata, a beautiful little primula, 
quite easy to grow and strangely neglected; 
the early-blooming P. rosea, with buds of 
brilliant crimson followed by the full bloom 
of rosy pink, and P. sikkimensis. This, when 
well grown in a fairly large mass rising from 
black boggy ground, and seen in shade, is 
a wonderful picture of plant beauty; the 
full heads of hanging sulphur bells having 
that curiously luminous quality that is only 
observed in this and one or two other flowers 
• a natural at J. CARTER AND CO.’S FINE DISPLAY OF DAFFODILS. 
’ Royal Horticultural Society, April 15. The varieties represented in the 
, JSarn conspicuus, l^anty, Dazzler, Duche^ss of Westminster, Firebrand, Gloria Miindi, Homer, Incof-nita 
Madame de Graaff, and White Lady. ® 
, nisi motion of 
, ehara 
It IS not noti 
i, v.h^“ plants 
y flower and 
anH •’“*** t 
■ >d bv " 
•: ‘he ♦ I f> 
f ving the^’ 
la the 
grown in rock gardens. The most showy 
and easily grown of the border auriculas are 
some very large forms having yellow and 
brown-bronze flowers with a white eye that 
have been raised in Scotland. 
Primula.s for Rockeries and 
Bog’S. 
The second group of primulas for popular 
—namely, those best suited for rock gar¬ 
dens will partly overlap the first, for all 
the border auriculas will be in plac« in the 
lower rocky regions, while the best of the 
true alpine species with their white varieties 
and a number of natural hybrids, will find 
places in other cool rocky clefts and hollows 
The prettiest of these will be among Primula 
Alloni, P. glutinosa, P. hirsuta, P. integri- 
lolia, P. marginata, P. minima, and P. 
viscosa; the planter bearing in mind that 
of this rare colouring. Lastly, of the well- 
known bog prinaulas there is P. japonica. 
The type colour is a rather strong magenta 
red, of a quality that does not please a cri¬ 
tical colour-eye, but there is a good white 
variety and many intermediate shades of 
pleasing pink. 
It is still well grown at Wisley, but it was 
a wonderful sight to see it for the first time 
some twenty years ago, when it was a com¬ 
paratively new garden plant, as grown bv 
the late Mr. G. F. Wilson, by the side of 
a shallow peaty ditch in shade in the lower 
ground. It showed a fine plant iu good quan¬ 
tity, so placed that it could develop to the 
utmost its capacity for the display of beauty 
and the evidence of well-being. *It was one 
of the many good lessons taught by Mr. 
Willson that one is thankful to remember and 
g’lad to acknowledge. 
