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:

Carnations                                                       Picotees                       
Admiral Curzon,                                               Esther,
Coriolanus,                                                       Prince Albert,
General Simpson,                                           Amy Robsart,
King of Carnations,                                         Haidee,
Falconbridge,                                                  Ophelia,
Acca,                                                                 Princess Royal,
Squire Trow,                                                     Lamia,
Valentine,                                                          Duke of Newcastle,
Benedict.                                                           Ganymede.

The Fuschia

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 iloriferous, 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 Chile, 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 and look great against garden statuary. 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. The best place for a fuchsia in winter is a dry cellar, free from frost, where they should be kept nearly dry. About the first of 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.