THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 233 



be reasonably expected. About twenty-two years ago Mr. Storey 

 gave us the first ot" those with white corollas, which included Queen 

 Victoria, Mrs. Storey, and Lady of the Lake, all of which have 

 now been surpassed ; and about sixteen years ago Mr. Banks gave 

 us a decided new colour in Venus de Medici, I should like to see 

 something more done with the hardy sorts, such as Kiccartoni, coo- 

 cinea, and gracilis. Mr. Bland has been successful in raising several 

 really good hardy hybrids, and, for the sake of those who admire 

 fuchsias and have no place in which to grow the tender sorts, I would 

 like to hear of more making their appearance. There are also 

 the winter-flowering species, which of themselves are capable of 

 affording plenty of work during the nest ten or fifteen years, for 

 those who are prepared to take them in hand with a determination 

 to do them justice. There is, for example, serratifolia, and the well- 

 known hybrid Domiuiana, both of which are capable of immense 

 improvement; and, in addition, there is a robust-growing fulgens, 

 which has flowers of immense size and of a very bright colour, and 

 when it has plenty of space for its development it has a very effective 

 appearance. 



I have poiated out what is still to be done in the improvement 

 of the fuchsia to show the amateur that it is no exhausted mine he 

 is asked to work ; and I will now give a few directions that will 

 possibly be found useful. Fuchsias are as readily rait^ed by means 

 of seed as an ordinary annual, provided the seed is of good quality. 

 Fuchsia seed is, like that of the Centaurea, very peculiar. Yoa 

 imagine you have a fine lot of seed, and although it has a clean and 

 nice appearance, and is tolerably plump, it has no vitality in it, and 

 of course is quite worthless. To make sure of seed that will grow, 

 and also produce good varieties, the amateur must save it himself. 

 No one can save fuchsia seed with a fair prospect of obtaining a price 

 that will compensate him for the labour he will have to bestow in 

 bringing it to perfection. Fuchsias produce very little seed indeed, 

 and when cleaned and dried it is remarkably light in weight. la- 

 deed, the quantity obtainable from a large house filled with plants is 

 80 ridiculously small that no one, excepting it be an amateur with 

 plenty of time on his hands, can engage in saving it for commercial 

 purposes. Some people are astounded when told that the seed of 

 some florists' flower has been sold at four or five guineas per ounce ; 

 but either of these sums is nothing as compared with the value of 

 fuchsia seed ; for the latter, provided it has been saved from first- 

 class varieties and will germinate, is worth at least fifty guineas per 

 ounce. 



Apart from the difiiculty in obtaining first-class seed, the 

 amateur who is desirous of raising improved varieties must save it 

 from flowers that have been carefully fertilized with pollen obtained 

 from other flowers of good quality, or possessing some distinctive 

 characteristic. When the ordinary varieties ara emplo3'ed, both as 

 pollen and seed-bearing parents, those with the finest shaped and 

 the most highly-coloured flowers oaly should be selected ; but when it 

 is desired t-j effect any particular cross, or to raise a distinct type, the 

 Belectioa of varieties must be left entirely to the judgment of the 



Augast. 



