240 GREEN-HOUSE REPOTTING. \_March. 



especially F. dastica; leaves smooth, shining green, fre- 

 quently six inches wide and twelve long: this is the plant 

 that produces the gum elastic, or Indian rubber. F. aus- 

 trdlis is also an excellent evergreen, with elliptic dull green 

 foliage; very rusty underneath; they grow almost too 

 freely. (Soil No. 11.) 



Fuchsia, or Ladies' Ear-drop. There are an endless 

 variety of this lovely genus of deciduous small shrubs now 

 cultivated, but there are only a few, to surpass the common 

 and celebrated Coccinea: true, many have been, and are, 

 represented as far surpassing it, but, when brought to the 

 test, they are, in some particular, found wanting. How- 

 ever, among the many, F. globosa, F. chauverii, F. ex- 

 oniensis, F. elegans superba, Champion Britannia, and 

 StanweMiana. These are very superb, dark varieties ; some 

 of the flowers are two and a half inches long and two inches 

 in diameter. The following are light coloured varieties, 

 indeed nearly white, with a purple or pink centre, form- 

 ing a beautiful contrast with the deep crimson and purple 

 sorts; F. rosea alba, F. bicolor, F. Queen Victoria, F. 

 chandlerii, F. venus victrix, Conspicua arbor ea, and Snow 

 Ball. To grow these in perfection, they require to be very 

 frequently shifted, as they advance in growth till you have 

 them in pots ten inches wide. Just now I have plants 

 only six months from the cutting that are four feet high 

 and sixteen feet in circumference, loaded with thousands 

 of flowers, and are the admiration of every beholder. They 

 require liberal supplies of water. F. fulgens is a distinct 

 species; the foliage is very different from any other sort; 

 leaves of a well-grown plant are four inches wide and five 

 inches and a half long : the flowers are from two inches 

 and a half to three inches long, of a pink and scarlet colour, 

 and the plant is nearly tuberous. We would recommend 

 our readers to grow them from seeds when obtained : it is 

 well known they will produce variety, and it is even sup- 

 posed by some that the seeds of F. coccinea have produced 

 by hybridizing nearly all the varieties of the present day, 

 which exceed one hundred : most of the flowers are a bright 

 scarlet, the stamens are encircled with a petal of bright 

 purple, and are of very curious construction; they bear a 

 dark purple berry, and are of the easiest cultivation ; but 

 during summer the pots must, be carefully kept from the 



