THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



179 



I conclude, by wishing success to your 

 " Floral Would," which is, for the money, 

 unsurpassed by any of the gardening 

 periodicals in usefulness. M. C. 



The remark we made as to cross-breeding 

 Fuchsias, was simply that they were easy 

 subjects for beginners to try their hands at ; 

 we did not say a word about the chances of 

 first-rate varieties. The long style and well 

 developed stamens, render it easy to cut 

 away either, and the pollen is easily obtained 

 and applied. That you have yet had no 

 great luck, should not deter you from " try- 

 ing again." The great cross-breeders, such 

 as Storey, Banks, Breeze, Turner, and others, 

 raise thousands of seedlings and count on a 

 few novelties amongst the number. One 

 great cause of failure with amateurs, is 

 neglecting to make sure that no " busy bee" 

 or wasp carries to the mother flower, the 

 pollen of kinds that may spoil the cross, 

 and in too many cases the right moment is 

 lost, which is before the flower gets naturally 

 impregnated. But there is no royal road in 

 cross-breeding, and many of the best tilings 

 have come without human intervention, and 

 by what we call chance. 



As to the flowering of seedling Fuchsias, 

 there is little difficulty, and one rule should 

 be observed in regard to the blooming of all 

 seedlings where new varieties are looked 

 for. Get them forward as early as possible, 

 and secure healthy plants. Instead of fre- 

 quently shifting and stopping, keep them in 

 smallish pots, to starve them into early 

 bloom, and never stop a single shoot from 

 the very first. The points of the shoots 

 will thus produce blooms, long before plants 

 that have been grown on and stopped to in- 

 crease their size. Unbloomed seedlings should 

 never be grown into specimens, until it is 

 ascertained that they are worth it, and two 

 or three blooms are sufficient, generally, to 

 show what the characterwill be. " Proving," 

 is an after matter, and the fault of nursery- 

 men is, that having got a new thing of some 

 merit, they cut it close and let it out, before 

 it has been sufficiently proved — hence, ex- 

 pensive Dahlias, Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, 

 &c, that ultimately disappoint their pur- 

 chasers, for a fine individual bloom is not 

 all that we require. 



We make it a rule, to avoid, as far as 

 possible, any recommendation of dealers. If 

 the practice did not lead to jobbery, it might 

 often have the appearance of it, and the less 

 we mention names, the better fur our inde- 

 pendence of every interest, but that of our 

 readers. Were we in need of the plants you 

 name, we believe we should have no difficulty 

 in procuring them, and if we failed on appli- 

 cation to one house, we should write to 

 another, and so on to the end of the chapter, 

 if necessary. 



We come now to your pretty list of plants, 

 and recommend for your cool house, Acacia 

 affinis, armata, anyustifolia, Cyanophylla, 

 dealbata, decipiens premorsa, decurrens, Dill- 

 tcynicpfolia, dolabriformis, elonyata, falcata, 

 fulciformis, Jloribunda, yrandis, holosericea, 

 Iluyelii, hybrida, juniperina, spectabilis, 

 taxifolia, and verticillata anyusta, and no 

 others. Select according to the space at 

 your command. 



From the others select 2, both sorts, 

 Abutilon striatum being very nearly hardy; 

 7, A. incana, ericoides, and viryata ; 9, to 

 be kept rather dry during January and 

 February; 11, sure to do well, for it stands 

 the winter, under a wall, in the south of 

 England ; 13, II. yrossularicefolia, and volu- 

 bilis ; 14, /. procumbens, sarmentosa (both 

 herbaceous), amcena, atro-purpurea, frutes- 

 cens, and spinosa; 15, L. triyynum, arboreum, 

 and Tauricum ; 16, and any other species 

 or varieties you have a fancy for ; 18, some 

 vears ago we grew Ilendersonii, intermedia, 

 spectabilis, and a few others, in such a house 

 as yours, but it required a good deal of care 

 to get them through the winter; 19, P. 

 latifolia, myriijolia yrandiflora, intermedia, 

 simplex, and almost any other half-dozen 

 that you may have a preference for ; 20, 

 may be tried with little fear, though it 

 should, ordinarily, enjoy a winter tempera- 

 ture of 40 to 50 degs. ; 21, K. coccinea, 

 monophylla, and inophylla ; 23, nearly hardy; 

 25, aspera, and cuneata; 28, and you may 

 add B. jasminiodes, cruciyera, and yrandi- 

 flora; 29, must have plenty of root room, 

 and is best planted out to run along a rafter ; 

 30, 31, and 32, and add T. cajiensis, for 

 specimen culture. 



Pottikg Practices. — The ordinary way of putting at the bottom of the pot a large 

 quantity of crocks, is but a clumsy proceeding, and one which, if it affords an opportunity 

 for roots to spread themselves freely, affords also a harbour for worms, slugs, woodlice, and 

 other vermin. To remedy this, I put at the bottom a piece of perforated zinc, an inch and 

 a quarter, or more, square, according to the size of the pot, so as completely to cover the 

 hole; this may be had for a trifle of any brasier or tin-plate worker; and may, by the 

 help of a strong pair of scissors or small shears, be readily cut to the requisite size. Upon 

 this I place a small potsherd, with its convex side upwards, taking care that by resting 

 partly upon the zinc it renders it immoveable. I then put in a quantity of good moss so 

 as to form a layer of a third of an inch or more thick, when pressed together by the mould, 

 and then proceed to finish as usual the operation of potting the plant.— Lindleys Theory 

 of Horticulture. 



