THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 253 



duration of the flowers. If well attended to during the summer, 

 the wood will be perfectly ripened by the time the flowering is over, 

 and the plants may be wintered as before. If it is necessary to 

 prune them back it should be done a few weeks before starting them, 

 in order to allow time for the wounds to heal over before growth 

 has commenced. This plant has a fine effect, either planted out or 

 plunged in a basket of moss, and suspended from the roof of a stove 

 or orchid house. In this way the flowers show themselves to advan- 

 tage ; and if the plants are kept moist while growing, and otherwise 

 well treated, they will last for several years in perfection. Cuttings 

 made of the young shoots root freely ; insert them in sand, cover 

 with a bell-glass, and place them in a temperature of 70°, where 

 there is a gentle bottom-heat. "When rooted, pot them off singly 

 into two or three-inch pots, and place them in a close, warm 

 situation ; if rooted early they will make strong plants by autumn. 



THE FUCHSIA. 



BY A SUBSCRIBER. 



jjlST cultivating this useful flower, I begin by striking the 

 cuttings about the end of this month, using silver-sand 

 and leaf-mould for the purpose, and placing them in a 

 close frame or pit, where there is a little bottom-heat. 

 "When the sun shines, I shade for four or five hours 

 during midday ; and, after the cuttings have been in for three or 

 four days, I pull off the light for ten or twelve minutes every morn- 

 ing, in order to allow the confined air and damp to escape. As soon 

 as they are rooted, I pot them off into three-inch pots, in a mixture 

 of equal parts silver sand and leaf-mould. I prefer that mixture for 

 the winter potting, for, being light and porous, it allows the water 

 to pass off quickly. When potted off, they are replaced in the 

 frame or pit ; and, as soon as they become established, I remove 

 them to a warm and shady part of the greenhouse ; after hardening 

 there for a week or two, they are removed to a more airy part of the 

 house, where they remain until January, when they receive a little 

 artificial heat, say from 40° to 45° during night. "When the roots 

 make a fresh start, I shift them, some into five-inch pots and some 

 into a size larger, according to the strength of the plants, using a 

 mixture of equal parts silver-sand, turfy peat, and leaf-mould. In 

 February they should have from 50° to G0 Q of heat during the day- 

 time, and from 40° to 50° during night. As the day lengthens, I 

 increase the day temperature to from G0° to 70°, the night heat 

 being about 5° less, maintaining a moist atmosphere at all times, 

 with air both day and night when convenient. The plants should 

 be kept as near the glass as possible, and should be shaded during 

 bright sunshine. If they do well, they will require shifting about 

 once in five or six weeks, and before the operation the mould about 

 the roots should bo rather dry than wot. After they are Bhifted, 

 August. 



