POLYANTHUS  , one of the

oldest of the florists' flowers, is probably derived from P. variabilis, itself a cross between the common primrose and the cowslip; it differs from the primrose in having the umbels of flowers carried up on a stalk . The florists' polyanthus has a golden margin, and is known as the gold-laced polyanthus, the properties being very distinctly laid down and rigidly adhered to . The chief of these are a clear, unshaded, blackish or reddish ground colour, an even margin or lacing of yellow extending round each segment and cutting through its centre down to the ground colour, and a yellow band surrounding the tube of exactly the same hue as the yellow of the lacing . The they should be planted about the end of September or not later than October . Plants for exhibition present a much better and cleaner appearance if kept during winter in a cold well-aired frame . For the flower borders what are called fancy polyanthuses are adopted . These are best raised annually from seed, the young crop each year blooming in succession . The seed should be sown as soon as ripe, the young plants being allowed to stand through the winter in the seed bed . In April or May they are planted out in a bed of rich garden soil, and they will bloom abundantly the following spring . A few of the better " thrum-eyed " sorts (those having the anthers in the eye, and the pistil sunk in the tube) should be allowed to ripen seed; the rest may be thrown away . In some remarkable forms which have been cultivated for centuries the ordinarily green calyx has become petaloid; when this is complete it forms the hose-in-hose prim-rose of gardeners . There are also a few well-known double-flowered varieties .