PRIMULA SINESIS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 253, 22 October 1892, Page 3 (Supplement)

PRIMULA SINESIS.

Ibis is one of tho mosb popular flowering plants, both for greenhouse and window decorations. They are propagated by seed, jown in September or October in well, drained pans with a compost of loam, loaf pould, and plenty of sharp sand, as the lead does not germinato ftcoly if the Boil (ontsins much stagnant water. After placing tho coil in the pans pre?s gently jnd water, then sow, just covering the socd flith soil—half loam and half sand—and piver the pan with a square of glass, so as to keep in the moisture. When the seed germinates remove tho glass jnd place the pans near the glass, shading them; give them a moderate uateriug. When largo enough to handle, prick out Into other pans or boxes. As soon as they have made 'eaves about an inch and ahalf long, pot off into two and a half inph pots. When they have filled these pots with roots tepotinto five or six inch pots. They should lie grown near tho glass, and excess in watering must be carefully avoided. When tho flower etems begin to appear water Bccasionally with liquid manure. The nngleand semi-double varieties are easily Increased from eeed, bub the full double jnoa should be propagated from cuttings. CUSMATIS. < This is a magnificent class of climbing |>lanb, varying in colour from pure white to dark purple. Most of them are very hardy jnd thrive in aluaosb any situation. They Hook splendid when trained as a screen for ihading the greenhouse or conservatory. Most of the largo-flowering varisties being deciduous, are well suited for planting where a Blight shade is wanted in summer, as being leafless during the winter they admit plenty of lighb during thia lesson. They aro also well suited for covering the roofs of ferneries. Some of them are beautiful objects in the ihrubbery wheu trained on pillars or trellis work. Thoy thrive best in rich, i loam soils, and require to be frequently watered during dry weather. Giving them an occasional watering with liquid manure I while in flower will assist to prolong thoir. bloom., Thoy also make magnificent pot plants, trained as balloons or pyramids. Public Parks. ■ There is a tendency on the part of gardener in public parka to make the walks too large, and to have too many of them. Parks are not laid oub with the object of making them a short cut from one part of a city to another. Sometimes parts of a park are spoiled by straight walks running right through. If this wero to go on in proportion to the1 desire of visitors for a short cut, every angle or carve would need to be curtailed to suit this cleaire. Now many of those angles md curves form the greatest beauties for most visitors ; tho endless changes which they give always opening up something .fresh to the eyo. The proper way is to 'lay down cortain -essential lineß of walks and adhere to them, placing them in such a manner as will lead to the mos'b favourite landscape views, not for the convenience of those who want to make near cuts of them, nnd allowing at the same time the largest possible expanses of verdure for recreation. Another matter that neoda consideration is that most of those paths are far too wide, ranging over ten or twelve feet. Now, with the exception of the main walk, where there is a good deal of traffic jby passengers (which should bo about ten or twelve feet broad), all tho real should nob be above six or seven, or just sufficient for three persons to walk together. On the bye or Bide w;tlks in a park it is very Bldom that there is sufficient traffic to demand a larger walk than this. As I luge walks simply help to increaao the ; expense ot making a park, so after thoy lie made tho labour and expense of keeping them in good order is increased. No two walks should run in the same direction, near or within sight of each other ; Ilia U simply cutting up and spoiling J lie place. Drives, again, where the i park is lar^e enough to have them, j Jkrold be made in conjunction with tho walks. I have seen a Walk and toe rnnning alongside each other; now what earthly use was that walk? Rambling pedestrians could use tho drives, so seldom we they blocked with traffic thab would cause any danger to them. Drives should never bo less than 25 feet in breadth. Those also should ba formed with the same object as the walks. There ought to be no hard(hip involved in causing carriages to make a detour to fret from one point to another, X by doing so the beauty of the park is ttatntainod or improved, I would rather think tbo drive would be enhanced by doing so. Frequent Cultivation Best. It is not tho depth of tillage bub its frequency that makes the crop. Keep the Iprface mellow and if the previous preparation of the soil has been what it should be in will nob need deeper tillage during the ' Browing seasoD. With coil rich in vogetable matter there is always some decomposition going on during hob weather that keeps ib someivhat porous. If thero is danger that the soil will become clodded it ia due to lack of vegetable matter and to ploughing when the land is saturated with water. If such be the condition of subsoil, scarcely any possible deep cultivation can fib ib for growing a crop the present sea- ' wn. If ft is nob, then deep culture is needod.

The action of a shallow cultivation as a mulch is. not generally appreciated ac it shonld be. For mosb cultivated crops a mellow surface soil makes a much better tnnlcb than anything that can be applied. Il> admits some circulation of air, which, as ib is cooled at night, leaves a deposit of moisture, a real dow in the soil, and always containing some proportion ot ammonia deposited by absorption from the atmosphere. Thuß the old saying of Jetliro Tull, that "Tillage is manure,'comes true. It is the ammonia brought into the soil where its surface is tired and absorbed by the soil that gives such a stimulus to tho growth of jU freshly cultivated crop 3. Every farmer has noticed ib in the freshened and vigorous JPpsarance of corn and potatoes after the cultivator has been through them. - American Press.'