potted, they should be placed under glass, in a cold frame or pit, plenty of air given in mild weather, and shelter from Very little water is required the air in the frames should

severe frost, when it occurs. during the winter months, and be as dry as possible. Should damp prevail, the plants, some fine day, should be taken out, and a coat of fine, dry coal ashes spread over the surface. The plants should then be replaced in the pit.

By Pipings. Carnations may be propagated by this mode, where there is the convenience of a gentle hot-bed. It is, however, not so safe as layering; but when there are more shoots than can be layered, and it is desirable to propagate largely, the superfluous shoots may be piped. Cut off the lower part of the shoot, up to the third joint, trim off the lowest pair of leaves, and pass the knife just through the joint. Prepare a pot, by draining it, and filing it with the compost up to within an inch of the top; fill that inch with silver sand, water it gently to make it firm, and then insert the piping all around it, close to the pot sides; place them in a gentle hot-bed, shading from the sun; watch them daily, and supply water when the sand becomes dry. When they are rooted, which they will show by sending up fresh leaves, pot them in pairs,

as directed for layers, and treat them in the same

manner.

By Seeds. The seeds may be sown, during the spring months, in boxes or pans filled with the same description of soil as before recommended. Let the surface of the soil be made even, and the seed, evenly scattered over it, cover them to the depth of a quarter of an inch with finely sifted mould. If early in the season, the pans may be put in a moderate hot-bed, just to cause the seeds to germinate, but must not be long kept there for fear of weakening and drawing the plants. Without artificial heat, the seeds may be sown in May, placing the pans or boxes in an open, airy part of the garden, but shaded from the sun, at least from ten in the morning till four in the afternoon. Moderate moisture will be indispensable, but if the soil be kept too wet, the plants are liable to damp off, or to be otherwise injured. When the plants have acquired six leaves, and are about two inches high, they should be pricked out in rows six inches apart, keeping them well watered until they have taken fresh root. About the beginning of October, they should be potted for the convenience of wintering. Plant out in the spring, in a bed prepared as before directed. As soon as the blossoms can be seen, all the

single sorts should be taken up and thrown away, to give the double ones more room to grow. The finer blossoms ought then to be selected for layering or piping.

The following list comprises a few of the varieties:

If by a window plant we mean one which blooms in winter, then the Fuchsia is not a window plant. A few solitary blooms may be produced during the spring, but the summer is its season of glory.

As a pot plant, for summer blooming, it is unsurpassed, being very floriferous, of brilliant foliage, and symmetrical habit. All of our garden varieties are hybrids, from ancestors introduced from South America and Mexico. Strange to say, there is a New Zealand species also. The

first, F. coccinea, was introduced from Chili, just before the year 1800.

The plant is of the easiest culture; the growth is rapid, and a young spring cutting will make a large plant by autumn. The secret of growing the plant is, never to let it stop growing until you have it of the desired blooming size; keep re-potting, as soon as the roots touch the pot, until you get it into a twelve-inch pot, which is large enough for the window blooming of a fuchsia. Give plenty of light and air; turn the plant frequently, lest it grow one-sided, and fumigate when needed to kill green fly. The best form to grow a young plant is the pyramidal. Train up a leading shoot, and if the plant is supplied with pot room and plenty of light, and has not heat enough to draw it out weak, it will form side shoots in sufficient abundance to produce a handsome outline, the branches being allowed to take their own pendent form. The plant may also be prettily grown on a flat trellis.

for a fuchsia in winter is a dry cellar,

The best place

free from frost, About the first of

where they should be kept nearly dry. March prune back all the side shoots, and leave only the upright stem; prune in the roots also, and re-pot them in as small a pot as will hold the roots; as the eyes break,

thin out those which are not needed, leaving enough to

give plenty of side branches. Re-pot, and treat as above directed.

SOIL.

One part of peat, one of loam, and one of leaf mould will grow them well; thoroughly mix the component parts, and break it rather fine; be careful to secure good drainage.

VARIETIES.

Every spring gives us a host of new varieties, most of which are discarded in a few years. The white corollaed varieties are generally of weak growth, and not adapted for culture out of the green-house. Those with a double corolla we do not admire; the multiplication of floral leaves detracts much from the simple beauty of the flower; they are, however, valuable in a collection, and very showy.

Fuchsia coccinea is a pretty species, with purple and white sepals and corolla.

Fuchsia serratifolia, a species with scarlet tube, tipped with green, blooming in winter.

There are some twenty other species, which are beautiful in a green-house, but valueless for window growth.

The following hybrid varieties are all fine: