In a previous number mention was made of this pretty flower, and of the
satisfaction it gave to every one who had tried to grow it. We are now
able, through the kindness of Mr. James Vick, of Rochester, N. Y., to
present our readers with a neat illustration which will enable those not
already acquainted with it, to form a very accurate conception of the
appearance of the plant and flower.
It is one of those free, bright, cheery looking things, with something
of a saucy air about it, that is ever reminding you of wildwood haunts
and shady banks, where the fresh breezes toss the leaves, and toy with
the flowers; and while you are enjoying their freshness and beauty,
there steals into your mind the long forgotten melody of those witching
words:
“I know a bank where the wild thime blows,
Where ox-lips, and the nodding violet grows.”
[Illustration: Chinese Primrose]
Such is their naturalness and air of vivacity that one never tires of
them. You enjoy them to-day, and to-morrow they greet you with such a
look of welcome, and hold up their pretty faces to you with such a
winning grace that you linger longer than yesterday. You cannot tell
which to admire the most, the modest bashfulness of that double white
which peeps out to you from under the leaves, or the challenging
boldness of that single pink, whose laughing eye meets your gaze so
roguishly. Double or single, white, pink, magenta or carnation, they
have each their beauty, both of flower and leaf.
You can either purchase the plants at the florists, already in bloom;
or, if you enjoy the pleasure of raising them yourself, you can procure
the seed from your seedsman. If you undertake to grow them from seed, it
will be necessary to provide some light fibrous loam, well mixed with
fine sand. Fill a small flower pot nearly half full of potsherds broken
quite small, place over these a thin layer of moss to keep the soil from
choking the drainage, and finish with your mixture of loam and sand. Now
immerse your pot to the rim in water, until the moisture appears at the
surface, then let the surplus water drain out, and sow the seed thinly
over the surface of the soil. Now sift a very little of the very finest
sand over the seeds, or what is better for the beginner, gently press
the seed into the soil with some very smooth surface, such as a piece of
glass, cover the pot with a light of glass, and set it in the north
window of a warm room. In a couple of weeks the young plants will
appear, and should be exposed to the light as much as possible, but not
to the direct rays of the sun. When they need watering, it is safer to
give it by immersing the pot in tepid water, until the soil is
sufficiently moistened, than to apply it with a watering pot, unless you
have one with a very fine rose. When the plants have become large enough
to handle, transplant them separately into thumb-pots, well drained at
the bottom, and filled with the same sort of soil that you used before,
place them in a window where the sun will not strike them, give them
plenty of air, and do not allow the temperature of the room to rise
above sixty-five degrees. As fast as the roots fill the pots, shift into
other pots a little larger in size, and do not check their growth by
neglect. During the summer plunge them into a frame on the north side of
some building, and when the nights begin to get chilly in the early part
of September, return them to the window where you wish them to bloom. As
soon as the flower buds form, be careful not to wet them when watering,
lest they should rot.
If your seed was sown early, say in February, and your plants have grown
well, they will begin to bloom before Christmas, and continue to yield a
succession of flowers until June. When they have done blooming give them
a rest of about six weeks, then pot them off into larger pots with fresh
soil, and keep them growing, shifting to larger sizes as fast as they
fill the pots with roots, if you wish to produce large, showy plants. If
you do not wish to have large plants you can cut off the shoots and use
them as cuttings, if you prefer this course, for any reason, to raising
a fresh lot from seed.
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