214 breck's new book of feowers. 



FUCHSIA— Lady^s Ear Drop. 



[So named in honor of Leonard Fucha, a noted German botanist.] 



Fuchsia COCCinea is one of the most elegant of decidu- 

 ous green-house shrubs ; the young wood and nerves of 

 the leaves are tinged with purplish-red; the pendant 

 blossoms produced from the axils of the leaves, as the 

 shoots grow, continue the greater part of the growing 

 season, and are succeeded as they fade by a purple berry. 

 It is a native of Chili. This species, with F. fidgens^ F. 

 microphylla^ and others, have been crossed to produce 

 the numerous varieties in cultivation. 



Fuchsias succeed admirably when planted in the flow- 

 er garden. The following directions will give the young 

 cultivator some hints relative to their propagation and 

 culture : 



" Fuchsias are readily propagated by cuttings, in sand, 

 with a mixture of peat ; to grow the plants for a bloom 

 all summer, they should be started in February, in the 

 green-house, first in small pots, and shifted, when the 

 roots completely fill it, into a mixture of fresh loam, peat- 

 leaf mould from the woods, well rotted manure, and a 

 little sand ; mix thoroughly, and break finely {not sifted), 

 with the spade or trowel ; give the roots good drainage, 

 place them in the Avarmest part of the green-house, and 

 water frequently ; as the warmth of summer approaches, 

 and the green-house, or conservatory, becomes empty of 

 plants, place your Fuchsias in the most favored position, 

 shading them, with a mat or cotton awning, from the sun, 

 after ten o'clock in the morning, which remove at five P. 

 M., unless the sun is off sooner. This treatment, with a 

 gentle syringing of the foliage twice a day, — which, if 

 carefully done, does not materially injure the flo^vers, — 

 will produce an abundant bloom all summer and au- 

 tumn, and will well reward your care. No class of plants 

 is more graceful and elegant. The striking contrast of 



