298 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
April  7,  1898. 
velvety  brown  body,  spotted  and  striped,  with  a  shining  bead,  and  has 
been  caught  infesting  Primroses  and  Polyanthuses.  Sometimes  the 
broad-bordered  yellow  underwing  (T.  fimbria)  flies  out  of  a  garden 
hedge  in  the  summer;  the  caterpillar  lives  on  Birch  and  Sallow  chiefly. 
— Entomologist. 
LAWNS  AND  ALLIED  SUBJECTS. 
{^Continued  from  page  276.) 
Top-dressing  of  impoverished  lawns  may,  under  some  circum¬ 
stances,  be  worthy  of  consideration  where  more  drastic  measures 
previously  advocated  do  not  find  favour.  The  operation  is  simple, 
inexpensive,  and  non-laborious;  yet  in  bad  cases,  although  paying  for 
the  little  time  and  trouble  it  entails,  it  probably  does  little  if 
anything  more.  This  is  mentioned  because  more  than  one  case  has 
come  under  notice  where  too  much  has  been  expected  from  ^  top¬ 
dressing,  and  apparently  too  little  return  given.  An  instance  of  this 
was  noticed  in  a  garden  where  the  soil  is  of  an  unusually  tenacious 
character,  and  where  at  all  seasonable  and  uneasonable  times  a  rather 
heavy  roller  had  been  in  use  for  years,  resulting  in  a  most  unfavour¬ 
able  condition  of  soil  texture.  Those  are,  however,  natural  conditions 
where  the  soil  is  superimposed  upon  a  bed  of  gravel,  producing  a  kind 
of  earth  hunger,  where  occasional  top- dressings  may  be  advantageously 
employed. 
Compost  for  Lawns. 
For  the  purpose  in  question  a  compost  sufficient  for  even  distribu¬ 
tion  over  a  given  area  should  be  prepared  during  the  winter  by 
collecting  in  a  heap  old  potting  soil,  especially  such  as  is  provided  by 
the  turning  out  of  a  quantity  of  well-fed  Chrysanthemums,  as  well  as 
burned  vegetable  refuse,  wood  ashes,  with  any  spare  leaf  mould  or 
peaty  matter,  To  this  may  again  be  added  any  good  ordinary  garden 
soil,  to  make  up  the  probable  quantity  required.  The  whole  should 
be  stored  under  cover,  or  in  such  a  manner  that  it  will  be  dry  for  use 
in  the  spring,  when  a  half  hundredweight  of  superphosphate  of  lime, 
representing  about  a  cubic  yard  of  soil,  may  be  incorporated  with  it. 
After  several  turnings  to  mix  the  whole,  the  concluding  operation  of 
passing  it  through  a  half-inch  sieve  will  give  a  well  blended  and 
valuable  compost  for  applying  to  the  lawn  during  a  spell  of  dry 
weather  in  early  spring,  at  the  rate  of  an  8-inch  potful  to  the  square 
yard,  to  be  sown  by  hand.  A  good  rough  bush-harrow,  made  of  stout 
Thorn  bushes,  weighted  sufficiently  to  be  easily  drawn  by  two  men,  is 
a  capital  implement  for  finishing  off  the  distribution,  and  may,  in 
fact,  take  a  few  turns  with  advantage  prior  to  applying  the  top¬ 
dressing. 
Trimming  Verges. 
Passing  notice  may  be  given  to  the  trimming  of  verges,  an 
operation  performed  every  year  where  neatness  and  order  are 
appreciated.  No  more  suitable  time  for  this  work  can  be  chosen  than 
the  present,  when  all  the  winter’s  work,  comprising  any  alterations  in 
the  pleasure  ground,  is  practically  completed.  Previous  to  paring  the 
edges  it  is  necessary  that  the  margins,  rendered  more  or  less  friable  by 
the  action  of  frost,  should  be  well  consolidated  by  repeated  rollings,  or 
even  beating  with  the  turf-beater  or  back  of  a  spade.  A  uniform 
depth  from  the  grass  to  the  gravel  is  essential  to  a  well-finished 
appearance,  and  the  verge-cutter  being  held  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
give  a  slightly  angled  face  towards  the  walk,  a  more  durable  edge  will 
result  than  when  the  cut  is  made  directly  vertical,  but  the  slojie  to  the 
walk  should  not  be  very  apparent. 
The  neat  workman  will,  as  a  preliminary,  scrape  well  back  from 
the  grass  margin  all  loose  gravel,  thus  allowing  for  cleaning  up  the 
parings  before  it  is  replaced.  Care  will  be  taken  that  the  necessary 
curves,  or  any  deviations  from  a  straight  line,  will  be  outlined  in  good 
taste.  The  garden  line,  which  should  be  sound  and  free  from  knots, 
will  at  first  be  lightly  laid  in  the  supposed  position,  following  the  line 
of  the  curves,  which  on  the  concave  side  will  require  the  staying 
support  of  small  stakes  placed  sufficiently  close  to  preserve  a  graceful 
outline  when  the  line  is  drawn  fairly  tight. 
At  intervals  of  a  few  years  certain  encroachments  made  upon  the 
verges  at  either  side  of  the  walk  will  necessitate  a  reconstruction  of 
the  outline ;  this,  in  some  cases,  will  entail  the  labour  of  pieceing  the 
verge  on  one  side  only.  The  simplest  and  best  method  of  doing  this 
is  to  set  the  line  9  inches  back  on  the  lawn,  following  any  curves  in 
the  walk,  and  cut  down  the  whole  length,  then  push  the  turfirg-iron 
under  the  sod  from  the  walk  along  the  whole  face,  and  draw  the 
liberated  strip  of  turf  forward  on  the  walk  as  far  as  may  be  required, 
the  bared  strip  behind  being  made  good  by  the  insertion  of  new  sods. 
This  method  of  pieceing  by  insertion,  unless  an  extraordinary  depth  of 
margin  has  to  be  made  up,  is  infinitely  preferable  to  patcliing  by 
addition  to  the  face.  The  opposite  edge  may  then  be  cut  to  match, 
but  in  certain  cases  has  to  be  treated  similarly.  It  is  a  question  for 
judgment, — Sylva. 
(To  be  continued.) 
CHINESE  PBIMULAS. 
The  Primula  family  is  a  very  numerous  one,  and  embraces  both 
greenhouse  and  hardy  species.  Everyone  is  familiar  with  the 
Auricula,  the  Primrose,  and  the  Polyanthus,  which  brighten  beds  and 
borders  in  spring.  These  are  members  of  the  Primula  family,  and  in 
their  season  of  flowering  are  perhaps  as  much  appreciated  and  probably 
more  popular  than  the  less  hardy  Primulas  which  require  greenhouse 
cultivation.  Chief  among  the  latter  stands  the  Chinese  Primula,  one 
of  the  best  of  winter  and  early  spring  flowering  plants  for  conservatory 
decoration.  Easily  raised  from  seeds  in  spring  and  needing  no 
extraordinary  skill  in  its  cultivation,  it  may  be  had  in  bloom  from 
September  to  April.  It  was  introduced  from  China  in  1820,  but 
since  then  it  has  been  immensely  improved  in  habit,  colour,  size  of 
blooms,  and  floriferousness  to  such  an  extent  that  the  transformation 
is  marvellous.  The  highly  developed  condition  which  the  Primula 
has  reached  at  the  present  time  has  been  effected  by  careful  and 
persistent  efforts  in  improving  step  by  step  on  previous  attainments, 
and  the  fioricultural  world  owes  much  to  those  who  have  striven  and 
succeeded  in  reaching  the  present  perfection. 
There  are  two  distinct  divisions  of  the  Chinese  Primula — namely, 
single  and  double,  both  of  which  have  numerous  shades  of  colour  in 
the  flowers.  Strictly  speaking  there  are  three  divisions  when  the 
semi-double  varieties  are  included.  The  latter  and  the  single  flowered 
can  be  easily  raised  from  seed,  but  the  double  varieties  require  to  be 
propagated  by  cuttings.  An  important  point  in  the  habit  of  Chinese 
Primulas  is  their  dwarf  compact  growth  of  foliage,  the  best  grown 
examples  seldom  reactiing  a  greater  height  than  9  or  10  inches, 
including  the  flower  truss,  which  should  be  thrown  up  amidst  but 
well  above  the  leaves. 
Seeds  of  Primulas  are  best  sown  in  April  and  May  on  the  surface 
of  the  soil  in  well-drained  5-inch  pots  or  shallow  pans.  Loam  and 
leaf  soil,  the  latter  predominating,  with  plenty  of  silver  sand,  forms  a 
suitable  medium  on  which  to  sow  the  seed,  which  must  be  done  thinly. 
Some  cover  the  seed  and  others  do  not.  If  covered,  it  should  only  be 
lightly,  using  fine  soil  or  sand.  In  a  mild  bottom  heat,  the  pot  being 
shaded  with  glass  or  paper,  the  seeds  will  soon  germinate.  A  bottom 
heat  of  65°  is  suitable.  As  the  seedlings  advance  in  size  prick  them 
out  round  the  edges  of  3-inch  pots  filled  with  similar  compost  as 
recommended  for  sowing.  Three  large  or  four  small  seedlings  may  be 
placed  round  each  pot.  Water  lightly  at  first,  but  sprinkle  daily, 
shading  from  sun  when  it  is  likely  to  do  the  young  plants  harm. 
They,  however,  soon  strengthen,  and  when  the  leaves  begin  to  overlap 
each  other,  divide,  and  pot  singly  in  3-inch  pots,  employing  a  compost 
consisting  of  fibrous  loam  and  sweet  leaf  soil  in  equal  parts,  with  the 
addition  of  a  fourth  part  of  thoroughly  decomposed  manure,  a  sprinkling 
of  crushed  charcoal  and  silver  sand  freely  intermixed  with  the  whole, 
in  order  that  the  complete  porosity  of  the  compost  may  be  insnred. 
The  pots  should  be  quite  clean  and  dry,  crocked  carefully  with  a 
few  potsherds,  over  which  place  a  layer  of  moist  moss  or  fibrous 
portions  from  the  compost,  which  must  be  moist,  but  not  at  all  wet, 
at  the  time  of  potting.  In  separating  the  young  plants  it  is  necessary 
to  be  careful,  as  the  leaves  frequently  adhere  one  to  the  other,  and  the 
stalks  are  liable  to  be  snapped.  It  will  also  be  evident  how  much 
easier  and  safer  it  is  to  handle  short  and  sturdy  young  plants  that 
have  previously  had  light  and  airy  treatment.  A  tender  brittle 
condition  is  a  characteristic  of  young  plants  which  have  developed  in 
a  too  warm,  moist,  shady,  and  confined  position.  Crowded  plants, 
too,  seem  to  have  a  less  number  of  roots,  the  lack  of  which  is  more 
unfortunate  than  the  size  of  the  plant. 
An  important  point  to  observe  in  potting  is  to  sink  the  plants  low 
enough,  so  that  no  part  of  the  stem  below  the  base  of  the  leaves  is 
above  the  soil  when  the  potting  is  finished.  This  steadies  the  plants, 
and  the  buried  portion  of  the  stem  emits  roots.  Pot  moderately  firmly, 
yet  not  compressing  the  soil  to  an  undue  extent.  Leave  the  surface 
level,  and  slightly  below  the  rim  of  the  pot. 
The  treatment  after  potting  insures  the  best  results  if  the  plants 
are  kept  rather  warm  and  close  for  a  brief  period,  so  that  the  roots 
make  an  early  and  vigorous  start  in  the  fresh  soil.  When  they  have 
done  so  more  air  ought  to  be  admitted,  as  well  as  all  the  light 
possible,  without  exposure  to  direct  sunshine  in  the  middle  of  the  day 
during  the  summer.  Water  to  the  roots  will  only  require  lightly 
applying  at  first,  but  when  growth  increases  adequate  supplies  must 
be  given  as  needed.  As  the  young  plants  develop,  and  the  roots 
commence  to  run  round  the  ball  of  soil,  either  an  airy  shelf  in  a 
greenhouse  or  a  position  in  a  cold  frame  is  desirable. 
The  next  potting  may  be  to  5  or  6-inch  pots,  or  48’s  and  32’s,  as 
some  prefer  to  term  them.  The  drainage  must  be  again  ample  and 
perfect,  the  compost  fairly  rich,  consisting  of  rather  more  fibrous  loam 
and  a  little  less  leaf  soil,  wdth  an  increased  proportion  of  decayed 
manure,  thoroughly  pulverised  cow  manure  being  suitable.  .  Sand  and 
charcoal  are  also  essential.  As  in  the  previous  potting,  sink  the  plants 
low  down,  potting  firmly.  The  compost  being  moist  when  used, 
water  will  not  be  required  for  several  days ;  then  give  a  copious  supply, 
