ON THE CULTUUE OF FUCHSIAS. 11)7 



that may come mider iny notice, and which shall he fonvaided to 

 you from time to time. I should not have troubled you with these 

 remarks but from the certainty of the advice already given in your 

 pages being very little calculated to meet the wishes of an amateur, 

 or any other person who may be desirous of gi-o\\ing these beautiful 

 plants to perfection with as little trouble as possible. However, 

 before I offer you my o\ra experience, I must beg to say a word 

 to S. J., in the March Number of the Magazine, page 7, as he 

 does not seem to \mte like a practical gardener, unless he has got 

 a gi'eat deal of spare room in his greenhouse, which is not the case 

 with every one, especially those which have only a small frame, 

 or room, to strike them in for the wdnter months ; for he recom- 

 mends taking off young shoots in the month of September, and 

 to insert them in a pot filled with sand, and strike them in a hot 

 bed, and when rooted to pot them off in 48-size pots, which is 

 certainl}- very absurd in at least tliree dilferent ways. The first is 

 in recommending a hot bed to strike the cuttings in, which is a 

 thing not every where to be met with at this time of the year ; 

 conseipieutly, those that have no hot bed must have no Fuchsias. 

 under tlxis system. In the second place, it is absurd, being a bad 

 time of the j-ear ; for it would be at least near November before 

 they would be fit to pot off, which is in general a dark cold month, 

 not a very congenial time to remove young tender plants just 

 rooted from a hot bed and transplant them, and then immediately 

 put them into a cold gi'eenhouse, where they will be at the I'isk of 

 being damped off. And thirdly, in recommending 48-size pots to 

 put them in wliilst in this }oung state, as nothing can be more 

 injurious to ^'oung tender plants than to over-pot them at first 

 If he had recommended thumb-pots, or small GO's, I think it 

 would have been more compatible with common sense ; for the 

 plants would be much healthier, and a great deal of room saved. 



Uut I will now proceed to lay before you my mode of treatment, 

 and I believe I grow them as fine as any in Enghuid. I have 

 |>lants now of the Fuchsia gracilis in full bloom, which are eight 

 feet liigh, all the growth of this summer. iVbout the first week in 

 May, I ]>repare my border; if poor, I put in a good quantity of 

 rotten vigitalile mould, dig it will down, and level the border. I 

 then make a good sized lioli', and work up al)oul one-tiiird sea-sand 

 (if 10 be had —if not, good drift huiul will d") with about two-thirds 



