I or February, l')2() 



63 



of 65 to 70 degrees with a bri>k bottom heat, for they 

 like both top and bottom heat to make a good start. 

 Watering should be with care until they get a start, a 

 moderate moist condition suiting them best at this stage. 

 When they have made a fair amount of roots they may 

 be potted into 3- or 4-inch pots atifording them ample 

 drainage. For a compost, three parts turfy loam, two 

 parts leaf mold, with well decomposed cow manure, and 

 enough sand to make the fixture porous suits them ad- 

 mirably. For e.xtra sized plants keep shifting them until 

 they are in 5- or 6-inch pots. Place them well up to the 

 glass, atad as the sun gains in power during the day. they 

 will need some shade. Watering througli all stages of 

 growth needs to be done with good judgment. 



Among the many seeds that are to be sown at this time 

 two or three are worthy of more than passing" mention. 

 Pcnnisetum longistylum, is one of our most effective 

 border plants and not seen nearlv as much as it de- 

 serves to be. When used as an edging to a bed of Can- 

 nas it gives a finished appearance to the bed that cannot 

 he obtained with -Salvias, Coleus, or anj- of the plants 

 usually made use of. To get good plants for this pur- 

 pose seeds should be sown early, and grown cool. Thev 



require to be potted off singly, and never allowed to 

 become crowded. 



Enpatoriutn frascri, is a plant that can be used like 

 Stevia to go with other flowers. It grows about two feet 

 high, and when kept free from weeds will thrive almost 

 anywhere. E. caiestiniim is botanically speaking not a 

 Eupatorium. but a Conoclinium, and is even a better 

 plant than E. Eraser!. It is a late flowered perennial IJ^ 

 feet high with heliotrope colored flowers and very hardy. 

 It makes a useful plant for low borders, and if grown 

 in pots-and kept pinched back, with the protection of a 

 cold frame, or a violet house temperature will make a 

 useful addition, to our list of late flowering plants either 

 for decorative or cut flower purposes. Last fall in New- 

 Jersey we saw this plant used as an edging in a bed of 

 tall growing perennials, in full bloom the last week in 

 October — the admiration of all who saw it. Seeds sown 

 now and later transplanted to flats and put into per- 

 manent cjuarters in Spring will result in some flowers 

 this season, and more next. It is also easily propagated 

 from cuttings, and these, inserted in the sand now. ma\' 

 be treated as seedlings. 



Begonia Gracilis 



HENRY J. MOORE 



THERE are perhaps no more useful Begonias than 

 the gracilis varieties, and as they are easy of culture 

 their beauty may be enjoyed by growers prac- 

 tically all over Xorth America. As bedding subjects, they 

 are equal to any, and when their usefulness for this 

 purpose is past they may, during Fall, be removed to the 

 greenhouse or window where the\- will flower for many 

 weeks, and be a source of beauty. Indeed with careful 

 attention in cultural matters their pink or white flowers 

 may prove a source of cheer all through the long Winter. 



Culture. — The Begonia gracilis varieties may be raised 

 from seeds sown during August or September for Spring 

 flowering in the greenhouse, or during late February in a 

 greenhouse or warm window with a temperature of 6."^ 

 degrees I-'ahrenheit, for bedding during late May. A soil 

 com[)Osed of well rotted loam one part, leaf soil two 

 parts, and sand one part, carefully mixed and finely 

 screened is excellent for the seed pans. .A. heavy soil 

 sometimes used by householders for this purpose is often 

 the cause of failure with the seedlings. Others defer 

 sowing till mid-.\pril, which is too late for bedding, even 

 under the most favorable condition--, and court failure 

 in this way. 



.\fford drainage to the pans by jilacing broken crocks 

 one inch thick in the bottom. Upon this layer place a 

 handful of the coar.se screenings from the loam, and 

 finally fill with the screened soil to within one-half inch 

 of the top. Make the soil fairly firm, and leave the sur- 

 face slightly convex so that moisture will drain to the 

 sides. This is good ]iractice when sowing all kinds of 

 Begonias, as they are very susceptible to "damping" when 

 sown on purelv flat surfaces. Soak the soil by immer- 

 sion in water, before or after sowing the seeds, but do 

 not disturb the surface. Do not cover the seeds with 

 soil. Place a pane of glass over the pans and exclude 

 the light by means of a piece of paper until germination 

 takes place, removing it only when necessary to immerse 

 the pan when the soil shows signs of dryness. 



The Rcg(»iia gracilis varieties show signs of germina- 

 tion in less than two weeks, and in five may be pricked 

 •off into larger pans or shallow bo.xes about an inch apart. 



'\'\\\> will be about the first week in April. During early 

 May pot the seedlings singly into four-inch pots. Place 

 them in a greenhouse, window, or garden frame, with a 

 temperature of 60 to 70 degrees, and by the end of the 

 month they will be ready for bedding. 



From June until mid-October the Begonias will furnish 

 a wealth of beauty outdoors, and when the weather be- 

 comes too cold for growth, remove them carefully from 

 the soil and pot them according to their size into six or 

 seven-inch pots in the soil previously mentioned, but 

 which is only screened through a one-half-inch screen. 

 Soil finer than this is not desirable for the purpose. Place 

 the plants in the greenhouse and from Christmas onward 

 with proper care they will prove a valuable addition to 

 the stock of ornamental plants. If placed in the win- 

 dow of a well lighted and warm room, watered when 

 necessary, and manured with household ammonia, one 

 teaspoonful to a quart of water, or with nitrate of Soda, 

 one-quarter ounce to each gallon of water, good flower- 

 ing growth will be promoted, the plants be kept in ex- 

 cellent health, and in a condition to again plant out in 

 the garden beds with the advent of Summer. 



The Begonias in (juestion may also be raised by cut- 

 tings. One large well grown ])lant may furnish more than 

 twentv, and if these are placed in beds of sand in the 

 greenhouse or in pots in the window during Spring 

 or Fall, a large number of plants may be raised. The 

 person with the advantage which a greenhouse affords 

 mav propagate the plants successfully at almost any 

 time, but householders will be well advised not to at- 

 temj^t to raise them either by means of cuttings or seeds 

 except in Spring, so that they will not have to carry them 

 over winter in the cutting or seedling stage. Rather 

 the windows should be filled with mature plants lifted 

 from the garden, and which are objects to be admired 

 during the lone winter months. 



Think about yourselves : about w'hat you want, what 

 you like, what respect people ought to pay to you. what 

 people think of you ; and then to you nothing will be 

 pure. — Charles Kingsley. 



