256 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[February 7. 
dung hotbed. Here a similar system maybe adopted, 
only, as in sucli a bed, the plants could not long be 
kept, on account of their size and height, it would 
be time enough to start the plants in it by the middle 
or end of February; as then, they could be moved 
to the warmest end of the greenhouse in the end of 
March, and beginning of April; and if encouraged, 
line plants would be obtained in July. 
Thirdly .—Where there is a hothouse, such as a vi¬ 
nery forced moderately early, but no bed with bottom- 
heat, and a common greenhouse. Where there is such 
a thing as a hotbed for cucumbers, in which the 
fuchsias could be started, and then transferred, first 
to the forcing house, and then to the greenhouse, 
splendid plants may easily be obtained. Where no 
dung-bed can thus be brought into requisition, the 
plants will flower late when thus cut down. In such 
circumstances, instead of cutting down the plant, it 
is advisable to cut in the last year’s side shoots, with- 
in a joint or two of the main stem; by syringing fre¬ 
quently, and keeping a moist atmosphere, almost 
every bud will break just where you want it; and as 
you will possess in your plants, the matured, elabo¬ 
rated sap, stored up in the stem last autumn, you will 
not have equal luxuriance, but you will have an 
abundant and a more early blooming, than you can 
ever obtain by cutting down tiie plant. By the time 
the vines, &c., shade the plants, they must be removed 
to the greenhouse. Such fuchsias should be started, 
and warm soil secured, before they are repotted into 
fresh compost. 
Fourthly .—Where there is only a greenhouse, a 
similar system—not of cutting down, but of shorten¬ 
ing in the side shoots—should be resorted to ; and, 
for this purpose, the plants raised from cuttings of 
the previous spring, and which had been grown 
during the previous summer, are the best, as the 
plants seldom break regularly, in such circumstances, 
after being old. The warmest position may be given 
them, and the plants may stand quite thick together, 
until the shoots are nearly an inch in length. 
Fifthly. —Where—as in the case of many of our 
readers—all their plant repositories are found inside 
and outside of their ivindows. Here it is advisable 
to retain the plants in their winter quarters, until the 
buds have fairly broken out, and appear as incipient 
shoots ; the fresh soil that is wanted should then be 
given. Pruning should merely be given in such 
quantity, and no more, as will encourage the sym¬ 
metry of the plant. An early and a continuous 
blooming is here the principal thing ; and the more 
ol these little shoots you can encourage, the more 
abundant will be your bloom, though the individual 
(lowers will not be so large, nor yet the foliage so 
luxuriant, as when pruning and cutting down had 
been more liberally indulged in. Though you must 
not keep your soil dry, beware of making the earth 
sodden, before it is occupied by roots : when the pot 
is full of roots, there will be little danger of over¬ 
watering. Throughout the greatest part of the sum¬ 
mer, the plants will thrive best outside the window. 
A lew more things may just be noticed. 
Soil ,—Equal parts of peat and loam, or turfy loam, 
with a little leaf-mould and charcoal,answer admirably. 
Manure,— A little dried cow-dung may be blended 
with the soil, or put on as surface-dressings. Fuch¬ 
sias dearly like a dusting, over the surface of the soil, 
with superphosphate of lime. 
Water moderately, until the pots are filled with 
roots—then they suck like topers; and, if not sur- 
face-manured, a liquid weli-coloured with guano, or 
sheep-dung, will please them amazingly. 
Propagation .—Very small shoots, taken off in 
spring, and placed in heat, make nice little plants for 
autumn blowing. All will strike freely, during sum¬ 
mer, under a hand-light, or even in a shady border, 
without protection. 
Seeds, sown in spring, will sometimes give small 
flowering plants in the autumn, but are chiefly used 
for obtaining hybrids. The seed-berry of many 
would make no mean addition to the dessert. 
Shoots —where grown to any extent, and especially 
out-of-doors—are very useful as small flower-stakes 
for calceolarias, geraniums, &c. It. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCIlIDACEzE. 
Plants Requiring Peculiar Treatment : Ancec- 
tochilus setaceus. —In the description of this plant, 
the week before last, it was mentioned that the 
flowers were not showy, but curious. The sepals 
(outer petals) are greenish, tinged with red ; the pe¬ 
tals (inner) and labellum (lip) are whitish; the latter 
being fringed. The stem, bearing several flowers, 
rises about five inches above the foliage. Each 
flower is not more than three-quarters of an inch long, 
by a quarter of an inch broad. The stem and leaves 
belonging to it die off after flowering; fresh shoots 
springing up from below. Now, as the leaves are 
the great beauty of these plants, it is not advisable 
to allow them to produce any flowers. As soon as 
the flower-stem appears above the foliage, we advise 
it to be nipt oft' with the linger and thumb ; and then 
to squeeze the top of the stem that is left, to dry up 
the sap, which woidd flow, and cause the stem to rot 
downward, and eventually destroy the plant. 
As these plants are rather difficult to cultivate, we 
shall endeavour to describe, what we consider the 
best method to cause them to grow well. As they 
are terrestrial plants, growing in thickets and under 
hedges, amidst decaying leaves, the soil proper for 
them is a compost of sandy-peat and vegetable mould 
(leaves rotted down to earth). Pot them in this com¬ 
post in small pots, according to the size of the plants. 
Let the pots be well drained with broken potsherds ; 
put a little moss upon the drainage, to keep the earth 
from choking it up ; then fill the pot nearly full with 
the compost, and place the plant in the pot—filling 
up round it, till it stands a little elevated above the 
rim of the pot, and pressing the earth moderately firm 
to each plant. Next, take a pot three or four sizes 
larger than the one the plant is in; fill it so full of 
moss as to allow the pot with the plant in it to be 
plunged amongst the moss; the moss and plant to 
be a little elevated—forming a small hillock in the 
centre of the pot. A thin layer of the moss should 
be laid, also, over the soil in which the plant is potted. 
After all this is done, put over each plant a clear bell- 
glass, a little less than the pot containing the moss, 
and place them on a platform—not far from the 
lower part of the glass-roof of the house. As these 
plants grow in shady places, it will be necessary to 
keep them constantly shaded from the sun, excepting 
during the short days of winter, when they may be 
allowed to enjoy his beams. 
Water .—Considering again, the native situation of 
theAnscctochilus, it will guide us in the application of 
moisture. They require watering in small quantities 
at a time—but often, so as to keep the soil moist, but 
not wet or muddy. As the bell-glass must be kept con¬ 
stantly over them, that alone, by preventing evapo¬ 
ration, will keep the soil much longer in a moist state 
