Io 
Aucust 1, 1904. 
6X... Jke 
HE Fuchsia is such a well-known florist’s 
. flower as scarcely to need description. 
Whilst inthe two great divisions of plants, 
threes or fives, or their multiples, are 
customary, the Fuchsia favours the number 
four: it has 4 sepals, 4 petals, 8 stamens, and 
a four-celled berry. As the flower is pendant 
and the corolla partly hidden from above it 
has found it advantageous to grow a coloured 
calyx in order to attract insects for pollina- 
tion. The Fuchsia was discovered. 200 years 
ago by a monk, Father Plumier, who named 
it after a famous botanist, Fuchs, born 
another 200 years earlier. The native habit 
is Central and Southern America; there are 
about 50 species, of which the principal in 
cultivation are Globosa, Corymbiflora, 
Julgens (with long flowers and tuberous 
roots), Procumbens, and Gracilis. The 
natural order to which the Fuchsia belongs 
is Onagraceae, so’ called because in some 
species the leaves are like the ears of ‘the 
Onager or Wild Ass! Other species found in’ 
our gardens are Gaura, Godetia, Clarkia, and 
the Evening Primrose. The berries of the 
Fuchsia are edible, and so are the roots of 
the Evening Primrose, and the seeds of the 
Water Chesnut, of the same order. 
The Fuchsia readily lends itself to crossing. 
Supposing a fine shaped flower with a toler- 
ably pure white tube, but deficient in a good 
corolla of the right form and colour; then 
take the pollen of a variety that.has a good 
corolla, and apply it to the stigma of the one 
with a good tube and sepals, and save the 
seed. A glance down a florist’s catalogue 
will show the numerous varieties of. colour 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
eee 
obtained :. the sepals being white, crimson, 
scarlet, violet, &c., and the petals white, pink, 
purple, blue, &c. in various combinations. 
These varieties are obtained by crossing as 
indicated and growing the plants from seed. 
Some varieties, too, are grown for the 
beauty of their leaves, such as Sunray and 
Meteor. The propagation is easy ; either from 
seeds, or from cuttings about one inch long 
of young shoots taken off close to the old 
wood. Even in the Hills, where frost is not 
unusual, the plants will survive the winter if 
not allowed to get sodden. ; 
It can be .successfully and easily grown 
either in the open beds, the bush house, or 
“Mrs. E. G. Hill.” 
under glass. The plant is mostly favoured 
for pot culture, because of the gracefulness 
and beauty of the blooms and the elegance 
of its form as a plant when carefully shaped 
during its younger stages of growth. 
' The most suitable compost is one part 
sharp sand, one part well-decayed cowyard 
manure, and two parts rich fibrous loam. 
Although the plant is rather a rich feeder, 
only occasional supplies of liquid manure 
should be given, and then great care must be 
taken not to put it in too strong. To make 
the young plants bushy the shoots should be 
stopped off when the plant has grown about, 
say, Six or eight inches. 
In pot culture the plants require to be re- 
placed with young ones about every third 
year. 
In the open they are very vigorous growers 
when properly tended, and their special de- 
light is an eastern aspect, well sheltered from 
the hot winds. Here they should be well 
‘are thrown. 
Fuchsia. 2° 
mulched with rotted manure, and growers 
will find them thirsty plants during dry 
weather. 
Many growers of Fuchsias not for show 
purposes will keep the same plants in large 
pots, or in the open beds in favoured spots 
for years. As a rule under such circum- 
stances ithe old plants become gaunt and 
straggley, but by judicious pruning, and after- 
wards stopping, in the autumn the old plants 
will hold their own amongst others with a 
fair. show of blooms, indeed very fine flowers 
The pyramid shape is the cor- 
rect form. to be worked for, and to gain this 
the tops should be nipped off to force out 
the lower branches. One of the upper shoots 
should: be removed as soon as the lower ones 
have pushed a few inches, and the other tied 
to a stick, to be again stopped when it has 
‘advanced about a foot. 
The Fuchsia is another: plant which has 
-been neglected in the matter of not being 
grown nearly so largely as it deserves to be 
(says the Sydney Daily Telegraph.) Plants 
out of doors, by reason of the mild character 
of the winter, are now producing nice young 
growths, which will answer first rate as cut- 
tings, and if propagated now they will make 
very nice plants and flower well during the 
autumn. We have no hesitation in recom- 
mending the single varieties for outdoor 
cultivation, because they are hardier an 
freer flowering than the double, and in nearly 
every instance they make the better plant of 
the two. As a matter of fact, it is requisite 
that the double varieties should solely be 
cultivated in nicely sheltered situations. 
7 
