Delicate as the flowers seem, they stand the roughest storms without much hurt.
P. d. major is a larger form in all its parts.
P. d. nana is more dwarfed than the type.
P. d. amabilis is a truly lovely form, having darker foliage and rosy buds; its habit, too, is even more neat and upright, and the blooming period earlier by about two weeks.
A moist position and vegetable mould suit it best, according to my experience, and the dips of rockwork are just the places for it, not exactly in the bottom, for the following reason: The large crowns are liable to rot from wet standing in them, and if the plants are set in a slope it greatly helps to clear the crowns of stagnant moisture. Propagation is by means of offsets, which should be taken during the growing season, so that they may form good roots and become established before winter.
Flowering period, March to May.
Primula Farinosa.
Mealy Primrose, or Bird's-eye; Nat. Ord. Primulaceæ.
The pretty native species, very common in a wild state in some parts, near which, of course, it need not be grown in gardens; but as its beauty is unquestionable, and as there are many who do not know it, and evidently have never seen it, it ought to have a place in the garden. It is herbaceous and perennial. All its names are strictly descriptive. The little centre has a resemblance to a bird's eye, and the whole plant is thickly covered with a meal-like substance. Small as this plant is, when properly grown it produces a large quantity of bloom for cutting purposes.