JUNE. 
125 
tub. Get some horse-droppings fresh from the stable, say about half a bushel 
to a barrel of rain water ; let these be mixed well together, and half a peck of 
soot added. When the liquid is clear let each plant have«a small quantity, say 
about a pint, every three days, to be increased each week, but be sure not to 
give it too strong, or it will take all the flowers off. Apply it in the after part 
of the day with the regular water. Give the plants every encouragement to 
grow, and regulate the branches that may require it. The plants should each 
have a strong stake in the centre, to which the shoots should be well fastened. 
The bloom-buds will soon begin to appear, but the forward ones should be 
picked off till they appear regular all over the plant. 
The plants are prepared for exhibition in this way : The day before the 
show a supply of stakes, thin paper, and Cuba bast must be got ready. Put 
the stakes in the soil, gather three or four bunches of bloom together, put the 
paper round them, and fasten the paper to the top of the stakes. All the 
blooms must be done in this way to make them travel well; and if they ai*e 
carefully tied, and three large nails driven into the bottom of the van round 
the bottom of each pot, the plants will travel any distance without damage. 
When they arrive at the show the paper has to be taken off, and the flowers 
will then look as fresh as they did before they started. Place them on the 
stage, the tallest at the back, and very much raised, if they are three deep, so 
that they may show themselves ; if only two deep, of course they will not require 
so much. Every flower must be made the most of. Let each pot be slightly 
pitched forward, and let every defective leaf and bloom be picked off, and. the 
names plainly written. All is now ready for the first prize. As soon as the 
show closes, let them be carefully papered up again, and they will be little or 
none the worse for being shown to the public. 
To get the first prize, the plants should have abundance of large blooms 
distributed regularly all over the plant. The blooms must be of a perfect 
shape, and the sorts distinct in colour. The foliage must be perfectly green, 
and free from dirt and insects. The plants must have health and vigour, so 
that they can throw out branches to give them a graceful and elegant appear¬ 
ance, and should be as nearly of the shape of a good specimen of Cedrus deodara 
as possible, with only one stake in the centre. Every plant should be of the 
same shape, and about the same size, so that they may have the appearance of 
having come out of one mould. The plants must be perfectly round, so that 
one side is as good as another. Let the blooms hang about 4 inches from the 
floor all round the pot, in which way the pot will be half-hidden by the' 
plant. Plants in a 12-inch pot, when well grown, ought to be 5 to 6 feet high, 
and 4 to 5 feet through. 
In the early part of the spring, Fuchsias are very much injured by what is 
commonly known by the name of the “ spittle fly,” and they must be well 
looked after. The only means I know to get rid of them is to catch them and 
kill them, for tobacco smoke has not the slightest effect on them. Green fly 
and tlirips are easily got rid of in the ordinary way of fumigation with pure 
tobacco. I have tried many things recommended, but none answers so well as 
this. Two applications, one in each week, will remove them for a long time, if 
properly done. 
The soil that I use is one part yellow decayed loam, one part leaf-mould, 
one part peat or heather soil, and one part well-decayed cowdung, with almost 
another of sharp silver sand, well mixed together two months before using. 
Henry Cannell. 
JVoohvich. —( Gardeners' Chronicle.) 
