FUG 



[ 363 ] 



FUC 



F, te.nt'lla (delicate). 8. Scarlet, purple. August. 

 Chili. 1824. 



tetrada'ctyla (four-fingered-.s^<a). 2. Rose. 



July. Guatima'a. 1842. 



triphy'Ua (three-leaved). Crimson. September. 



Pichinchia. 1842. 



venu'sta (beautiful). 6. Purple. October. 



Mexico. 1825. 



virga'ta (twiggy). 4. Scarlet, purple. August. 



Mexico. 1825. 



FUCHSIA CULTURE. Propagation: by 

 Cuttings. The best time for this is in 

 February and March. The plants require 

 a little heat to stimulate them into growth. 

 The best kinds of cuttings are the young 

 siioots taken off close to the old wood as 

 soon as they are an inch long. Fill a suf- 

 ficient number of 5 -inch pots with a 

 compost of loam and leaf-mould, in equal 

 parts, to within an inch of the top ; till 

 the remaining space up with silver sand ; 

 water it gently to make it firm, then put 

 in the cuttings after trimming off the 

 lower leaves, give another gentle water- 

 ing, and place them in a mild hotbed, 

 or in a propagating house. If in the 

 latter, place hand-glasses over them. 

 The cuttings will soon strike root, and 

 should then be potted off into the 

 smallest pots ; shade them from theun 

 for a time, and then repot them into pots 

 two sizes larger. 



By Seed. They are as easily raised 

 from seeds as by cuttings. The object 

 of raising them in this way is not so 

 much to increase the plants as to raise 

 improved varieties. There are two di 

 visions, in regard to colour, that should 

 be aimed at light and dark varieties, 

 and the colours in each ought to be well 

 defined. The light ones should have the 

 sepals pure white, and the corolla rich 

 purple. Size is also a necessary quality, 

 and a good form is also indispensable. 

 The sepals should be stout and broad 

 and well reflexed ; that is, turned up- 

 wards, to show off the corolla to the 

 greatest advantage. The corolla should 

 be large, and protrude boldly out from 

 the sepals. It should be round and cup- 

 shaped. The flower-stalk should be not 

 less than three inches long, which wil 

 allow the flower to hang down gracefully 

 The flowers should be produced abun 

 dantly, and the foliage not too large 01 

 coarse. The same points should appear 

 in the dark varieties, except the colour 

 of the sepals, which should be of th 

 brightest scarlet or crimson. Though a 

 fine self-coloured flower, with every gooc 

 point, is not to be despised, yet a purple 



corolla, with the scarlet or dark crimsoa 

 ubp, all other points being present, is 

 .he perfection of a good claik Fuchsia. 



Suviny ike Seed. Any variety possess- 

 ng one or more of the above qualities, 

 Torm being indispensable) is one to save 

 seed from. Supposing a fine-shaped 

 lower, with a tolerably pure white tube, 

 deficient in a good corolla of the 

 right form and colour; then take the 

 aollen of a variety that has a good corolla, 

 ind apply it to the stigma of the one with 

 a good tube and sepals, and save the 

 seed. The same principle must be Jbl- 

 Lowed to improve the dark varieties. 

 When the seed is ripe, gather the berries, 

 crush them with the fingers, and wash 

 away all the pulp ; then spread the seed 

 on a sheet of paper, and expose it to the 

 sun till it is dry. Then put it up in 

 brown paper, and store it away till March ; 

 sow it then in shallow pots, potting off 

 the plants as soon as they can be handled, 

 and grow them on till they flower. Seed- 

 lings will flower in 4-inch pots, so that a 

 great number of them may be grown in a 

 small space. As soon as they flower, 

 choose such as have good points ; and 

 give them a good shift into larger pots. 



Summer Culture. Pot the old plants 

 early in the spring. Commence by shak- 

 ing off the greater part of the old soil, 

 reducing the roots and trimming in the 

 branches, so as to leave them in a pyra- 

 midal form ; pot in the proper soil, and 

 place them in a heat of 55 by day, and 

 50 by night. Water moderately, and 

 syringe overhead frequently. When the 

 plants are freely growing, give weak 

 liquid-manure every other time. Young 

 plants should have a good shift from 

 5-inch to 8-inch pots. The tops should 

 be nipped off, to force out the lower 

 branches, the great object being the 

 pyramidal form. One of the upper shoots 

 should be removed as soon as the lower 

 ones have pushed a few inches, and the 

 other tied to a stick, to be again stopped 

 when it has advanced about a foot. Pro- 

 ceed in this way, with both old and new 

 plants, till the desired height is attained. 

 The side-shoots, if not sufficiently nume- 

 rous, should be stopped also, to cause 

 the right number of side branches to be 

 produced. The potting should finish in 

 12-inch pots, which are sufficiently large 

 to make fine plants fit for the exhibition 

 tables. 



Winter Culture. As soon as the bloom 



