64 



Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 



off and treat afterwards as advised for 

 Eriostemons, which see. 



The two undermentioned will be suf- 

 ficient for the generality of growers : — 



B. gracilis. A slender-growing species 

 of neat hahit. 



B. purpurea. Bears purple flowers, and 

 blooms in summer. 



Insects. — Red spider must be kept down 

 by a frequent use of the syringe ; should 

 aphides attack the young growth, fumigate. 



BEGONIA. 



(Fibrous-Rooted.) 

 Amongst the many flowering stove plants 

 now in cultivation there are few that com- 

 bine the desirable properties of a long, 

 and almost continuous, habit of blooming, 

 with a freedom of growth that renders 

 them very easy to manage. The well- 

 known character of Begonias in this respect 

 often causes them to sufl^er from neglect, 

 in a way that precludes the possibility 

 of their true worth being exemplified. 

 This is generally caused by their being 

 grown without sufficient light in dark 

 corners of the stove, under the shade of 

 other plants, whereas they are essentially 

 light-loving subjects, requiring to be kept 

 near the glass with very little shade even 

 in the brightest weather. Wheii the 

 treatment is opposed to this, the leaves get 

 too large, the shoots become unduly elon- 

 gated, and the natural disposition to flower 

 is reduced. From the day the cuttings are 

 first rooted, they require all the light that 

 a well-constructed house or pit can afford, 

 with a drier condition of the atmosphere 

 than many stove plants need ; but as it 

 seldom happens that in private establish- 

 ments a separate house can be afl'orded them, 

 or the atmosphere in the matter of moisture 

 be made exactly in keeping with their re- 

 quirements, the next best course is to 

 stand them as near the glass as they can be 

 got, to shade little, and give them as much 

 air as is consistent with the well-being of 

 other things that may have to be grown 

 along with them. In propagation, as in 

 their after-growth, there is little difficulty, 

 as they will root in a few weeks ; they may 

 be struck at any time of tlie year when a 

 temperature of 60° or 65° can be kept up in 

 the night. If they are put in about the 

 middle of March, there will be plenty of 

 time to grow them into good plants for 

 autumn and Avinter flowering, during which 

 season they will be found the most useful. 

 The tops of moderately strong shoots make 

 the best cuttings ; but, if these are not at 

 hand in sufficient quantities, smaller jaieces 

 w ill do. Cut them to a joint, which retain I 



to form the base of the cutting, with a 

 couple of joints above. Put them singly in 

 3-inch pots, half filled up with sandy peat, 

 the remainder all sand ; do not give much 

 water until roots are formed, but enough 

 to prevent the leaves flagging. From 

 their succulent nature they are, if too 

 wet, liable to rot ; and they must not 

 be kept too close under the propagating 

 glasses, or it will have a similar effect upon 

 them. In three weeks or a month they 

 will be well rooted ; then remove theni 

 altogether from under the propagating 

 glasses, and place them in the lightest place 

 in the house. They should be kept at 65° 

 in the night, and 10° or 15" higher in the 

 dav. Move them into pots four inches 

 larger. They do the best in four parts 

 good fibrous loam to one of leaf-mould or 

 rotten dung, wdth enough sand to allow the 

 water to percolate freely through it ; for, 

 although from their quick habit of growth 

 they require an abundance of moisture at 

 the roots, they cannot stand anything 

 approaching stagnant water in the soil. 

 Stop the points of the shoots, to induce 

 them to make bushy growth. Do not 

 shade, except during the middle of the day, 

 in very bright weather. Give plenty of air, 

 admitting it sufficiently early in the morn- 

 ing, but closing so as to economise sun-heat 

 by shutting up whilst the sun is upon the 

 glass, damping the plants slightly overhead 

 at tlie same time. About the end of July 

 they will need shifting into their blooming 

 pots. The size of these must be regulated 

 by the more or less vigorous habit of the 

 kinds grown. Sorts sucli as B. manicata will 

 need more root-room than weaker varieties, 

 like B. fuchsioides. Eight or nine inch pots 

 will be large enough for kinds like the latter ; 

 the former should have pots ten or twelve 

 inches in diameter. Use soil similar to 

 that which they were last put into, but do 

 not now break it so fine ; again pinch out 

 the points of the shoots, if the plants do 

 not appear to be sufficiently furnished, and 

 place a few sticks to train them out so as to 

 admit plenty of light in the centre. Do 

 not give too much water until the roots 

 have got well hold of the soil, and treat in 

 other ways as advised in the earlier part 

 of the summer. By the middle of Sep- 

 tember they will have grown to a useful 

 size for general purposes. The atmosphere 

 should now be a little drier, and the 

 temperature kept about 60° in the night, 

 and 6° or 8° higher by day. Many of this 

 family will bloom during the summer sea- 

 son, but for the purposes under considera- 

 tion it is not well to encourage them to do 

 so, as their flowers are of much more 

 service in autumn and winter. Some of 



