BEGONIA. 



Greenhounti and IStove Flanfii 



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the old-established kinds will be found 

 well adapted for use at this season. When 

 the pots are full of roots they will be bene- 

 fited by occasional applications of manure- 

 water, especially at the time of their 

 flowering. Wlien they have done bloom- 

 ing it is best to destroy the plants, except 

 such as are required to provide cuttings for 

 another year For the latter purpose it is 

 necessary to give them proper attention, for 

 if neglected they do not make shoots suit- 

 able for growing on freely. The following 

 sorts will answer well for autumn and 

 'vinter blooming : — 



B cinnabarina. A tall, free-growing 

 kind ; when well managed 'learly always 

 in bloom. It bears handsome heads of 

 yellow-tinted flowers. From Bolivia. 



B. dii)etala. One of the freest bloomers 

 of all the species, pink in colour. Bombay. 



B. fuchsioides. A small-leaved, tall- 

 growing species, with coral-red flowers, 

 which it produces in profusion from the 

 points of the shoots. New Grenada. 



B (xri{Jitlni. This is a white-flowered 

 sort, very distinct in character. Intro- 

 duced from Bhotan. 



B. Ingramii. A hybrid with pretty 

 pink flowers 



B. manicata. A strong-growing species, 

 with large leaves and stout stems. It bears 

 a dense head of handsome, delicate pink 

 flowers, on tall stalks. From Brazil. 



B. Prestomensis. A hybrid variety, of 

 bushy habit, bearing quantities of bright 

 scarlet flowers. A desirable plant. 



B. xanthina laznla. A yellow-flowered, 

 very listinct species, from Assam. 



Insect.s. — One great recommendation 

 these Begonias have is their immunity 

 from insects, as they rarely are aliected 

 with nuy of the pests that infest stove 

 plants in particular. 



BEGONIA. 



(Ornavienf.al-leaved.) 

 When the first fine-leaved Begonias made 

 their appearance they "\-ere much prized. 

 Many of the noble variegated plants since 

 introduced were then unknown, and there- 

 fore these Begonias for a time engaged 

 much attention. Several of the most 

 eftective kinds are hybrids. The different 

 species cross freely, and seedlings are 

 easily raised. The species and varieties 

 that come under the head of the fine- 

 leaved section are mostly from warm 

 latitudes, and consequently require arti- 

 ficial heat in which to grow well ; yet 

 several will succeed in a lower temperature 

 than that in which they are often tried. 

 B. Re.x, in itself a handsome plant, has 



been the j^rogenitor of several others both 

 fine and distinct. It comes from Assam, 

 and will do well with less heat than it is 

 frequently supposed to require ; this and 

 several otheis of similar character will 

 succeed in an intermediate Fernery, where 

 their broad distinct silvery -looking leaves 

 contrast effectively witli those of the more 

 elegant growing Ferns. 



The propagation of most of the kinds is 

 as easy as their after management ; they 

 strike freely from cuttings made of the 

 shoots, or from portions of the leaves. The 

 latter is the more usual way of treating 

 them, and is the means by vvhich much the 

 greatest number can be raised from a 

 single plant, as eveiy bit of leaf an inch or 

 so square that contains a portion of the 

 ribs or nerves will strike root and form a 

 plant. The leaves for this purpose should 

 be taken off about May or June, when 

 such as have been formed early in the 

 spring will have been sutticiently solidified 

 to prevent damping off. Take 5 or 6 inch 

 pots drained and partially filled with a 

 mixture of .sand and fine peat, the surface 

 made up with sand ; in these insert the 

 portions of leaf so that they are one-third 

 below the surface. Give as much water as 

 will just keep the sand damp, but not too 

 wet, or they will be liable to rot ; keep 

 them in an ordinary stove tempeiature, 

 but not covered with a bell-glass, or closely 

 confined in a propagating frame, and do 

 not shade them too much, or they will 

 decay. In a few weeks they will make 

 roots, and begin to form a shoot each that 

 will push up and throw out leaves like an 

 ordinary shoot-cutting. When fairly esta- 

 blished, move them singly into small pots 

 in sandy soil — either peat or loam ; they 

 usually grow the freest in the former. 

 Although, as we have already said, these 

 Begonias are amongst the easiest of plants 

 to grow, there is a great difterence in the 

 appearance of such as are treated in a way 

 that enables them to exhibit their best 

 form and others that are managed the 

 reverse way. The weak-stemmed, flabby- 

 leaved examples often seen are the result of 

 too crowded growth, too much shade, a 

 position too far from the glass, insuflicient 

 air and overmuch heat, all of which must 

 be avoided if the plants are expected to 

 fairly represent what can be done with 

 them. 



A little shade they must have when the 

 sun is powerful. During the growing 

 season syringe them overhead once a day 

 (the best time is when the air is shut off 

 in the afternoon), and the water should be 

 got as far as possible to the undersides of 

 the leaves, as they are liable to the attacks 



