CULTIVATION IN POTS. 53 



larly attended to after dull and damp or cold periods, but at the same time 

 inure the plants to as much light and sunshine as they can bear without 

 being injured. "When the roots have got well hold of the fresh soil, and are 

 feeling the sides of the pots, the flower-buds will commence to rise freely, and 

 must now be allowed to develop themselves. Feed the plants twice a week 

 with weak soot, or cow or sheep -dung water, or use a solution of sulphate of 

 ammonia (or all these may be given alternately with good results) ; shade the 

 blooms slightly in the middle of the day, and tie them up, if necessary, tcr 

 neat stakes, and you will shortly reap the reward of your labours in a blaze 

 of beauty. One other slight point is worth touching upon : some dense- 

 growing plants are apt to get the rising buds caught beneath an obstructive 

 leaf. If this be not released the stalk will shortly snap right off, and a valuable 

 truss be lost, so look through the plants occasionally and prevent any mishap- 

 of this sort. 



TREATMENT OF THE PIANTS WHEN IN BLOOM. 



A ROCK upon which many otherwise good growers split, is keeping their 

 Begonias, when in bloom, too close and warm ; this is a grand mistake, for 

 though Begonias like indeed, one might almost say revel, in a genial atmo- 

 sphere, there can be no doubt that anything over 80 does more harm than 

 good, unless, perhaps, accompanied by an unlimited amount of free air, and 

 sufficient shade. As an instance of this we may mention that we have very 

 frequently been through show houses filled with plants of superlative excel- 

 lence, and fitted with every modern convenience, but kept so close and warm, 

 as to give more the impression of a stove than a greenhouse. The result is- 

 certainly a very fine development of the flowers, as far at least as size goes, but 

 the blooms have not the substance they ought to have, and the plants soon 

 "run out" and become exhausted, while a spell of bright or hot weather causes 

 the blooms to "scorch" or wilt round the edges (though heavily shaded), to- 

 the great detriment of their appearance. In other places, where the plants 

 are grown cooler, and with abundance of air, not only are they stiffer and 

 more bushy, but both these and the individual blooms last twice the time, 

 and are more abundant, richer in colour, and possess more substance ; they 

 seldom or never flag or scald, and require much less shading. Undoubtedly 

 anything of the nature of a confined and heated atmosphere is injurious t6 

 Begonias when in bloom. All overheated air must pass away at once and 

 entirely, or the flowers, if not the plants themselves, will suffer. It therefore 

 follows, and the theory is abundantly confirmed by practice, that when 

 in bloom, if at no other time, a lofty structure will suit these Begonias 

 better than a low one, that a tolerably steep-pitched roof is better than a 

 flat one, and that abundant roof-ventilation is a sine qua non in any case. 



If there are ventilators at the side of the house so much the better, as they 

 vrill be found of great benefit on warm nights and still, hot days, when 



