PRIMROSE CHAPTER II. ANTICIPATIONS OF SPRING REGIONS IN WHICH THE PRIMROSE IS FOUND-DIFFERENT KINDS OF PRIMROSE-AURICULA-COWSLIP-SOME ACCOUNT OF ORDER PRIMULACEE-VERSES ON THE MOUNTAIN PRIMROSE. "Welcome, pale primrose! starting up between Dead matted leaves of ash, and oak, that strew The every lawn, the wood and spinney through, 'Mid creeping moss, and ivy's darker green : How much thy presence beautifies the ground; Glows on the sunny banks, and wood's warm side, Clare. SOMETIMES on a morning in March, when the sun and rain may alternately remind us of spring and winter, the inhabitant of a town is surprised to see from his window the countryman carrying into the city the nosegay of primroses, mingled C perhaps with a few early violets. The snow was so lately on the ground, and the wind whistles yet so shrilly around his dwelling, that spring and its flowers seem hardly to be thought of, till its herald in the cheerful nosegay bids him leave the fireside, and tells him with voiceless eloquence that it may be worth his while to visit the woods, for that primrose banks are already beginning to unfold their sulphur-coloured beauties, and to breathe on the air their delicate odours. The common primrose (Prímula vúlgaris) is the early blooming flower, and where is the meadow, or the green lane of England, which it haunts not? Its name, derived from the word primus (the first), happily expresses one of its charms. If we value the autumn flowers because they are the last, because they are soon to leave us, still more do we delight to welcome the blossoms of spring. Long summer days are approaching, we may anticipate pleasant walks in "Each lane and alley green, Dingle or bushy dell of the wild wood," and hope soon to revel in the profusion of trees and flowers. There are five species of primrose indigenous to Great Britain, and the simple beauty of the whole family has led to the cultivation in the garden of several others. The double lilac primrose especially, is very generally the companion of the crocus on the garden-bed. No primrose banks grace the warm countries lying between the Tropics; but on the top of elevated mountains, or in spots where the temperature of the air is reduced by the sea-breeze, a few stray primroses appear. The vivid flowers that delight in sunshine are seldom contrasted by so pale a hue as that worn by these little blossoms, -for white flowers are found most in northern lands, or in the early season of temperate climes. In moderately tempered regions, however, our little primrose is common, delighting peculiarly in the moist clayey soil of the meadow or wood. The root of this flower, as well as that of the cowslip, has a strong scent of anise; and persons who like this odour, often gather the root in March and dry it. It is said to impart the flavour to wine. On one of those rocky mountains of America, above whose summits the clouds roll in solemn darkness, or by their dense whiteness seem to mingle with the wide canopy of snow, the botanist Douglas found a primrose, almost concealed by the fleecy mantle;-a species which has been named in honour of the discoverer, the Douglas Primrose. "Tree nor shrub, Dare that drear atmosphere; no Polar pine Who bids you bloom, unblanched, amid the waste All the wild primroses of our island are not pale coloured. There is the bird's-eye primrose (Prímula farinósa), with its musk scented foliage and lilac blossom, often found in Yorkshire, and in other places in the north of England; and there is the Scottish species (Prímula Scótica), which is almost as deeply coloured a purple as the garden auricula. Besides the flowers which are universally called primrose, botanists include under this name the polyanthus and auricula, the oxlip and the cowslip. The polyanthus is merely a variety of the field primrose, produced by the skill of the gardener; and the oxlip, which is generally like a large cowslip, is thought also to be but a variety of the sulphur-coloured primrose. The auricula (Prímula aurícula) is very frequent in cottage gardens, and assumes various colours under culture. The artisans who are so happy as to have a small piece of ground in the neighbourhoods of some of our manufacturing towns, have taken this flower under their especial care. They have bestowed considerable pains and expense on its improvement, and seem to have almost as great a passion for it as the Dutch entertain for the tulip. It grows wild on the mountainous parts of Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, and is, in its native state, |