STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY.- 57 



from the light and watered sparingly till the lengthening days 

 call them to a more vigorous life. 



The dry tubers from the florist are likely to -be the most 

 satisfactory to the ordinary grower of the tuberous sorts. -They 

 may be started early in the spring in flat w^ooden boxes filled 

 with sand, the tubers to be placed about an inch apart with the 

 tops barely showing. Water well and set in a good light, but 

 not where the hot sun of mid-day will strike them directly. 

 When the tops have made a growth of half an inch, lift care- 

 fully from the sand, and if they show an inch or so of fine 

 fibrous roots, they are ready to pot into a rich, loamy soil. 

 The pots should be large enough for the flowering plants 

 as the brittle shoots are likely to be injured in re-potting. They 

 grow more stocky in a lower temperature than some other 

 begonias — 50 or 60 degrees being sufficiently warm — and partial 

 shade is desirable in all stages of their growth. 



For window culture they may be set directly in a well pre- 

 pared border or left in pots which are sunk in the ground. 

 The latter method has the advantage that one can easily reg- 

 ulate the water supply, and the tubers are already in pots 

 where they may remain until it is time to start them for another 

 season's growth. I omitted to say that when the tops show 

 signs of decay, water should be furnished more and more 

 sparingly until the stalks drop from the tubers, when the lat- 

 ter may be set away in a cool, dry place, where there is no danger 

 from frost, and kept perfectly dry until spring. 



While tuberous begonias are grown primarily for flowers, 

 they are rendered much more attractive by a setting of foliage, 

 always good, and in many varieties strikingly beautiful. It 

 shows many tints of green, is often beautifully shaded, and pre- 

 sents a rich, silvery surface. 



The color of the flowers varies from Dure white to pink, 

 scarlet and crimson, from palest yellow to deep orange. Among 

 all the begonias, purity of color is a striking feature. Not only 

 are there no ugly colors, but there are the most exquisite tintings 

 and shadings in the light colors, and the most brilliant of scar- 

 lets and cardinals. 



In the single varieties, as in the flowering begonias, the large 

 pistillate flowers succeed the staminate. The double flowers 



