10 
“ter we have had in living memory—that of 
1894-5. Ib is very attractive indeed. It 
may be raised from seeds or by division in 
spring, though if bad weather follow divi- 
son there is some risk of loss——S. R. Nort. 
CHOICE CACTUS DAHLIAS. 
‘As it must be obvious that it is impos- 
sible to obtain the best results with’ in- 
ferior varieties, or to succeed in competi- 
‘tion with obsolete ones, I give a selection of 
the best. I do not say that there are no 
ethers as good, or that these comprise all 
those worth growing ; but at the same time, 
the following lists are. thoroughly up: to 
date, and anyone possessing them need fear 
n0 one. 
‘I first give eighteen varieties for exhi- 
bition, not including any flower catalogued 
Zor the first time this spring, and my aim 
-has been to give a selection of colors, as 
well as to pay attention to their other 
anmerits. 
In yellow, we have Mrs. J. J. Crowe, well 
known, and Mrs. Edward Mawley, a large 
flower, extraordinarily deep, and of re- 
gular, incurved form. This flower takes 
an exceptionally long time in developing, 
and lasts accordingly. 
In white we have still to grow Lord 
Roberts, unless we can afford a new variety 
mentioned later on. His lordship is 
usually in grand form in early August, and 
is of wiry growth. 
For scarlet and crimson, Mrs. Winstan- 
ley, a dwarf sturdy growing variety intro- 
duced last spring, is good, the flower large, 
has a strong stem, and the form is first 
tate; Mrs. Carter Page is fine when it is to 
de had, but is a shy bloomer. 
In dark varieties we have the choice of 
3. H. Jackson, huge blooms, almost too 
darge for first-class exhibition, but very fine 
flowers ; aunt Chloe, medium size, pointed 
im petal, erect habit, and strong stems. 
These are both of last spring’s introduc- 
tion. 
Bicolors are now coming to the front. 
Columbia, a long petalled variety, is pretty 
when set up for exhibition, but pendent on 
the plant. Color: scarlet, with white at 
the tips. Richard Dean, also scarlet and 
white, of good form, has very long stems. 
Orange and salmon in various shades are 
«ommon in Cactus Dahlias, the following 
being the best: Clara G. Stredwick, dwarf 
and freo flowering, long, thin petalled 
flowers; Florence, yellowish orange, wiry 
an growth, and of easy cultivation, com- 
bined with good form of flower; Lottie 
Dean, straight, narrow petals, amber, 
tinted with pink, and of good size; Ajax, 
a tremendous flower, a variety pretty well 
Known ; J. W. Wilkinson, deep purplish 
crimson, requires good cultivation, but is 
wery fine when well grown, very long, fine 
petals; J. Weir Fife, deep purplish 
maroon, of large size, and good for exhibi- 
tion. : : . 
_ Amongst varieties with suffused color- 
amgs are: P. W. Tulloch, light salmon, 
suffused with lilac, a wiry grower; Miss 
Winchester, shaded coral pink, erect habit, 
and fine form; Vesta, beautiful color, rosy 
pink; which makes it valuable, although 
sratlier heavy. ae ou 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER, 
Jan. 9, 1904 _ 
In conjunction with the above, I feel I 
ought to mention Artus, Pretoria, Mrs. 
Jowett, Charles Woodbridge, Mayor Tup- 
penney, and Uncle Tom. 
If, however, I were to give the varieties 
more particularly for cut bloom and garden 
decoration, I would recommend the follow- 
ing:—Mrs. Winstanley, Florence, Aunt 
Chloe, Khaki, Arab, Gabriel, Mrs. J. J. 
Crowe, General French, Floradora, Lord 
Roberts, Britannia, Uncle Tom, Countess 
of Lonsdale, Magnificent, William Jowett, 
Capstan, Alfred Vasey, and Laverstock 
Beauty. 
The new fancy Alpha I have not in- 
cluded. It is very constant, and free 
flowering, of fairly good Cactus form, and 
was quite up to expectation last summer. 
_ Before leaving the subject of varieties I 
might mention a few of the 1903 new 
flowers, but many of the best have from 
time to time appeared in “The Gardener” 
in different ways, and so I deal with them 
very briefly. 
Promising white varieties are Eva, one 
of the two flowers which received the 
highest number of yotes in “The Gardener” 
competition last autumn; and Albion, a 
long, narrow petalled flower of promising 
appearance as seen last autumn. 
H. J. Jones, the other variety which se- 
cured highest votes, equal to Eva in “The 
Gardener’ competition, is yellow, shaded 
pink towards the tips. Charm is a flower 
of unique coloring, a mixture of yellow and 
brown, tipped with pure white. 
Mrs. W. Cuthbertson is a large, dark, 
fine petalled flower, likely to be a good 
addition to the darks. Vesuvius is a 
Fancy Cactus, with yellow for ground color, 
striped and speckled with crimson, and of 
good Cactus form. Manxman isa blended 
and distinct colored flower, of bold and tell- 
ing appearance. 
Clarence Webb, of particularly incuryed 
form and pretty color, is salmon red, shad- 
ing at the base to yellow. Etna, a color 
new in the Cactus section, is a shade of 
deep lilac, and of true Cactus type. 
Minnie West is clear yellow at the base 
of the petal, but tipped with pure white, a 
fine, large flower. 
F. H. Chapman is of tremendous size, 
but of very refined form, deep orange in 
color. 
Several other new flowers were of a most 
hopeful character; but for the ordinary 
growers, amateur and gardener, the few 
above-named are the cream of 1903.— 
RalIsER. 
COMMONSENSE FUCHSIA CUL- 
TURE. 
Those who wish to form a nice collection 
of Fuchsias should buy a few good plants, 
and raise others from seed. Cuttings can 
be taken at any time in a warm green- 
house, or during summer and early autumn 
in a cold one. The easiest cuttings to 
root are those only 1 inch long; if these 
are put into equal parts of loam and silver 
sand and kept moist. under a _bell-glass 
they will be ready for potting off singly in 
three or four weeks. ees 
The bought plants should be potted into 
clean pots, with a compost of loam and 
leaf mould, mixed with silver sand and a 
When they are 
growing again they should be watered, 
daily in warm weather, with the weakest 
liquid manure, many sorts being used in 
little broken charcoal. 
succession. Pyramid Fuchsias are not as. 
graceful as are natural-looking bushes. To 
obtain the latter, the side shoots must be 
stopped when they have formed three 
joints, and the main shoot stopped when 
it is as tall as the plant is wished to be. 
When enough bushy branches are formed, 
jutting out on all sides, stopping need not. 
be continued. 
Fuchsia raising from seed is interesting, 
for magnificent plants with enormous. 
flowers are occasionally gained, and the 
poorer plants will be good enough for next 
year's bedding out. Summer is a capital 
time ‘to begin seed sowing. Seedlings. 
taken from a very warm propagator, hot- 
bed, or hothouse are weakly and unsatis— 
factory. 
The young plants will grow very rapidly, 
must be pricked off at once into a pot each, 
and never allowed to suffer for want of 
water or root room. Liquid manure should 
not be given until buds are forming. I 
have raised Fuchsias from seed that were 
larger flowering and nearly as double as. 
Phenomenal ; one other pretty variety ob- 
tained thus was a single, with rose pink 
corolla and carmine scarlet sepals. 
Fuchsias do not like a higher tempera- 
ture than 60 deg., and need shading from 
fierce sunshine. They can be enjoyed by 
gardeners who have no greenhouses, for in 
sunny windows (shaded) they thrive excel- 
lently. | By successive sowings and succes- 
sive striking of cuttings, the greenhouse 
gardener can have Fuchsias in blossom all 
the year. 
When a plant has done flowering it re- 
quires a rest, but if this happens in spring 
or summer it is too plucky to take one, so 
should be cut back and placed in a cooler 
spot. Out of doors in a shady border, 
planted out, isa good plan. After a win-. 
ter rest a Fuchsia should be cut back 
severely and repotted. Fuchsias will not 
show at their best unless they are syringed 
in the summer evenings. 
If green fly attacks a plant, give it a 
bath in suds made of sott water and soft 
soap, not immersing the soil, but after- 
wards removing its top layer, upon which 
the fly will be present, and top-dressing” 
with loam and leaf mould. By seed sow- 
ing, and by buying a new variety occa- 
sionally and propagating it, the gardener” 
will quickly obtain a house full of Fuch~ 
sias.—M. HAawTHoRNE. 
ANEMONE ROBINSONIANA. 
Our native Anemone nemorosa, the 
Wood Anemone, has given us a number of 
charming forms, but none is more popular 
than the lovely one known as A. n. Robin- 
goniana, one of the prettiest flowers of 
spring. With large sky-blue single blos- 
soms, it pleases all who see it in any part 
of the garden, and he who could secure a 
carpet of its flowers some yards across im 
his grounds would possess in them a fea- 
ture of singular beauty. The plant is cheap. 
easily procurable, and, at the same t'me.. 
can be cultivated almost anywhere. — 
