/SgS. 



GARDENING. 



213 



eight inches long, reddish. Flowers one 

 and one-eighth inches across. Males 

 dipetalous. Females with two, three, 

 four and five divisions. Color a beautiful 

 rose. John Coulson. 



ripen up the conns, encourage the forma- 

 tion of flower buds and keep the plants 

 short and sturdy. As soon as the 5-inch 

 pots fill with roots, shift into flowering 

 pots and remove to a light airy house. 

 Be very careful now that water does not 

 accumulate on the crowns or the flower 

 buds will damp off. If wanted for the 

 November shows, give t v em plenty of 

 room and a temperature of 70°. Before 

 placing on the bench the plants may be 

 dipped in a good strong solution of 

 tobacco, one part of tobacco extract to 

 fifty o( water. By Christmas plants 

 treated as above should be in prime con- 

 dition, though of course they will not 

 show as many open flowers as they will 

 a few weeks later. 



For Easter flowering the seed may be 

 sown in February or March, as the spring 

 sun brings the young seedlings on much 

 faster than in the late fall. 



There are other ways of growing cycla- 

 mens, ways followed by very successful 

 growers, but we grow ours as above, and 

 so of course think it the best. 



Some growers use a great deal more 

 shade than we do, and probably give a 

 much higher night temperature in early 

 fall. They get immense foliage, but I 

 think, sacrifice flower. Xeitherdo I think 

 leaves five or more inches across desira- 

 ble, especially as these gigantic leaves are 

 usually followed by a crop of much 

 smaller ones, which come with the flow- 

 ers and destroy the symmetry essential 

 to a well grown specimen. 



J. F. Cowell. 



Buffalo Botanic Garden. 



BEGONIA GORONflTfl. 



This is a tall, strong, robust growing 

 variety, the stems growing five feet two 

 inches high within fourteen months, from 

 cuttings. The stems branch very little, 

 unless pinched back. It sends up numerous 

 flowers on erect peduncles, the clusters 

 being nearly evenh- cymose, of about 

 fifty male flowers on a truss and nearly 

 as many females. The trusses when cut 

 last a long time in perfection. It requires 

 plenty of room to grow it well. It is said 

 to have been raised by V. Lemoine, France, 

 and is described in his catalogue No. 124 

 of 1893, as a novelty, and is a cross 

 between B. carolineeefolia and B. poly- 

 antha. The stems are stout, upright, 

 fleshy, nodose, green when young, russety 

 brown when old, bearing viviparous buds 

 when young, and covered with a russety 

 brown tomentum. Petioles seven inches 

 long, green, red at the apex and covered 

 with tomentum. Leaves ten inches wide 

 by fourteen and one-half inches long, dark 

 green, intermingled with a yellowish 

 green, glossy, slightly hairy on the mid- 

 ribs. Under surface light green and hairy 

 on the midribs and veins. Peduncles 



FURTHER NOTES ON SUB-WflTERING. 



When the philosophy of sub-watering 

 is once stated it seems simple enough. 

 Evidently all that is directly required is 

 to introduce the supply of water intended 

 for the plant into the soil from beneath, 

 and let it ascend by capillary movement 

 to supply the feeding roots. 



In arranging to carry out this method 

 in practice there are two or three condi- 

 tions of great collateral importance, 

 which must receive due weight, or a full 

 measure of success is out of the question. 

 Most cultural results can be attained by 

 various procedures, so long as the princi- 

 ple at stake is not violated, and sub- 

 watering is no exception. The writerhas 

 used two methods for supplying water 

 beneath the soil, one of which was dis- 

 carded as deficient and the other remains 

 and gives satisfaction. Other experiment- 



ers have used other methods, partly with 

 and partly without good results. 



The conditions, which seem to me pre- 

 requisites to success, are (1) the ready 

 distribution of water over the whole bot- 

 tom of the bench, (2) a free circulation of 

 air through the bottom layers, and (3) 

 the employment of material that will 

 remain porous and efficient. The use of a 

 water-tight bottom I do not consider 

 essential, but I believe the careful, econom- 

 ical and thrifty grower will come as near 

 to water-tight benches as he can secure. 



The permeable sub-layer of non-com- 

 pressible material permits water to dis- 

 tribute itself evenly throughout the whole 

 bench almost as soon as it is applied; and 

 the flow of the water does not clog up the 

 passage ways, for there is no fine or dis- 

 solvable material present. This layer of 

 inert substance, which makes it possible 

 quickly to spread an even sheet of water 

 over the bottom of the bed, should be 

 thick enough so that no liquid water can 

 come in contact with the soil. The water 

 should wet the sub-soil layer, be taken up 

 by it and passed on to the soil above as 

 hygroscopic water. The soil thus gets its 



BEGONIA C0R0NATA. 



