42 THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



and thin paper and Cuba bass ready. Put tlie stakes in the soil; 

 gather about three or four bunches of bloom together, put the paper 

 round them, and fasten the paper to the top of the stakes. All the 

 blooms must be done in this way, to make them travel well ; and if 

 they are carefully tied, and three large nails driven into the bottom 

 of the van round the bottom of each pot, they will travel any dis- 

 tance without damage. When they arrive at the show they will 

 look funny objects ; but as the paper is taken off, they will look as 

 fresh as they did before they started. Place them on the stage ; the 

 tallest at the back, and very much raised, so they will show them- 

 selves if they are three deep ; if only two deep, of course they will 

 not require so much. This is a very exciting time, and everv flower 

 must be made the most of. Let each pot be slightly pitched forward, 

 aud every defective leaf and bloom be picked off, and the names 

 plainly written, and all is now ready for the First Prize, which is 

 one of the most gratifying feelings any lover of flowers can expe- 

 rience. As soon as the show closes, let them be carefully papered 

 up again, and they will be little or none the worse for being shown 

 to the public. 



HOAV PUCHSIAS OUGHT TO BE TO GET THE TIEST PKIZE. 



Abundance of large blooms regular all over the plant, and the 

 blooms of a perfect shape, and each plant must have its blooms 

 distinct in colour. The foliage must be perfectly green, and free 

 from dirt and insects. The plants must have health and vigour, so 

 they can throw out branches, and give them a graceful and elegant 

 appearance, aud to be as near the shape of a good specimen of a 

 Deodara as possible, with only one stake in the centre. Let every 

 plant be of the same shape, and about the same size, so that the 

 plants may have the appearance of having come out of one mould. 

 The plants must be perfectly round, so that one side is as good as 

 another. Let the blooms hang about four inches from the floor all 

 round the pot, so that the pot is quite half hidden by the plant. 



Plants in twelve-inch pots, when well grown, ought to be five to 

 sis feet high, and four to five feet through. My plants in 1864 were 

 quite in accordance with the rules I have given, aud I took the two 

 first prizes, £10, from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Regent's Park, 

 and the three first prizes from the Royal Horticultural Society, £8. 

 In eight years I have taken about £80 in prizes. 



VARIEGATED BEGONIAS. 



E know of no good reason why the finest varieties of 

 variegated begonias and caladiums should not be grown 

 in every garden where there is a moderate amount of 

 glass and the exercise of a little ordinary skill ; aud it is 

 a matter of surprise that they are rarely met with except 

 in what may be designated first class establishments. As a rule, 

 amateurs shrink from their culture, apparently under the impres- 



