77/2" HOME FLORIST. 4 i 



varieties, for freeness of growth and flowering qualities, and the pfant naturally assumes a well- 

 pi oportioned form. 



SHOWY-LEAF BEGONIAS. Of the show leaf varieties I will state that lovers 'of the beautiful 

 in Nature's grotesque growths will find in this entire division much to admire. Their large, 

 attractive and interesting leaves, add an effect to collections of plants which- can be equaled by 

 nothing else grown. Fig. 35 represents a leaf of the Rex variety, at about one-fourth the 

 natural size of well grown leaves. Imagine in the engraving the light part of the leaf to be a 

 bright greenish silver hue ; the center and outer edge a lively, almost black green in some places, 

 or rather several shades of green, spotted lightly with silver. Imagine the upper surface of the 

 leaf-ribs to be studded with small crimson hairs, while the extreme edge is fringe-like, with a 

 crimson scarlet color, as is also the underside, and with this the veins distinctly prominent and 

 showy, and you can form an idea of the beauty of this entire section. All the varieties are 

 suitable for pot culture, and for hanging baskets in protected places. They delight in a warm, 

 shady, place, and should not be exposed to sweeping drafts of air. In habit and general 

 appearance the first and last named varieties in the following descriptions are quite similar to 

 the flowering section, being upright growers, with branches, while the others are prostrate in 

 habit, although the leaves stand well up on strong stems. 



' B. Argyrostygma Veitchii, a very handsome variety, leaves smooth, of medium size, light 

 green and thickly covered with small, clear silver markings; underside, of a crimson color, 

 smooth; white flowers; easy to cultivate. B. El Dorado, medium sized leaf, distinctly 

 marked and of a peculiar velvety texture. B. Insignis, a free grower, leaves of medium size 

 with a metallic lustre. B. Luxuriance, leaves nearly star-shaped, borne on stems a foot 

 l n g; grotesque. B. Mary Stuart, large showy leaves; an old favorite, perhaps the best in 

 cultivation. B. Mrs. Victor Lemoine, light colored leaf, with the edges and center beautifully 

 marked like lace. B. Queen of Begonias, a good grower. B. Rex, a fine variety ; excellent, 

 described above. (See Fig. 35). B. Silver Queen, a variety in which the silvery color predomi- 

 nates. B. Zebrlna, a beautiful upright grower of bold appearance, with thick leathery leaves 

 from four to six inches long and two wide in their widest parts ; of a very dark green color, 

 striped with silvery marks; underside and stems of dark crimson and red colors; a very hand- 

 some variety. 



BOUVARDIA (Greenhouse Perennial, 33, 60, 90). 



A highly useful family of shrubby plants for the greenhouse and the window, if warm and 

 sunny, and for bedding out, blooming all summer in the beds, and when properly prepared in 

 pots will also bloom continually during winter in the conservatory or other suitable place. 

 Thousands of feet of glass are each year devoted to the culture of Bouvardias alone, for bouquet 

 flowers in the vicinity of our large cities. The flowers are of an exceedingly beautiful, substan- 

 tial, waxy character, of bright and desirable colors, from the purest white to scarlet. A mel- 

 low open soil is best suited for the Bouvardia. As it requires a high temperature for its 

 growth, the plants should not be bedded out in the latitude of Buffalo before the latter part of 

 May. For winter flowering they should be started the spring previous, and grown in about five-inch 

 pots until September, when they may be shifted into a larger size for flowering (observe direc- 

 tions for summer and fall treatment on page 14). Towards spring the flowering and other shoots 

 should be severely pruned back to induce a stocky new growth for summer flowering. With 

 one exception, Bouvardias are only propagated by root cuttings and by a course of treat- 

 ment hardly practical outside of a good propagating house. 



B. Davidsonii, a free flowering, pure white variety; excellent and distinct. B. Elegans, 

 vermillipn red, bright and free blooming ; the most generally cultivated of all. B. Hogarth, 

 dark crimson. B. Jasiminoides, pure white; susceptible of being increased from cuttings. 

 B. Leiantha, scarlet, profuse; one of the best. 



BROWALIA (Half-Hardy Annual). 



A class of flowers usually grown in the garden, but also quite suitable for pot culture. 

 There are two varieties, the colors of which are blue and white respectively. The flowers are 

 not large, but are pretty and distinct, and are freely produced for a long time on a stalk a foot 

 and a half high. The seed may be sown in the open ground where they are to flower, or in a 

 protected bed, from which they may be transplanted to a distance of twelve inches apart. 



BUTTERCUP. See Ranunculus. 



CACALIA FLORA'S PAINT BRUSH (Half-Hardy Annual). 



Plants grown with the greatest ease from seed, which may be sown in the open ground in 

 May, or earlier in the hot-bed, or other protected situation, and afterwards transplant them to 

 the garden. The flowers range from scarlet to yellow in color, are bright and pretty, and some- 

 what resemble a miniature brush ; they are small and produced in clusters on long stems, on 

 which account they are useful for bouquets, although not strikingly brilliant. The plants attain 

 a height of from eighteen inches to two feet, and are in bloom throughout the summer months. 



CACTUS (Greenhouse Perennial, 35, 50, 95). 



A well known family of succulent, fleshy plants, all of which are natives of the warmer 

 regions of America. They are desirable as pot plants, on account of the remarkably singular 

 forms of growths which the various species assume ; their almost unexceptional beautiful flowers 



