AN American cowslip ought to be like a cowslip, but this flower is more like that of a potato. The comparison cannot degrade the flower, because the flowers of many sorts of potatoes are beautiful in the most proper sense of the term. A very choice Alpine known as Ramondia Pyrenaica comes nearer to the likeness of a potato than the Dodecatheon before us, but it is far removed botanically, and the resemblance is but superficial. But an American cowslip ought also to be like a lettuce, for as much is implied in the generic name; but the resemblance of the leaves to those of a lettuce is less apparent than that of the flowers to those of a potato. It is a primulaceous plant, and therefore comes near to the cowslip in affinities, as it does also in cultural requirements--at least in some degree. It is more of a woodland plant than the cowslip, loving shade and a peaty or leafy soil; but it is not particular, and if once comfortably located will do better left alone than with any possible attentions.

The plant is a native of Virginia and other parts of North America, whence, according to Philip Miller, it was sent by Mr. Banister to Dr. Compton, Bishop of London, in whose garden at Fulham Miller saw it growing in the year 1709. Linnaeus adopted for it a generic name from Pliny, and a specific name in honour of Dr. Mead, a physician of great eminence, son of the Rev. Matthew Mead, a Presbyterian divine, who was minister of Stepney during the government of Oliver Cromwell.

Here is the story as told lang syne. According to Philip Miller, to whom we are indebted for the first proper account of its cultivation, the American cowslip flowers at the beginning of May, and the seeds ripen in July, soon after which the stalks and leaves decay, so that the roots remain inactive till the following spring. It is propagated by offsets, which the roots put out freely when they are in a loose moist soil and a shady situation; the best time to remove the roots and take away the offsets is in August, after the leaves and stalks are decayed, that they may be fixed well in their new situation before the frost comes on. It may also be propagated by seeds, which the plants generally produce in plenty; these should be sown in autumn, soon after they are ripe, either in a shady, moist border, or in pots, which should be placed in the shade. In the spring the plants will come up, and must then be kept clean from weeds; and if the season proves dry, they must be frequently refreshed with water. Nor should they be exposed to the sun; for while the plants are young they are very impatient of heat, so that I have known great numbers of them which were growing in the full sun destroyed in two or three days. These young plants should not be transplanted till the leaves are decayed; then they may be carefully taken up and planted in a shady border, where the soil is loose and moist, at a distance of about eight inches from each other, which will be room enough for them to grow one year, and by that time they will be strong enough to produce flowers.

But it must not be supposed that D. Meadia is the only plant of its genus deserving of our attention. It is perhaps true that none of the species can surpass it in beauty, but the entire-leaved cowslip (D. integrifolia) makes a change. The leaves are smaller and the flowers are on shorter stems than those of D. Meadia, and there is a difference of colour; for purple we have here crimson. This pretty plant may be easily grown on the rockery, in a soil of sandy peat, and it makes a good pot-plant.

We have a much stronger plant in Jeffrey's cowslip (D. Jeffreyanum), also known as D. lancifolium. This rises two feet high, with strong stems and large thick leaves, the flowers a shade darker in colour than those of D. Meadia. When planted out on the rockery it should have a sheltered nook with a deep bed of peaty or loamy soil of the best quality.

There are hundreds of plants of this class that are perfectly hardy, and require no elaborate preparations for their maintenance, yet in some gardens refuse to thrive, while in others they may be said to grow "like weeds." Very much, of course, depends upon that "magic touch" which one can give to the work and another cannot.

In cases where the elements are at war with choice hardy plants, there is a way out of the difficulty by growing them in pots, in frames, and in unheated plant-houses, as we then obtain for them protection against keen winds and the smoke and dust of the town.

While the winds whistle and the rains descend, probably the most desirable of all possible toys for a lover of hardy plants is a neat span-roofed house with central walk through, and raised beds of earth on each side, supported by brick walls and faced with clean-washed seashells or small pebbles, on which the pot-plants are placed to enjoy the fullest light near the glass and display their beauties to visitors. The cost of such a house is but trifling as compared with its serviceableness and comfort, and it should be considered a proper supplement or adjunct to the rockery and Alpine garden.