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THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



or no share in the parentage of the popular garden varieties of fuchsias, now so 

 extensively grown in pots, their habit of growth and flowering more nearly resembling 

 those of F. macrostema, a Chilian species, and F. serratifolia from Peru. Double 

 flowering varieties are nearly as plentiful as singles, their development from the 

 latter having been rapid and striking. 



According to the E.H.S. judging code, six points are the maximum number that 

 should be awarded to a specimen plant, allotted as follows: — 



(a) Growth vigorous, free branching, compact habit, 2 points; (b) Quantity and 

 quality of bloom, the sepals reflexing sufficiently to display the corolla, which should 

 not be too widely expanded, 2 points ; (c) Foliage clean, fresh and luxuriant, 1 

 point ; (d) Distinctness of colour, 1 point. 



Eaising Seedlings. — Fuchsias are easily raised from seed. Gather the fruits when 

 fully ripe, crush and squeeze the pulp into water, separating it as much as possible 

 from the seeds. Pass the liquor through a hair sieve, and wash the residue repeatedly 

 till the seeds are clean. Spread them to dry on strong paper, and store in a dry place 

 till early in March — the best time for sowing either home-saved or purchased seed. 

 Fill well-drained 6 -inch pots or pans with a mixture of light loam, leaf soil, and sand; 

 water, and soon after distribute the seeds thinly on the surface, pressing them in and 

 covering lightly with fine soil. Plunge in a brisk moist bottom heat, cover with squares 

 of glass and shade till the seedlings appear, when the glass should be gradually with- 

 drawn, and shade applied during the prevalence of bright sunshine only. When 

 about half an inch high, prick out the seedlings thinly in pans of fine light soil, and 

 return to warm quarters — a frame on a mild hot-bed answering well for raising and 

 establishing fuchsias. 



If properly looked after, the plants will be large enough in the course of about five 

 weeks, to be potted singly. Lift them out with a label and place in 3-inch pots. 

 Eeturn to gentle heat till they have formed fresh roots, when cooler treatment 

 will be desirable, admitting air freely. When the small pots are well filled with roots, 

 shift the plants into 5-inch pots, and in these they may, if desired, be flowered during 

 the summer. All that promise to be equal or superior to named varieties should be 

 retained for further trial, and the rest unhesitatingly thrown away. Those selected 

 may be given another shift, and can be propagated from the same season or treated 

 much as advised in the case of plants raised from cuttings, delaying further propaga- 

 tion till the following spring. 



