THE FLORIST. 



37 



each other. And the mode by which this is insured is equally useful 

 in keeping the origin of the branches low, so as to make a compact 

 bushy plant. And it is so simple, that you may do it, Mrs. Wil- 

 kins, as well as Mr. Dobson himself. If you have a nice young 

 healthy and stocky plant to operate upon, it is better, but not abso- 

 lutely necessary. If you have, pinch off its head ; and when it breaks 

 out at the sides, either peg down the side-branches as nearly straight 

 out as you can without tearing the joint, or tie them down, which 

 must be done thus : tie a string tightly round the pot, just under the 

 rim ; and under this pass a loop of thick worsted over the end of each 

 branch, to keep it down in the position you wish it to grow in. 



When the branches reach out as far as you wish them, a little 

 beyond the rim of the pot you mean the plant to flower in, pinch off 

 their ends, and, after they have pushed out their eyes into branches, 

 you may remove the strings, and you have thenceforward a trained 

 plant, to last you many years, and each year better than the last ; 

 which only needs cutting down 

 in summer after flowering, and 

 ordinary care afterwards, to be a 

 perpetual beauty in the bloom- 

 ing season. I have now an old 

 Sir Robert Peel with thirteen 

 such branches springing from its 

 rough wooden arms, and plenty 

 of elbow-room for each ; which, 

 at eight blossoms to each, will 

 give a total of above a hundred 

 blossoms ; and I expect nearly 

 as many from my Aurora, which 

 some say is the handsomest Ger- 

 anium grown. Moreover, if you 



do not care about the cuttings, you may, by setting it out in the 

 open air after it has flowered, and protecting it from wind and sun 

 for the first day or two, and bringing it in again when sufficiently 

 hardened, have it flower again, and often as well as at first. 



And now, in conclusion, let me recommend every cottager's wife 

 to have a plant or two in her window, but not in the bedroom. The 

 very trouble they give, and it is but a little, is beneficial, for it exer- 

 cises attention. The care they require tends to produce neatness in 

 other things ; and the pleasure with which they repay the care that 

 is given them is a refined, a domestic, and an inexpensive pleasure, 

 and is a means of elevating the tastes and of rendering home attrac- 

 tive. Iota. 



THE FUCHSIA. 



In cultivating this useful flower, I begin by striking the cuttings 

 about the end of August, using silver-sand and leaf- mould for the 

 purpose, and placing them in a close frame or pit where there is a 



