THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S COMPANION.— June 10,1856. 185 
warm temperature and a dry atmosphere are their 
bane. 
Summer Residence eor Greenhouse Flowering 
Plants.—I and my coadjutors have the privilege of 
trying to meet the wants of those who have but little 
greenhouse room, and who wish to make the most of it, 
in securing variety during the season. They com¬ 
plain, if they keep Calceolarias, Cinerarias, Geraniums, 
&c., cool enough, with a sufficiency of air, that they 
hinder the growth of other things, such as young 
Fuchsias, tender annuals, Achimenes, &c., brought from 
the Cucumber or Melon pit; and that, if they shade to 
preserve the flowers of Calceolarias, &c., other plants 
get drawn and long-legged for want of light. Remedies 
in these cases must be found, in a great measure, from 
generalising or general principles, and growing the 
plants requiring treatment somewhat alike in groups. 
Much, however, would be gained, if many of our readers 
were convinced that, after the end of May, such plants 
in bloom as those alluded to—Cinerarias, Calceolarias, 
Geraniums, &c. —will do as well out-of-doors, if sheltered 
from wind and wet, as in the house, and will require 
much less attention, and be much less subject to insects. 
Any sheltered spot, protected with curtains of calico all 
round, and with tight or glazed calico at the top, to throw 
off the wet when heavy, will do admirably for all such 
things; and a stage, if deemed necessary, would show 
them off to advantage. Sashes placed against a north 
wall answer admirably for this purpose. In the build¬ 
ing of a greenhouse with a sloping roof, it is customary 
to have a shed for the stock-hole behind, and the same 
place is useful for pottiDg, keeping soils, &c. Now, in 
all new erections, I would strongly recommend that at 
least half, if not all, the roof of such a shed should 
be of glass; and then lots of deciduous plants, as 
Fuchsias; roots, as Dahlias, Achimenes, &c., could be kept 
there in winter ; but in May, Juue, and onwards, such a 
place being well cleaned, and little or no firing used, 
and proper platforms or stages employed, Calceolarias, 
Cinerarias, Geraniums, Azaleas, &c., would be much longer 
in bloom there than in any house with south, east, or 
west aspects; and no shading would be required. With 
such conveniences, justice could he given to Vines on 
rafters; to Camellias, and Azaleas, aud Epacrises making 
their wood ; and to the growing of Achimenes, Balsams, 
and Cockscombs, and tender annuals. To manage all 
these matters in small space, a house, however small, 
should be divided. 
Hardier plants, such as Acacias, Coronillas, Cytisus, 
Genista, now done flowering aud growing, should be 
placed in a shady, sheltered place, out-of-doors, until 
they are used to the open exposure, when they should 
be thoroughly cleaned of all dead flowers, dead leaves, 
and freely syringed to keep off Red Spider, and placed 
more in the light; the great thing to be attended to 
being plenty of water, a sufficiency of pot room, and 
protecting the pots from the full force of the sun, and 
housing before frost in autumn. 
Heaths, growing aud flowering, will receive little 
harm from a powerful sun, provided there is a free 
ourrent of air, and the pots (red in colour) are not ex¬ 
posed to the sun’s influence. I have several times taken 
two heath plants, as near alike as possible; the one with 
its pot stood exposed to the sun in the open air, the 
other with its top exposed; but in one case the pot was 
surrounded by matting, in another the pot was placed 
on the ground, standing on two bricks, to admit free 
drainage, and with air round the pot. The protected 
pot plants never winced; the exposed ones got brown, 
and several of the shoots were shrivelled. 1 have also 
tried various coloured pots without protection : black 
was worse than red, being hotter in sunshine and colder 
at night. A light stone-colour seemed to answer best. 
One reason why all such thrive so well in cold pits, be 
they earth, wood, or brick in their walls, is, that the 
pots, to a great extent, are protected from the sun's rays, 
and the small fibry roots are not scorched at their 
points. 
This reminds me to add, that any cold pit, or frame, 
deep enough for the plants, that may have been used 
for bedding stuff in winter, &c., may now chiefly be 
converted into a substitute for a hotbed, or a hothouse, 
by giving to it little air, and husbanding the heat from 
the sun’s rays. Such receptacles are just the place for 
strong-growing, early-blooming Heaths making fresh 
growth after pruning, when done flowering; Azaleas, 
Camellias, Epacrises, and New Holland plants generally, 
when done flowering; for though many of them are 
hardy enough to thrive all the year round in a common 
greenhouse, there can be no question that assisting the 
shoots when growing with more heat and moisture, and 
then hardening the wood thus made by gradual exposure 
to all the sun and air our climate will give them at the 
end of summer and autumn, enables them to receive, as 
far as our climate will permit, the circumstances they 
would enjoy in their natural habitats. R. Fish. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 
THE FUCHSIA. 
The new varieties of this charming flower are, as 
usual, mostly raised by Mr. Banks, of Clapton. Mr. 
Story has produced some more varieties with white 
corollas, which are very beautiful and striking, though, 
in my opinion, their novelty is their greatest recom¬ 
mendation. After all, a well-reflexed flower, with white 
or crimson tube, and a deep blue or violet corolla, forms, 
in point of beauty, the greatest attraction in a Fuchsia. 
The exploits of florists in this flower are really remark¬ 
able. The original species had small flowers, with sepals 
hanging down, nearly concealing the pretty, small blue 
corolla. Now nothing will pass the florist’s ordeal but 
reflexed flowers of a large size. We have them with 
white tubes, white sepals, white corolla ; (here are crim¬ 
son and scarlet tubes, crimson and scarlet sepals; co¬ 
rollas of various shades of blue and purple ; nay, more, 
we have raised them with double corollas of various 
colours, aud lately some varieties have appeared with 
stripes on the sepals. All this not only proves the 
industry of the florist, hut also the wonderful variety 
Nature has stored up in these lovely flowers, which the 
skill of the cultivator may, by his ingenuity and perse¬ 
verance, bring to light. The most sanguine raiser of 
new flowers dares not, I think, assume that he has put 
those various forms and colours into his seedlings; he 
must confess that all he has done amounts only to this— 
that by mixing the various kinds, Nature has allowed 
the forms and varieties of colour to appear; thus re¬ 
warding the cultivator liberally for his pains. 
Twelve Selected New Varieties. 
1. Conqueror (Smith). — Crimson tube, and sepals 
! reflexed ; rich purple corolla. Free flowerer. 
2. Charlemagna (Banks). — Tube and sepals clear 
bright scarlet, well reflexed ; exhibiting a fine large 
violet-purple corolla. Good form and habit. 
3. Countess of Burlington (Story).—Scarlet tube and 
sepals, the latter well refiexed; corolla well formed, 
clear white in colour; habit excellent; and a free 
bloomer. 
4. Donna Joaquina (Banks).—A large, stout flower, 
with the tube and sepals of a rich scarlet-crimson colour, 
the latter beautifully reflected ; corolla well formed, and 
of a clear violet-blue. A fine variety, of good habit. 
5. Emperor Napoleon (Banks).—Tube aud sepals of 
a rich crimsou, the latter broad and well reflexed; corolla 
cup-sliaped, and of a deep violet colour. A fine variety. 
