November 2, 1889 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
133 
FUCHSIAS OUT OF DOORS. 
So far as my experience goes, both at home and abroad, 
Fuchsias have done remarkably well this year in the 
open air. I observed several instances in Belgium, 
Switzerland, and Italy, where they had been bedded or 
planted out with considerable success, and regret I did 
not make a note of the localities. In public and private 
gardens at home, too, even some of the best varieties 
seem to have flourished more than usual. The pre¬ 
valence of wet and warmth may doubtless have had a good 
deal to do with bringing about this result, especially in 
places where Fuchsias, as a rule, do not take kindly to 
outdoor treatment. As is well known, there are many 
districts round the western and southern coasts of our 
island where the hardier varieties do well from year to 
year, and get through the winter without any further 
protection than a handful of leaves, or a shovelful of 
coal ashes or coco-nut waste. This is especially notice¬ 
able on the southern shores of the Bristol Channel; and 
at Clevedon, Weston-super-Mare, and adjacent districts 
huge bushes of the old F. gracilis may be noticed full 
of bloom until late in the autumn. Occasionally, 
however, their career gets cut short by an early frost 
or a salt blizzard from the muddy sea, though probably 
borne on the breast of the Atlantic. One of these causes 
has been at work recently at Weston, and I noticed 
last week that in all exposed situations the plants of 
F. gracilis, however long established, had been shrivelled 
up as though by fire, especially on the sides nearest the 
sea front; yet Pelargoniums, Roses, and other remnants 
of summer were flourishing apparently unharmed. 
Another hardy Fuchsia, a spray of which I enclose 
[Riccartoni], was not only flourishing, but gay with 
bloom in many gardens. In one forecourt, with an 
aspect due east, I observed two trees—they well deserve 
the title—one on either side of the door, trained to the 
wall and full of bloom from top to bottom. One plant 
was at least 10 ft. in height, the other perhaps 2 ft. 
less, while both were fully 6 ft. across. Being loosely 
tied in, the ends of the shoots projected several inches 
from the wall, and every shoot being tasselled with 
half-a-dozen open flowers and as many buds, whose 
brilliant scarlet was well set off by the rich bronze- 
green foliage, the whole effect was such as to compel 
the passing spectator to pause and admire. I may 
add, that the main stems of these plants are from 4 ins. 
to 6 ins. in circumference, so far as I could judge 
without actual measurement. Nothing very unusual, 
I admit, but still one does not often see a couple of 
Fuchsias in the open laden with thousands of flowers 
in the last days of October.— E. R. J. 
--- 
NOTES ON PEAS. 
Early Peas were a splendid crop with us this season, 
doing better than ever I saw them. As our soil is 
light, we find it necessary to make trenches for all our 
Peas, and there can be little doubt but that this is a 
capital method to adopt on all light and well-drained 
soils such as we have. It keeps the moisture about the 
roots, wards off the attack of mildew, and gives a vastly 
superior crop of Peas. We take out trenches 2 fc. 
deep, turn over the subsoil, over which we place a 
quantity of good rotten manure and decayed vegetable 
refuse from the rubbish heap, then replace the soil, 
which is thoroughly well broken and raised slightly 
above the level of the surrounding ground. In this we 
sow our Peas thinly, and they succeed capitally. 
American Wonder we sowed in beds 3 ft. in width, 
and realised a splendid crop of fairly good peas when 
cooked. We had no novelties among our early sorts, 
but relied on the old well-tiied varieties, and were not 
disappointed. First and Best gave us our first gather¬ 
ing about the middle of June, followed by Ringleader 
and Early Sunrise, which last is by far the best quality 
Pea, but considerably later than the other two. 
Amongst the novelties which we tried, The Duchess 
proved a grand Pea, especially for exhibition, bearing 
long handsome pods, well filled, and of capital 
quality when cooked. It did not crop quite so heavily 
as I would have liked, but on the whole it is a Pea well 
worth growing. 
Autocrat is a first-rate Pea in every way, an excellent 
cropper, and first-rate in quality. It is dwarf and 
sturdy in growth, and not liable to mildew. It is one 
of the new varieties which has doubtless a grand 
future before it. 
Amateur.—Unfortunately we obtained inferior seeds 
of this variety, and so I cannot speak with any 
certainty about it. What little did grow, gave us 
handsome dark green pods of excellent Peas, and we 
hope to be more fortunate next year. It seems to be 
dwarf in habit, which is a great advantage where sticks 
are not easily got. 
The now comparatively old Duke of Albany was, 
without doubt, the best Pea we had, taking everything 
into consideration ; the crop was excellent, and the 
quality left nothing to be desired. Telephone was a 
complete failure, scarcely yielding a decent dish. 
Veitch’s Perfection still holds its own as to its well- 
known qualities ; there is not a better-flavoured Pea 
for late work than this. We have just finished them, 
and are using Walker’s Perpetual Bearer, which, 
however, has not filled its pods well, but still they are 
very welcome.— Arbutus, Perthshire. 
--»$*•- 
SEASONABLE PROPAGATING.—I. 
Propagating plants in large numbers, and in sufficient 
quantity for trade purposes, has generally been consi¬ 
dered a branch of the business totally confined to itself, 
men being engaged specially for that work. To become 
a successful propagator, it is necessary that a man 
should have all his wits about him, be quick of 
comprehension, and not inclined to jump to hasty 
conclusions, or the probabilities are that he may lose a 
whole season’s work, the result, perhaps, of a whole year’s 
preparation previous to the time he took the task in 
hand. Care is one of the chief essentials in the work 
of a propagator, and he will often have some anxious 
moments when a batch of rare and valuable cuttings or 
grafts are at the turning point either to success or 
failure. 
To fail is disheartening. To succeed sometimes 
makes us careless, consequently, we may see gaps 
where a full batch ought to have been, which practi¬ 
cally means a loss of time occupied in putting the 
cuttings in. The time so lost cannot be made good, 
and the stock so lost is often the best wood it is pos¬ 
sible to get at that time, so that if there is any chance 
of making the loss good, and the season is long enough 
to allow of such a proceeding, the stock so obtained 
is very likely to be a very much weaker sample. 
It is an admitted fact that in nearly all gardens, the 
gardener is expected to know how to root cuttings of 
bedding-out plants and the general run of soft-wooded 
plants ; and if he can manage to successfully propagate 
choice stove and greenhouse plants he is held in greater 
esteem. To be successful it is absolutely necessary that 
a man must have a fair knowledge of plants—no hap¬ 
hazard system being adopted—and by making himself 
as much as possible acquainted with their native 
habitats, &c., he will overcome many difficulties. 
It is absurd to attempt to work up a collection of 
mixed plants without the proper appliances are at 
hand, and still more so, if the cuttings or grafts are 
not in a fit state for use—that is, the wood must be in 
a proper state of ripeness to enable them to withstand 
the shock to the system caused by severance from the 
parent plants. A knowledge of the proper seasons of 
the year when to do the work, so that it may have a 
satisfactory termination, is of the greatest importance. 
These matters require the utmost consideration, and 
although they may look but small things in the eyes 
of an experienced man, the beginner should be careful 
to weigh them up. 
Failures are grand mile-stones on the road to success ; 
we learn more from them than we possibly can do from 
a continual run of successful work. As the seasons 
work round they stand out prominently before us, ever 
reminding us what to avoid, and causing the previous 
error to be remedied, with, perhaps, a grand success. 
Possibly some failures may be traced to over-confidence 
in our abilities, and in other cases by attempting work 
we have had no previous experience of. If the latter, 
which is sometimes the case with beginners, they should 
not attempt such work without first having had some 
practical lessons for a season or two. 
Those who are successful as propagators, can see at 
a glance whether their work is progressing satisfactorily 
or not, and it is to attain this perfection that beginners 
should aspire. Cleanliness is an important factor, 
leading to the success or failure of a batch of cuttings, 
and upon no consideration should cuttings be inserted 
that have any kind of insect pest about them. Another 
very important item is to maintain as steady a 
temperature as possible, whether the work be in a cool 
or a hot propagating house, and for this reason plunging 
the pots is adopted. 
The present season of the year is not one of the best 
to do much in the way of propagation under glass, 
with the exception of greenhouse hard-wooded plants, 
or the tall stems of Dracrenas, &c., that require to 
be cut down. Where hard-wooded plants are to be 
increased the sooner the cuttings are in now the better. 
These include Heaths and all kinds of New Holland 
plants, and they should be placed in the cool propa- 
