February  18,  1904.  JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
137 
was  Sent  out  thi.s  year,  and  is  a  double  with  heavily  fringed 
corolla.  In  this  respect  it  is  very  distinctive,  and  the  flowers 
are  large,  well  formed,  and  thrown  well  above  the  foliage. 
Holborn  Queen  (fern-leaved)  is  a  good  variety  for  continuous 
blooming,  for  it  pos.sesses  the  habit  of  throwing  up  tier  after  tier 
of  its  snowy  blossonis.  Fern-leaved  Elaine  was  poticed  to  be  par¬ 
ticularly  sturdy,  with  pure  white  blossom.s  of  excellent  form  ;  it 
is  certainly  one  of  the  best  whites.  And  Elaine  Improved  must 
be  referred  to  in  terms  of  unqualified  praise,  for  finer  trusses  of 
large,  pure  white  flowers,  plus  a  good  vigorous  habit,  would  be 
hard  to  find.  It  is  a  cross  between  one  called  the  Bouquet  (on 
account  of  the  corollary  growth  of  .small  foliage  beneath  the 
inflorescences)  and  the  ordinary  or  original  Elaine.  Lastly 
amongst  whites  one  must  just  name  the  double  Snowflake,  which 
was  recommended  for  cutting  purposes,  as  well  as  for  u.se  in  the 
conservatory.  It  is  rather  a  weak  grower  at  the  start,  but  later 
on  it  develops  handsome  plants,  and  two-years-old  specimens  are 
said  to  be  better  than  the  first  year  seedlings. 
Coming  to  scarlets,  the  varieties  of  this  colour  are  naturally 
limited,  but  Carter’s  Double  Scarlet  well  deserves  the  name.  It 
is  a  very  thrifty  grower,  and  furnishes  a  bright  little  subject  for 
the  present  season  of  the  year.  Crimson  King,  a  single,  is  also 
dwarf,  sturdy,  free,  and  intensely  rich  in  colour.  Towards  the 
€‘ye  it  gets  dark  blood-red,  but  the  edges  are  livid  scarlet.  Even 
more  floriferous,  we  should  say,  is  Carter’s  Crimson,  which  is  a 
well  marked  and  commendable  variety  in  more  points  than  one. 
Has  the  true  blue  still  to.be  found?  The  growers  and  cross¬ 
breeders  are  working  very  close  to  the  goal,  and  though  Holborn 
Blue  is  really  a  lavender  blue  it  is  a  delightful  subject,  and  one 
we  hope  will  be  welcomed  in  gardens.  Of  course,  there  are  other 
blues  in  the  field,  and  the  best  will  make  its  mark  in  time. 
Holborn  Magenta  furnishes  yet  another  shade  of  colour,  and  this 
particular  variety  had  been  blooming  for  three  or  four  week.s 
prior  to  February  4.  Lilac  Queen — which,  however,  is  decidedly 
purplish-lilac — is  a  good  semi-double  flower,  with  heavy  trusses 
of  its  very  pleasing  flowers.  It  is  an  excellent  sort,  and  quite  one 
of  the  best. 
The  variety  named  Stellate  Pink  is  lilac-mauve  as  seen  at 
Forest  Hill,  and  a  beautifully  graceful  subject  for  the  floral 
decorator.  It  seemed  to  be  such  a  kind  as  ladies  would  particu¬ 
larly  delight  in.  And  in  conclusion  one  must  not  omit  the  sweet 
and  warm-coloured  Holborn  Salmon,  with  trusses  well  thrown 
up,  and  Ruby,  with  very  large  flowers,  heavy  tru.sses,  and  a  sturdy 
habit  of  growth.  If  we  were  left  to  choose  eight  they  would  be  : 
Princess  May,  Prince  of  Wales,  Elaine  Improved,  Lilac  Queen, 
Holborn  Blue,  Holborn  Salmon,  Double  Scarlet,  and  Rose  Queen. 
Primulas  at  Reading. 
So  far  back  as  1862  an  award  of  merit  was  given  to  a  garden 
variety  of  the  Chinese  Primrose  shown  by  Messrs.  F.  and  A. 
Smith,  of  Dulwich.  The  next  award  in  sequence  was  also  given 
by  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  (in  1869)  to  a  single  white 
with  dark  flower  stems,  and  the  first  mention  of  blues  is  recorded 
for  the  year  1882,  when  a  variety  from  the  German  type  then 
introduced  received  a  certificate.  Since  then  very  few  certifi¬ 
cates  have  been  given,  but  Messrs.  Sutton  and  Sons  received  an 
award  of  merit  two  years  ago  for  their  handsome  Duchess. 
This  and  its  forms  are  characteri.s'ed  by  a  bright  colour-zone 
around  the  eye,  while  the  flowers  are  large  and  bold. 
The  crosses  made  at  Reading  are  effected  and  recorded  with 
scientific  accuracy,  and  the  fact  that  Mr.  W.  Bateson,  F.R.S., 
relies  on  the  work  here  attempted  is  surely  a  great  testimonial 
to  the  firm.  For  five  years  past  Mr.  Bateson  has  visited  Read¬ 
ing,  with  book  in  hand,  in  order  to  further  trace  the  problems 
of  heredity  as  evidenced  by  these  humble  plants,  to  the  end 
that  the  Mendelian  hypothesis  may  be  tested,  and  that  laws 
may  be  deduced  which  will  idtimately  be  of  practical  value  to 
gardeners  and  cross-breeders.  Mr.  Bateson,  by  the  way,  is  to 
read  a  paper  on  the  subject  of  heredity  to>-night,  at  the  Linnsean 
Society’s  meeting,  Burlington  House. 
Coming  to  the  Reading  collection  as  it  was  a  week  ago,  we 
find  that  enormous  quantities  are  cultivated,  and  as  all  are 
secured  in  flower  at  one  time,  the  display  in  the  long  ranges  of 
recently  erected  houses  is  exceedingly  rich  and  varied.  Fully 
13,00(1  plants  are  grown.  It  was  pointed  out  in  the  issue  for 
February  12  last  year  that  there  are  six  to  eight  different 
■“types”  of  Primulas,  the  variations  occurring  (1)  in  the  foliage, 
and  (2)  in  the  flowers ;  and  .some  varieties,  such  as  Snowdrift 
and  Royal  White,  have  a  palm-leavtyl  and  a  fern-leaved  type. 
Altogether,  the  number  of  select  varieties  is  from  thirty-five  to 
forty,  but  those  who  do  not  care  for  named  kinds  can  obtain 
excellent  mixed  collections. 
The  Star  Primulas  will  long  remain  favourites,  because  of 
their  grace  and  floriferousness.  Messrs.  Sutton  and  Sons  have 
varieties  of  tliis  section  in  colours,  carmine,  pink,  white,  and 
blue,  bearing  such  simple  explanatory  names  as  Carmine  Star, 
Blue  Star,  Ruby  Star,  and  so  on.  In  time  there  are  hopes  of 
adding  a  soft  cream  yellow  to  the  list.  Quito  the  most  popular 
white  is  the  older  White  Star. 
The  same  style  of  nomenclature  is  adhered  to  for  the  giant- 
flowered  kinds,  that  is,  the  strain  of  Ciiinese  Primulas  with  the 
largest  and  finest  flowers  and  trusses.  The  best  of  the  selections 
here  would  be  Giant  CVimson,  Giant  Terracotta,  Giant  White, 
Giant  Pink,  Giant  Pearl  (one  of  the  most  reliable  of  all),  Reading 
Blue,  and  Improved  Reaejing  Blue.  There  is  a  light,  pretty  blue, 
(a  grey-blue)  named  Cambridge  Blue,  and  also  a  Double  Blue, 
which  seemed  a  mo.st  satisfactory  and  handsome  plant.  But 
doubles  are  not  confined  to  this  colour;  there  are  Double  White, 
with  dark  leafstalks;  Double  Salmon,  one  of  the  sweetest  and 
loveliest  of  all ;  and  Improved  Double  Scarlet,  a  real  crimson 
scarlet. 
The  Duchess  has  received  .such  a  call  that  large  numbers 
of  plants  are  cultivated,  and  it  certainly  de.serves  the  recom¬ 
mendations  we  gave  it  on  its  first  appearance. 
So  far  we  have  not  named  Brilliant  Rose,  a  bright  magenta  ■ 
crimson,  as  it  appeared ;  and  Royal  Queen,  with  soft  shell  pink 
flowei’s  and  fern-leaved  type  of  foliage.  This  well  deserves  a 
special  note,  and  the  same  applies  to  Pink  Beauty,  a  double,  with 
white  ground  splashed  with  salmon.  These  speckled  doubles 
have  been  “  thrown  ”  by  Double  Scarlet.  The  latter,  by  the 
way,  is  the  finest  thing  in  scarlets. 
In  the  foregoing,  then,  there  are  named  the  choicest  of  the 
Reading  Primulas,  and  each  has  merits  of  its  own.  Whenever 
possible,  growers  ought  to  pay  a  personal  visit  to  tho  nurseries, 
where  every  courte.sy  will  assuredly  be  paid  to  them. 
The  Cyclamens  are  not  .so  numerous  by  a  long  way,  but  the 
Giant  White,  Giant  Butterfly,  the  Vulcan,  and  Giant  V^ulcan 
(which  latter,  howe\mr,  is  not  so  free  as  the  smaller  one,  a  law 
tliat  runs  through  most  of  the  varieties  of  both  Primulas  and 
Cyclamens). 
Messrs.  Sutton  have  a  “  double  ”  pink  Cyclamen,  but  it  is 
not  a  gem.  The  segments  are  ten  in  number  instead  of  five. 
