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By Henry T. Williams. 
Vol. VI. NEW YORK, JUNE, 1877. 
No. 66. 
Price 12 Cents. 
SKETCH OF A SUMMER, HOUSE. 
The sketch upon this page is one of a Rustic Sum¬ 
mer House, erected at River Edge, N. J., upon the 
grounds of William S.'Carman. 
It is made of heavy red cedar, with the bark left 
on, and even the branches for several inches, except 
upon the inside. 
At one side of this summer house, and extending 
half around it, is a rock work well filled with Sedum, 
Echeveria, Cactus, Aloe, Plumbago, 
Lobelia, Ivy, etc., etc. The upright 
poles, as well as those of the roof and 
peak of the summer house, are re¬ 
versed, so that the larger ends are 
placed where the smaller ones usually 
are in structures of this kind. 
A substantial—almost massive— 
look is thus produced. The vines 
spread over a greater part of the roof, 
and, ascending the peak, attach them¬ 
selves to the twigs of the trees near 
by, or flow hack again upon the arbor 
in festoons, quite in keeping with the 
disorderly beauty that this intricate 
piece of gardening has been designed 
to display. 
Between the summer house and the 
rock work, a deeply shaded space of 
several feet is filled with hardy Ferns, 
Pansies, and Violets. 
On the back and the other side, a 
connecting semi-circular plot is filled 
with Rhododendrons, Kalmias, Ma- 
bernias, Azaleas, and Roses. These, 
exposed partly to the east, partly to 
the south, and planted in muck, taken 
from what is now the lake, mixed 
with ordinary garden soil, grow satis¬ 
factorily and bloom abundantly. 
A part of the summer house on this 
side is reserved for rapid-growing 
summer vines, such as Coboea and 
Maurandya. 
Plants started in the house and put out in spring, 
very soon cover the space, and add a freshness and 
variety of bloom and foliage that cannot be produced 
when hardy vines alone are employed. 
Roses. —The best soil for Roses is a strong loam ; 
the deeper it is the better. It should be well drained. 
THE FUCHSIA. 
BY W. C. L. DREW. 
For natural elegance and beauty,. I know of no 
flower which equals the Fuchsia. It is eminently the 
flower for amateurs, whether for summer or winter 
decoration. There is no flower of equal pretensions 
so easy of culture and propagation, and so adapted to 
a widely diversified range of circumstances. 
The Fuchsia is of South American origin. There 
Sketch of a Summer-House. 
is a very pretty story as to its introduction, telling how 
a young sailor boy, leaving home against his mother’s 
will, at the last moment promised to bring her a hand¬ 
some present. As he was about to start for home, 
from a South American port, he remembered his 
promise, and obtained a Fuchsia plant, which he care¬ 
fully tended on the home voyage, and gave to his 
mother on his return: how she cherished it, and sold 
slips at a very high price to a nurseryman of her vil¬ 
lage, who made a fortune out of it. 
Fuchsias are propagated from slips and seed. Slips 
are the surest and best way, and where plants true to 
color are desired, are the only sure way. All the new 
varieties are originated by seeds. 
propagating by slips. 
As this is the' best way, a few words on the method 
will not be out of place. No secrets are required, no 
hothouse or greenhouse is necessary ; 
_ an amateur can succeed as well as a 
nurseryman. 
Take your slips off with a heel : 
that is, break them off where they 
branch out from the main stem, slip¬ 
ping. not cutting, them off. Have 
ready a box of very fine, nice soil, 
composed of sand, garden soil and 
manure well rotted, or leaf mould, 
which is better; have it well mixed, 
plant the slips with two or more leaf 
joints under ground; water them with 
lukewarm water; never let the soil 
get dry, and nearly every slip will 
grow. From April to October is the 
best time to slip. 
Many people complain that Fuchsias 
are hard to start from slips; this is 
owing to cutting slips off without re¬ 
gard ; they should never be cut, but 
slipped off with a heel attached. 
Having started them, they will 
need attention as to training, which 
can be done in any manner to suit the 
fancy. A neat little trellis may be 
made or bought, over which it may 
he trained, or they may he made into 
neat little bushes by nipping out the 
centre shoot when about a foot high, 
which causes side shoots to start, 
which should have their tops nipped 
out again when of proper height. 
Some varieties make excellent winter bloomers, but 
as they are classed separately in nearly all catalogues, 
it will not be necessary to give a list of them. 
If a window or greenhouse is not convenient for 
saving the plants over winter, in October they may he 
taken up, the soil shaken off, and placed in a box of 
dry sawdust over winter. 
