1868.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
369 
SMALL-LEAVED FUCHSIA— (F. miCVOphylla.) 
The Fuchsias. 
Not many years ago it was rare to see a Fuch¬ 
sia outside of the green-house, and only seldom 
some of the old sorts under the name of “ La¬ 
dies Ear-drop,” were cultivated as house plants. 
Now the number of species has greatly in¬ 
creased, while by hybridizing so many varieties 
have been produced that with many all trace 
of their parentage is lost, and they have become 
common plants in general cultivation. The 
leaves of the Fuchsia are usually of pleasing 
shape, texture, and color. Various shades of 
green are to be found among them, and they 
are often beautifully veined with crimson. The 
flowers, which come from the axils of the leaves, 
are most generally pendent; though in some 
species and varieties they are erect. This grace¬ 
ful hanging of the flowers suggested the old 
popular name of Ladies’ Ear-drop. The green 
and more or less globular ovary is at the bot¬ 
tom of the flower, then a colored calyx, within 
this a row of differently colored petals, then 
long stamens, and a still longer pistil. The ca¬ 
lyx and corolla often furnish marked contrasts 
of color, and we have a white calyx with pur¬ 
ple or rose corolla, or these colors reversed. 
Great difference is presented in the length of 
the flower and its size, and there are several va¬ 
rieties that are finely doubled. The fruit is a 
berry, the seeds of which grow very readily. 
The stamens and pistils being very conspicuous 
and distinct, the operations of hybridizing and 
crossing are readily performed, and the Fuchsia 
is one of the favorite plants for experiment in 
the production of new varieties. The attempts 
at window cultivation of the Fuchsia are gen¬ 
erally failures, for the reason that but few kinds 
bloom in the winter. A few days ago we were 
called in by a friend who 
wished us to see what was 
the matter with his Fuchsias, 
and tell him what would 
make them grow. They 
had done growing, the wood 
was ripening and most of 
the leaves had fallen. Flo¬ 
rists know how to treat the 
Fuchsia;—they give it a 
season of rest—but most 
other people think that it 
is the business of a plant 
in a pot to grow all the time. 
When the plant has done 
"blooming, put it out in the 
open air and let it ripen its 
wood; before frost, remove it 
to a cool cellar where it may 
remain in a dormant state, with just moisture 
enough to avoid absolute dryness of the soil. 
In February or March repot in new earth con¬ 
taining plenty of leaf-mould, cut back the branch¬ 
es severely, and place in a warm room, and give 
water moderately. The young shoots will soon 
break in such abundance that usually a portion 
will need to be removed. The desired form 
may be given to the plant by pinching the new 
growth. A pyramidal shape may be made by 
keeping the lower branches the longest, or the 
plant may be trained to a frame or trellis. Noth¬ 
ing is easier to start from cuttings than the 
Fuchsia. The young shoots potted in sandy 
soil and covered with a glass, will strike root 
without artificial heat, and form good plants 
the same season. Our engravings give two 
species, well enough known to florists, but 
which are not common in general cultivation. 
The Brilliant Fuchsia ( F.fulgens ) has remarka¬ 
bly long, vermillion colored flowers, in clusters. 
It is one of the best for planting out, but like 
all the rest, should have a partial shade. The 
Small-leaved Fuchsia ( F. microphylla ), looks 
very much unlike the rest of the genus. It has 
small leaves and very minute flowers, and is 
altogether a very pretty plant. This is one of 
the few species that will bloom in winter. 
Callusing Cuttings. 
The propagation of plants by cutting is an 
operation in which some persons meet with uni¬ 
form success, while with others, failure is the 
rule, and success the exception. We refer now 
to those cuttings made from ripened wood, 
such as the stems of grape, currant, quince, and 
of the roots of blackberry, Japan quince, and 
many other shrubs. When a piece of stem or 
root is severed, it, so to speak, puts forth an 
effort to make anew plant, and if the conditions 
are favorable, it generally does so. In the seed 
the root-is provided for, the radicle pushes its 
way into the ground, and rootlets spring from 
it, all from the nourishment contained within 
the seed itself. The roots once established, the 
plant grows rapidly. In making a plant from a 
cutting, we have not everything in readiness for 
roots to start at once. Time is required for the 
cutting to accommodate itself to a new state of 
affairs. If a grape vine cutting be planted in a 
warm room with plenty of light, leaves may 
appear, and a short growth be made, when sud¬ 
denly the plant withers, and the disappointed 
amateur takes up his plant and finds it has no 
root. The bud has been stimulated by light 
and heat, and all the nutriment the cutting con¬ 
tained has been expended in making a feeble 
shoot. Had the cutting been properly treated, 
BRILLIANT FUCHSIA— (F. flllgeilS.) 
the bud kept cool while the lower end was 
damp and warm, the result would have been 
different. When a cutting is placed under prop¬ 
er conditions it prepares to form new roots. 
It needs moisture and a low temperature. The 
nutritive matter in the stem accumulates at the 
place where roots are to appear, and forms a 
rough excrescence of a whitish color and a 
spongy texture, and when this appears, roots are 
quite (though not always) sure to follow. This 
excrescence is called the callus, and cuttings, on 
which it has formed, are said to be “callused.’^ 
With autumn planted cuttings this process takes 
place in early winter, and the roots, if they do 
not form at that time, follow in spring. With 
many plants our winters are too severe, and 
the cuttings need to be buried below the reach 
of frost, or placed in earth in a cellar. Moss is 
better than earth for callusing cuttings. The 
peat or bog moss (Sphagnum), so much used for 
packing, has qualities which adapt it for this 
use. It is a poor conductor of heat, does not 
readily decay, and is very retentive of moisture. 
We some years ago accidentally left some cut¬ 
tings of the Delaware grape in a box of damp 
moss, and found them nicely callused ready for 
planting. Cuttings of the grape, currant (if not 
convenient to plant in autumn,) of hard wooded 
ornamental shrubs, and of blackberry roots and 
other plants increased by root cutting, may be 
placed in a box of damp moss, which is to be 
put into a cellar where it will not freeze, nor 
yet get much above the freezing point. As 
spring approaches the temperature may be al¬ 
lowed to increase gradually, and by the time it 
is safe to plant, the cuttings will be found well 
callused, and in many instances with roots. 
The requisites are, proper moisture, a low 
but not freezing temperature,, and darkness. 
