TIIE LABIEV FLORAL CABINET. 
177 
must see His face in every flower, and feel his breath in 
the odor of forest leaves and banks of wild Thyme. 
Now, dost thou not long to be a child once more, and 
to live out thy days in a frenzy of joy ? Wouldst thou 
shrink from cold hearts and disappointments and re¬ 
grets, and live for the love of flowers only ?—to gather 
round thee glowing visions of floral loveliness; to fill 
the air with angel shapes and rainbow hues; to breathe 
an atmosphere of perfume like that which floats over 
the green pastures of Paradise; to feel the sense over¬ 
whelmed with droppings of rich music, as though 
angel lutes were tuning their anthems to the Omnipo¬ 
tent; and, amid the grand symphonies of Nature, to feel 
the soul hallowed and becalmed, as the sea in summer 
time, when the winds have gone to sleep upon its 
bosom ? 
“Nature is the property of all. Flowers are the 
ministers of her commonwealth. They bloom for old 
and young, rich and poor; and, to every true heart, are 
messengers from heaven. The great duty of flowers is 
to teach us to be always children, to be ever fresh, and 
budding into new beauty; for the poetry of our lives is 
all that can ennoble us. It is in the morning of our ex¬ 
istence that 
‘ Hope looks out 
Into the dazzling sheen, and fondly talks 
Of Summer; and Love comes, and all the air 
Rings with wild harmonies.’ 
“ Because time has led us a little further towards the 
tomb, we need not become so engrossed with sordid 
pursuits as to shun the world of beauty, the creation of 
poetry, which exists around us in the semblance of 
perpetual youth. Oh! ‘let the blood of the Violet 
trickle in our veins.’ Let us mingle with the sweet 
children of the woods, and hold communings with 
Nature in her own peaceful solitudes. We will lie in 
green meads where Daisies grow, and bask us in the 
sunshine; lie by the streamlets’ brim, and plait rushes, 
and talk to our own images in the reflecting waters; 
hide in flowery nooks and dingles, andmurmer snatches 
of wild old songs, until we laugh ourselves into a very 
incarnation of gladness; will build our fairy palaces 
with a geometry of sunbeams, and climb upwards on 
our dreamy destiny till the universe becomes our 
temple.” 
THE FUCHSIA. 
When well grown, Fuchsias are the most handsome 
as well as the most graceful of all our cultivated plants, 
and nothing can surpass the beauty of well-grown 
specimens during their flowering season. 
The ease with which the plants can be grown, the 
great variety in color of the flowers, as well as* the free¬ 
dom with which they are produced, have all conspired 
to render the Fuchsia one of the most beautiful and at¬ 
tractive genus of plants in cultivation. 
With the exception of two or three varieties, it is not 
a winter-blooming plant, the summer being its season of 
growth as well as of flowering, and when grown as a 
pot-plant for the decoration of the greenhouse at that 
season it is surpassed by none, having neat, elegant 
foliage, a compact, symmetrical habit of growth, as 
well as being very floriferous. 
To those who have not the facilities of giving them 
the protection of a greenhouse, it is very satisfactory to 
know that they can be cultivated with very good re¬ 
sults if planted out in a rich, deep border in any situa¬ 
tion where they can be sheltered from the hot mid-day 
sun, as for instance, the north side of a building, the 
only care being to give them a liberal supply of water 
at their roots during hot, dry weather; sprinkle them 
overhead at least every other evening, and keep them 
supported with neat stakes. On the approach of cold 
weather take them up carefully, trim closely and place 
in as small pots as possible. Set them in a cold frame 
until the weather necessitates removing them to the 
house. When first potted water thoroughly, afterwards 
sparingly. For cultivation in the open air the dark- 
colored varieties are to be preferred. 
As pot-plants for the decoration of the greenhouse 
during the summer season, the Fuchsia is without an 
equal, for there are no other plants that will more fully 
repay the attention given them, and they are so graceful 
and attractive when in bloom that they cannot fail to 
claim the attention of the most indifferent observer. 
The Fuchsia is a plant easily cultivated m pots—it re¬ 
quires good drainage, a compost composed of two parts 
turfy loam and one part of well-rotted stable manure, 
and two pounds of bone-dust to each bushel of soil, 
thoroughly mixed. The soil should be used rough and 
the plants potted firmly; they do best when grown 
rather fast, in a temperature of from fifty to sixty de¬ 
grees, and they love warmth and moisture, but cannot 
endure full exposure to hot sunshine, dry soil or dry air. 
Young plants obtained early in spring will make fine 
large plants by autumn, if properly cared for; the se¬ 
cret of obtaining fine specimens is, never permit the 
plants to stop growing until they are of the desired 
size, and in order to effect this object tlev should be 
frequently shifted until they attain the desired size. 
In order to have fine specimen plants it is necessary to 
give some attention to their training, and in doing this 
the Fuchsia must be permitted to follow its natural 
habit to do well, for a plant that grows like a shrub 
cannot be made to assume the form of a tree. 
The best place to winter Fuchsias is a dry frost-prcof 
cellar; they should be kept almost dry until about the 
first of March, when they should be turned out of their 
pots, their side shoots well cut back, the main shoots 
shortened and the roots trimmed in ; repot them in as 
small pots as possible. Water them at first thoroughly, 
and afterward sparingly, until they commence to grow ; 
place them in a warm situation, and as scon as the eyes 
break remove those that are not wanted, leaving 
enough, however, to give plenty of side-sl:cots, pinch 
all back as often as they shew a tendency to grow out 
of shape. Support the main shoots with a neat stake, 
and when growing give plenty of water, and syringe 
gently every other evening when coming into blccm ; 
