THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



169 



liabit; for instance, when tlie plant is fully 

 established in its first shift you must stop 

 the leader, if there is not a tendency to 

 emit laterals regularly up the stern, and 

 tlien again whenever j'ou find the same 

 fault prevail; so that the cultivatoi-'s eye 

 must be constantly on the alert, watching 

 his favourite objects as he would some little 

 fondling. Some of the plants will not 

 bear thn direct rays of the sun when 

 powerfully shed on them, so that they will 

 need a sligiit shading, and all sorts require 

 it during the hottest months of the year 

 when in flower, or else the flowers will 

 drop quickly ; they will also drop if you 

 allow the soil to become soddened by too 

 much water, for this, like everything else, 

 must be applied judiciously; by no means 

 let them get dry, or the foliage will soon 

 afford you evidence by turning j^ellow, and 

 gi'adually using its healthy hue. During 

 the last stages of the plant's growth you 

 may apply weak liquid manure water. 



If tiie plant is of a robust habit, it does 

 not need so much stimulation. Now I 

 will come to the kind of soil I employ. 

 Here, again, a little judgment is required, as 

 for such weak-growing varieties as Butter- 

 fly and Princess of Prussia, atid others, 

 it should be much lighter than that used 

 lor the stronger ones. Tlie heavier the 

 soil is the slower the growth, but a bushier 

 habit will accompany it in its infancy. 



I find them thrive well in the following 

 compost, well incorporated: — One part 

 good mellow loam, one part rotten dung, a 

 little peat earth for making the soil light, 

 and a fair sprinkling of silver-sand. Take 



care and provide plenty of drainage and 

 clean pots, and by following the above 

 directions, success will attend your exer- 

 tions. 



And now for the after-treatment. 

 When they have done flowering, let them 

 be placed out-doors in a situation fully ex- 

 posed to the due inlluenc3 of the sun ; this 

 will assist in ripening the wood. Apply 

 water sparingly, just sufficient to prevent 

 them suffering through drought, so that 

 they may by degrees lose their foliage, but 

 by no means expose them on frosty nights, 

 or the frost will materially injure the wood 

 tliat produces shoots for the forthcoming 

 season. Having accomplished the above, 

 you may store them away in a cool part 

 of the greenhouse, giving them just enough 

 water to keep them from dying. 



The fuchsia is a very accommodating 

 plant, for it will commence growing at any 

 period after a rest, if you like to excite it ; 

 but that must depend on the circumstances 

 that are at j'our command for favouring an 

 early growth, and also what season you 

 wish to have it in flovver. 



I will now say something about prun- 

 ing old plants previous to their new 

 growth. Some of the sorts, partaking of a 

 weak growth, will only require the ends of 

 their shoots to be nipped ; others of a robust 

 liabit will bear being cut in to three or four 

 eyes; but the cultivator in performing this 

 operation must have an eye to the shape he 

 intends the plant to assume. 



Robert Oubbidge. 

 Church Walk Nurteri/, 

 Stoke Kewiugton. 



PLOWERS IN TOWN WINDOWS. 



This is the season when those who do not 

 possess greenhouses will see the reward of 

 their care and labour in the blooming plants 

 which have been tended by them iu-doors. 

 The dry air of sitting-rooms must be coun- 

 teracted as much as possible by syringing, 

 by exposure to gentle rains, and by admit- 

 ing as much of the atmospheric air as can 

 conveniently' be done. Green-fly may easily 

 be kept down in small collections by piolc- 

 ing and rubbing them off by the hand; or 

 all the pots may be put into a frame closely 

 covered np, and subjected to tobacco smoke. 

 Do this in the evening and leave the plants 

 till the morning, when they should receive 

 a gOQd watering by a fine rose or a syringe. 

 Keep plants in pots moderately moist, with- 

 out allowing water to remain in tlie saucers. 

 By these means, and bringing in a succes- 

 Bion as the former plants get shabby, a 



window may be made very interesting to 

 the amateur, and an air of elegance and 

 refinement be given to the dwelling. 



Plants mtiy now be cultivated in bal- 

 conies, and on the stone in front of the win- 

 dow, so as to give a beautiful and attractive 

 appearance to the exterior of the house. 

 Fuchsias and scarlet geraniums do admir- 

 ably well for this purpose, as they will con- 

 tinue to bloom until the frosts of autitmn 

 disturb them, and require less care than 

 most plants equally showy. Let strong 

 healthy plants be potted in six-inch pots, in 

 a light rich soil, and let these pots be 

 dropped into others just large enough to 

 admit the space of about half an inch all 

 round ; the inserted pot standing on moss 

 or leaf-mould until its brim is on a level 

 with that of the pot containing it. By this 

 little contrivance, the hottest suns will be un- 



