312 THE GREENHOUSE. [CHAP. XI. 



to twelve feet high, growing in the gardens 

 between Edinburgh and Stirling in the open air, 

 without any protection during the winter; but, 

 to my great surprise, on my return home, I 

 found that this fuchsia does not always suc- 

 ceed so well near London. F. globosa, how- 

 ever, will live many years in the open ground 

 near London ; as, though it is killed down to 

 the ground every winter, it shoots up again in 

 spring. F. virgata is also tolerably hardy. 

 All the fuchsias require a light rich soil, or a 

 mixture of rich sandy loam and peat, and 

 regular watering ; as when the outer roots are 

 once withered, either by want of moisture, or 

 by exposure of the pot to the direct rays of 

 the sun, the plant generally dies. For this 

 reason the fuchsia is not so well adapted for a 

 window plant as many others. Fuchsia ful- 

 gens diners considerably from the other species, 

 and will not flower well unless in the open air, 

 and with a sunny exposure. It is also tuberous- 

 rooted, though woody in its stem. It is easily 

 propagated ; and even a leaf, taken off without 

 injuring the part of the petiole which was 

 attached to the stem, has been known to grow 

 and form a plant. Several handsome hybrids 

 have been produced by applying the pollen of 

 F. fulgens to the stigma of F. globosa, F. 

 conica, and F. gracilis ; and the reverse, as F. 

 fulgens, seeds freely. It may here be men- 

 tioned, that, whenever hybrids are to be raised 

 by fertilising one plant with the pollen of ano- 

 ther, the anthers of the flower that is to pro- 

 duce the seed should be removed with a pair of 

 scissors, before they burst. The pollen from 



