304 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
T H E F U C H S I A —Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
The increasing demand for house-plants that 
grow well without scientific care, and bloom 
profusely for a long period, has brought the 
Fuchsia, (often styled “ Ladies’ Ear-Drop,”) in¬ 
to high favor. Among its several varieties are 
those which flower both in Winter and Summer. 
Chili, and the region of the Andes, have the 
honor of originating this class of plants. The 
first wild flower discovered was scarlet, but by 
patient hybridization, upward of one hundred 
varieties of other colors and shades and form, 
have been produced. The aim of the hybridizer 
is to reach a certain standard of excellence, 
which consists in having the sepals reflexed 
back to the stem or tube of the flower, and the 
corolla well expanded. In respect to colors, 
tastes differ. Some prefer white sepals and 
crimson or rose corollas; others, purple corol¬ 
las and crimson sepals; others, white corollas 
and crimson sepals. Some have a special fancy 
for single flowers, others for double. The field 
of selection is large enough to suit every taste. 
The number of Winter-blooming Fuchsias is 
not large. Perhaps the very best for this pur¬ 
pose, is the well-known Speciosa , with its rosy 
white sepals and crimson corolla. After this, 
may be named, Eero, Serratifolia, Diademe de 
Flore, Snow-Drop, and Prince of Orange. —To have 
them bloom well, pot them in large crocks, hav¬ 
ing good drainage, and filled with a porous soil 
composed of sand, leaf-mold, old rotted manure, 
and common earth, in equal quantities. For 
the best effect, they should be trained to a single 
stem two or three feet high, with the branches 
hanging from the upper part in graceful pen¬ 
dants. Keep the temperature between 60° 
and 70° by day, and not below 40° by night, 
supplying the roots with an abundance of wa¬ 
ter; keep the air of the room as moist as may 
be, and there will be no lack of blossoms. On 
the opening of Spring, set them out in some re¬ 
tired corner to rest, and to become vigorous for 
another Winter’s work. About the first of Sep¬ 
tember, re-pot them in soil such as we have be¬ 
fore mentioned, cutting them back somewhat se¬ 
verely ; keep them a week or two in the shade, 
and well watered until they have become re¬ 
established ; then bring them into the house. 
Summer blooming varieties are to be treated in 
a similar way, as to soil, pruning, etc. In Win¬ 
ter, keep them under the stage of a green-house, 
or in a dry cellar. It is a great mistake, not 
seldom practised, to set out the plants in Sum¬ 
mer, in a sunny situation. To preserve the fo¬ 
liage fresh, and to maintain an abundant and 
long-continued bloom, they require a partially 
shaded aspect, such as the north side of a house, 
or a sheltered piazza, or the stage of a green¬ 
house, taking care to have the glass well cov¬ 
ered with whiting, or darkened by awnings. 
As to the best varieties, tastes will differ; but 
the following are undeniably good sorts: Prince 
Albert, Wonderful, Duchess of Lancaster, Flor¬ 
ence Nightingale, Spectabilis, (this is styled 
by Dr. Lindley, “the Queen of Fuchsias,”) 
Psyche, Princess Royal, Emperor Napoleon. 
An amateur hands us the following: “For 
twelve first rate Fuchsias, take these: Ariel, 
Clio, King, Prince Arthur, having light colors 
with purple or red corollas; Alpha, Glory, Hen- 
dersonii, Omega, Perfection, President, Prince 
Albert—scarlet colors, with crimson, purple, or 
blue corollas; Queen Victoria, red, with white 
center or corolla. Give me these dozen varie¬ 
ties in my garden, and I care for none beside." 
