1885.] 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



69 



the difference which that one improvement would 

 have made in the lives and destinies of the chil- 

 dren of that household ? It can not be estimated. 

 Such an improvement would have compelled 

 others, and they in turn others, and so the circle 

 would have gone on widening." 



SCRAPS AND QUERIES. 



Coning of Cedar of Lebanon. — Mr. Wm. 

 Fowler, Clifton Park, Baltimore, writes : " 1 send 

 you by mail two cones of Cedrus Libani. We 

 have two trees here which have borne seed for the 

 first time last year. Will you please inform me it 

 it is common for them to bear seed in this coun- 

 try ?" 



[Cones have been produced by the trees in Lau- 

 rel Hill Cemetery, and other places in America, 

 but we have never seen such fine ones as these, 

 quite as large as any we have seen from the Old 

 Worid. 



By the way, it is surprising that this famous and 

 beautiful cedar is so rare in collections. Like 

 most coniferas it loves protection from frosty 



winds when young, but when a few years old will 

 take care of itself as well as most trees. — Ed.G.M.] 



Grass for Sandy Ground A Merchantville, 



N. J., correspondent says : " I am building a cot- 

 tage for summer use in Merchantville, N. J., — a 

 place where lawns do not seem to flourish. In 

 view of the poor soil, its very sandy nature, and 

 the fact that 1 will have considerable shade, would 

 you recommend me to plant seed of Bermuda 

 grass ? A writer in a recent number of your 

 worthy magazine extolled it highly. Where will I 

 be able to purchase seed ? Peter Henderson & Co. 

 have none for sale. I do not want to tax your 

 time too heavily ; a ' yes 'or ' no ' on the bottom 

 of this sheet will be greatly appreciated by your 

 correspondent." 



[The Bermuda grass is but a poor substitute for 

 the lawn grass of the North. It is recommended 

 for the South, because they seem to have nothing 

 else. Bermuda grass would not be evergreen in 

 New Jersey. We publish our correspondent's 

 note in full, because we think one of the things 

 not yet known is a good lawn grass for sandy 

 ground in the North. — Ed. G. M.] 



Greenhouse and House Gardening, 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



NOTES ON BEGONIAS. 



BY JIRS. E. BONNER. 



I have been a reader of the Gardeners' 

 Monthly for several years past. Have read with 

 much interest the history and introduction of new 

 plants, and especially of Begonias. We are, I 

 might say, enthusiastic plant lovers, and when the 

 bread and butter depend upon their successful 

 cultivation the enthusiasm naturally increases. 

 Our beginning was small, and for our own pleas- 

 ure, but grew in time to the dignity of " Maple 

 Grove greenhouses." The Begonias, sensible crea- 

 tures, were very soon attracted to me, and by their 

 winning ways have endeared themselves to me as 

 a class. Such being the case, we have brought 

 together a good collection, and our location seems 

 specially adapted to their growth and propagation. 

 I have experimented with all classes that we have, 



as regards, seed, leaf and stem propagation, and 

 find that they are not very choice as to the man- 

 ner — they only ask for fair play. There have been 

 notices from time to time, in the Gardeners 

 Monthly, of new varieties of Begonias and other 

 plants, that I have watched for in the leading 

 catalogues, but have not been fortunate enough 

 to find them. 



I have longed for an opportunity to know the 

 " whys and wherefores " of this, but was not quite 

 brave enough to "speak in meeting" until the 

 notice in the December number of Begonia florida 

 incomparabilis, by Geo. C. Butz. 



Then I determined the world in general and the 

 Gardeners' Monthly in particular, should know 

 of my success in hybridizing that class of Begonias, 

 "Others have I," but will not inflict all at once. I 

 have not seen the Begonia referred to, but I have 

 some fine plants of my own growing, from seeds, 

 that are legitimate children, without doubt, of 

 Begonia Schmidtii and Begonia semper florens 



