Stove and Greenhouse Plants and Flowers 135 



be gradually reduced, and more air and light given to harden the plants 

 off for sale in May and June. Seedlings the first year even will develop 

 tubers about 1 in. in diameter. Any plant not sold may be planted out 

 for stock in some part of the garden, and the tubers will serve to produce 

 an early crop the following season. 



A great trade is done by nurserymen in the tubers every year, and 

 some special varieties obtain high prices. Where plants are raised annually 

 from seeds, it is always possible that a particularly charming variety may 

 appear, and may be worth while propagating specially from cuttings and 

 division of the tubers. 



FIBROUS-ROOTED BEGONIAS. Of these the most remarkable is Qloire de 

 Lorraine and its many varieties, which are now grown in hundreds of 

 thousands not only in the British Islands but on the Continent and in 

 America. To M. Lemoine, of Nancy, belongs the honour of raising the 

 original "Gloire de Lorraine" by crossing the South African B. Dregei 

 with B. socotrana from the Isle of Socotra. 



The great peculiarity of the progeny of these two species is that the 

 plants, although exceedingly free in flowering, are practically sterile, 

 and cannot be raised from seeds. Gloire de Lorraine and the lovely 

 sports from it, like Mrs. Leopold de Roilischild, Rochfordi, amabilis, are 

 all raised either from leaf cuttings or stem cuttings. This work of propa- 

 gation is usually carried on from February till July, a fresh batch of cut- 

 tings being put in every fortnight to secure a succession. Some growers 

 take shoot cuttings from old cut-down plants about the first week of 

 June, and are of opinion that they produce finer plants than those from 

 cuttings taken in March. The cuttings in all cases are inserted in sandy 

 soil in glass-covered cases, and are shaded from sunshine and kept nicely 

 moistened until well rooted. This generally takes about a fortnight. 

 The plants are then potted up singly in 2|-in. pots, from which they 

 are later on transferred to 3-in. pots (60's), and afterwards to 5-in. pots 

 (48's) when large enough. Some of the finer plants are moved from 

 3-in. to 6-in. pots straight away. At the same time old plants left over 

 from the previous year, that have been cut down previously and made 

 break into growth, are repotted into 8-in. and 10-in. pots according to 

 their size. In this way large specimen plants are produced for special 

 purposes. 



A slender stake is put to each plant in 5-in. and larger-sized pots, 

 and the shoots are tied up neatly as growth progresses. The soil used 

 consists of turfy loam, sand, and leaf mould in about equal proportions. 



It has been remarked that plants of Gloire de Lorraine and its 

 varieties raised from stem or shoot cuttings usually make beautiful 

 pyramidal shapes, while those raised purely from leaf cuttings are more 

 globular in shape and usually more loose in habit. Some kinds, like 

 Mrs. Leopold de Rothschild, appear to break more freely into growth 

 and blossom from leaf cuttings than from stem cuttings, and thus come 

 earlier into the market. Perhaps this variety and Messrs. Rochford's 



