232 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIM, 



EAISING SEEDLING FUCHSIAS. 



BY HEKEY CANNELL, 

 The Nursery, "Woolwich, S.E, 



HEEE are not many amateurs who have turned their at- 

 tention to the raising of seedling fuchsias, notwith- 

 standing the fact that few other florists' flowers will 

 aflbrd such a good return for the labour, skill, and 

 attention necessary in bringing this work to a successful 

 issue. The only amateur raisers of note at the present time are Mr. 

 Banks and Mr. Bland, and I should therefore very much like to see 

 others take up this very pleasing task, with a determination to 

 raise something really good. We cannot well have too many raisers, 

 provided they do not tread too closely in each other's footsteps, and^ 

 in consequence, give us varieties bearing too great a resemblance to 

 each other. By having a large number of raisers there is a much 

 better chance of obtaining varieties that are both good and distinct 

 than when the number is few, because as a rule, each raiser devotes 

 special attention to one or two classes of flowers, and, of necessity, 

 the seedlings bear a very great similarity to each other. Therefore 

 the improvement of the fuchsia is likely to be carried on more 

 rapidly, and floriculture to be more largely benefited by amateurs 

 turning their attention to this work in larger numbers, than is at 

 present the case. 



Many of those who have not made fuchsias a special study think 

 that the improvement of these flowers has been pushed to its utmost 

 limits, and that nothing further remains to be done ; but I need 

 hardly say that this is a mistake. Years ago — I am unable to say how 

 many — we were told precisely the same thing, and yet immense 

 strides have been made during the last few years. Depend upon it, 

 there is plenty to be done in this direction, especially with the 

 varieties bearing flowers with a white tube and sepals. Surely we 

 must not be satisfied with these, although some of them are very 

 fine. We want varieties of a more free and graceful habit, and 

 bearing flowers of larger size and better shape. I see no reason 

 why we should not have these with flowers quite equal in every way 

 to those of the dark sorts. There is also a possibility of obtaining 

 a quite new type of flower. If we inquire into the history of the 

 fuchsia, we shall find that some remarkably distinct forms have made 

 their appearance in the seed-beds of the raisers, and, in my opinion, 

 at a time when they were least expected. There is, for example, 

 Venus Yictrix, which Mr. Cripps gave us thirty-three years ago. 

 This is the first variety with a white tube and sepals raised and 

 introduced into cultivation, and for some time it was thought to have 

 quite disappeared, but after giieat difiiculty 1 succeeded in procuring 

 a plant. This being the first break from the dark varieties, there is 

 more purple in the corolla than in the corollas of the other varieties, 

 and by crossing it with the newest sorts some really fine things may 



