TO THE FLOWER GARDEN. 119 



grow freely in the open ground without protection. They 

 mostly flower between March and May, and are thus very 

 useful in gardens as spring flowers. The most stately species 

 is the Crown Imperial, which bears a whorl of drooping 

 flowers, surmounted by a tuft or crown of leaves. The 

 smaller species bear one or two drooping cup-shaped flowers. 

 The bulbs of the Fritillarias are scaly, and of a soft texture, 

 like those of Lilies ; consequently they must not be dried by 

 being left long exposed at the period of replanting. 



FUCHSIA. [OnagracefE.j A beautiful genus of green- 

 house shrubs, from which a race of still more varied and 

 beautiful varieties has been produced by the skill of the 

 florist. The culture in all cases is very similar, making some 

 allowance for the natural diff"erences in the size of the species. 

 They are raised very readily from cuttings planted in sandy 

 soil, and placed in a moist warm atmosphere, such as that of 

 a hotbed. The cuttings should be the little shoots produced 

 in spring, when two or three inches long. To obtain these 

 put the old plants in a warm temperature early in February, 

 and take the cuttings as early as they can be obtained. 

 When rooted pot them singly into three -inch pots, and 

 keep them in the hotbed near the glass until they begin to 

 grow freely, then give them more air and less heat : a hotbed 

 of nearly spent dung will be best for them, so that they 

 may be kept in a tepid moist atmosphere. By degrees they 

 must have more air until, about May, they are taken to a 

 warm greenhouse, and after that they may receive green- 

 house treatment. They must be potted into larger pots 

 as fast as the roots multiply, and tlie soil used should be one- 

 half mellow loam, one-fourth well-decomposed dung, and one- 

 fourth of leaf-mould, with about an eiglith part of the whole 

 sand. The best form to grow a young plant is the pyramidal. 

 Train up a leading shoot, and if the plant is supplied with 

 pot room and plenty of light, and has not heat enough to 

 draw it out weak, it will form side-shoots in sufficient abun- 

 dance to produce a handsome outline, the branches being 

 allowed to take their own pendent form. After flowering is 

 over keep them nearly dry in any place be3^ond the reach of 

 frost. In March prune back all the side-shoots, and leave 

 only the upright stem ; turn them out of- the pots, shake 



