122 THE FLORIST. 



than any other kind, therefore there is a good opening for 

 those who take an interest in hybridisation ; it also flowers 

 nine months in the year, and doubtless therefore a hybrid be- 

 tween this and Fuchsioides might be kept in blossom the whole 

 year round ; and should this desideratum be obtained, it would 

 certainly be a step in the right direction ; for what class of 

 plants could then equal the Begonia, especially those with 

 cinnabar-coloured flowers and dark-green glaucous foliage 1 

 With them the conservatory might be made gay in the dark 

 months of winter. B. prestoniensis is a most desirable plant 

 where cut flowers are in request, because the blossoms are 

 carried on long peduncles, and there can be any quantity 

 gathered without injuring the growth of the plant; and com- 

 bined with its brilliancy of colour, it is said to have a scent 

 almost equal to that of the Tea Rose. Messrs. Lucombe and 

 Pince, in whose hands the stock is, speak in the highest terms 

 of it. 



The following compost has been found the most suitable 

 for the growth of the Begonia: — one-sixth cow or horse-dung, 

 turfy loam, peat in equal proportions, and a moderate pro- 

 portion of sand, and say one-sixth of well-decomposed or 

 charred moss. 



The following Begonias ought to be in every good col- 

 lection : — Albo-coccinea, cinnabarina, coccinea, fuchsioides, 

 hydrocotylaefolia, hydrocotylasfolia manicata, Ingrami insignis, 

 manicata, nitida, odorata, parviflora, and prestoniensis. 



THE GENUS TRITOMA. 



The Tritomas are certainly neglected plants. They are seldom seen 

 in gardens, except in botanical establishments ; which is the more 

 surprising, since they possess all the properties of a popular flower, 

 namely, striking beauty both of habit and inflorescence, perfect fa- 

 cility of cultivation, and ready means of propagation. Let me recom- 

 mend this highly-deserving family to the kind consideration of those 

 who can take them by the hand and bring them favourably under 

 public notice. 



If any one is at a loss to form a notion of what a Tritoma is, let 

 him imagine some very broad-leaved sedge, forming a spreading tuft 

 with its recurved foliage, from the centre of which arises upright a 

 flower-stem, bearing at the top a multitude of pendent blossoms, tube- 

 shaped, shining like sealing-wax, and, when sufficiently exposed to 

 air and light, of almost as intense a vermilion ; these collected into a 

 roundish or elongated head, and he will then have a tolerable picture 

 of Tritomas in general. 



