A LEGEND OF THE FUCHSIA, FROM VICK'S MAGAZINE.
A legend of this little flower,
I heard not long ago;
'Tis this, that when upon the cross
The sinless Saviour died,
And soldier with his cruel spear
Had pierced his precious side,
The holy drops flowed to his feet,
Then fell upon the sod,
When Mary knelt and wept for Him,
Her son, and yet her God;
An angel who was hovering near,
Thus breathed a prayer to heaven:
"Oh, Father, let them not be lost,
These drops so freely given,
But in some form of beauty still,
Let them remain on earth,
And here upon this rugged hill,
Give some sweet floweret birth."
Then, forth from the ensanguined sod,
A Fuchsia sprang that morn,
Rich crimson, dyed with Christian blood,
Wrapped in his "robe of scorn,"
Drooping in sorrow, still it bows
Ever its graceful head;
Shivering in the slightest breeze—
Trembling in fear and dread;
For the dark shadow of the cross
Can ne'er forgotten be,
Where all the perfume of its breath
Was spent on Calvary.
Yes, offering its rich fragrance there,
As incense at His feet,
The Fuchsia, though so beautiful,
Can never be more sweet.
ITS HISTORY AND CULTURE.
THE Fuchsia was introduced into England in the latter half of the last century by a sailor, at whose home it was discovered by Mr. James Lee, a florist of Hammersmith, who secured the original plant by paying quite a sum of money for it, and in addition promising to give to the sailor's wife one of the first young plants he would succeed in raising. In a short time he succeeded in producing several hundred nice plants, nearly all of which were sold at a guinea each. Shortly after this a captain Firth presented one that he had brought from Chili to the Royal Garden at Kew. The plant was named in honor of Leonard Fuch, an eminent German Botanist, who lived in the 16th century. The varieties in cultivation to-day are vast improvements. One of the early varieties was called Fulgens. We recollect seeing this variety some four or five years ago, and could not refrain from comparing it with a number of varieties lately introduced. The flower may be described as follows: A slender crimson tube two inches in length; sepals narrow, one-half inch; in color a shade lighter than the tube; the corolla purple; in size very small compared with the varieties of the present time. This variety is a strong grower, large foliage which has a silvery appearance. Thus we can have a slight idea of that from which have been produced the beauties of our time; thus can we see what a skillful florist can do when he has something to begin with. Some of the varieties of the Fuchsia are hardy in England as well as in some parts of our own country. A traveler informs us that he has seen them in California trained over arbors and to the houses just as we train grape vines here, and growing most luxuriantly. They grow in favor very rapidly wherever introduced, and it was but a short time after they became known we find the Poet eulogizing them in these lines—
"Graceful flowers on graceful stem,
Of Flora's gift a favorite gem;
From tropic fields it came to cheer,
The natives of a climate drear;
And grateful for our fostering care,
Has learnt the wintry blast to bear."
While some flowers have been extremely popular for a season, and then have sunk into comparative obscurity, the popularity of the Fuchsia has never waned, but on the contrary has continually been on the increase until now it occupies a prominent place in every collection of plants, be that collection large or small. There is a cause for this popularity, and that cause is, it is of easy culture and produces its flowers freely, often under adverse circumstances. The Fuchsia is readily propagated by cuttings of the young wood. These will root in from two to three weeks, when they should be potted in rich soil, say one-half garden soil or loam enriched with well-rotted manure, and one-half leaf soil, with a little sand added to make the compost very porous. From the time the plant is first potted it should never be allowed to become so dry as that the growth will be checked. The great secret of growing Fuchsias successfully is to keep them growing. In order to do this we must provide for them a rich soil, an abundance of pot-room and a moist atmosphere. If you wish to grow large specimen plants the cuttings should be struck (that is rooted), early in the season. This will allow a longer period for them in which to make their growth before the season for blooming arrives; by keeping the plants supplied with plenty of pot-room the time of blooming will be somewhat retarded, and if on the other hand we desire to have the plants in bloom as early as possible we allow plenty of pot-room during the early part of the growing season, after which we allow the pots to become pretty well filled with roots, and abundance of beautiful pendulous flowers will be the result.