24 THE TUBEKOUS BEGONIA. 



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by intercrossing B. Pearcei and B. Sedeni. Many other good varieties followed, 

 but their raiser ultimately gave up the race after Begonia novelties after doing 

 yeoman's service to the cause. 



Shortly after the Messrs. Veitch sent out Begonia Sedeni, Mr. William 

 Bull commenced to hybridise and for several years regularly sent out a batch 

 of novelties. One of his first and best varieties was B. carminata, and by 

 intercrossing this and others, such as Messrs. Veitch's B. intermedia (bolivi- 

 ensis x Veitchii), B. Sedeni and B. Veitchii, he soon had a large quantity 

 of seedlings, from which such sorts as Aurora, Emblem, Lucinda, Seraph, Star- 

 light, and Sunrise were selected and sent out in the spring of 1873. In 

 August of the same year he sent out a dozen and a half more, under the 

 following names, which are recorded here because it is most probable that 

 none of them are now in cultivation : Anacreon, Brilliant, Cardinal, Caroline, 

 Climax, Corsair, Dazzle, Dragon, Eclipse, Ensign, Gem, Hermine, Lothair, 

 Magnet, Mazeppa, Meteor, Surprise, and Trojan. 



Other firms were also early in the field, among them being Messrs. Sutton 

 and Sons and Messrs. James Carter and Co., the first named especially being 

 very successful in introducing new shades of colours. The foundation of 

 their strain was a small white-flowered variety, named Moonshine, and B. 

 Pearcei, which gave them white, cream, flesh-pink, and primrose-coloured 

 flowered varieties, with the dwarf, compact, free -flowering habit of B. Pearcei ; 

 and by intercrossing these and later seedlings, the firm has for several 

 years been enabled to offer roots selected to colour, under the general 

 description of the " Heading Beauty " strain. 



THE FOREST HILL STRAIN. 



IT was in the year 1875 - when Mr. John Laing, of Forest Hill (whose 

 portrait we have the pleasure to introduce into these pages), after some 

 years of patient labour bestowed on the improvement of many of our most 

 important florists' flowers, turned his attention to the Tuberous Begonia, for 

 which he believed there was a grand future as a greenhouse decorative plant. 

 How he has succeeded in the development of the plant to a pitch of excellence 

 at first undreamed of all the world now knows, and we can only express our 

 regret here that we are unable to give more than a general idea of how the 

 marked improvement has been brought about by him. Mr. Laing com- 

 menced cross-breeding with B. boliviensis, B. Yeitchii, B. Pearcei, and the 

 following varieties : Vesuvius, Dr. Masters, Mrs. Masters, and Dr. Hooker ; 

 but the seedlings obtained in the following year were not of a promising char- 

 acter, but little improvement being visible. . He then obtained all the varieties 

 he could get of other raisers, both at home and on the Continent, which 

 he crossed with his own seedlings, and vice versd; and the next season had 

 the pleasure of raising several sorts which were decided improvements. This 

 little success gave a fresh impetus to the work, and by adding to his stock 



