ON BEGONIAS 29 



should be put in a foot apart. If the soil is shallow it 

 will be wise to spread on a coating of manure or cocoa- 

 nut fibre refuse after planting. Soakings of water in dry 

 weather, with a liberal drenching of liquid manure once 

 a week, will go a long way towards producing good 

 results. 



Raising from Seed. A stock can be secured by sow- 

 ing seed, and this certainly gives a large quantity of 

 plants cheaply. The habit of the plants and the quality 

 of the flowers will be all that can be desired if the seed 

 is bought from one of the large firms who specialise the 

 principal florists' flowers. But full beds must not be 

 relied on the first year. If the seed is sown early, if the 

 treatment is good, if the soil is fertile, and if the season 

 is a damp one if, in a word, all the circumstances are 

 favourable there may be a nice bed the same year 

 as the seed is sown. But the circumstances must be 

 favourable. 



The seed, which is very fine and needs careful hand- 

 ling, ought to be sown on the surface of very fine moist 

 soil in January, and merely settled down with a film of 

 silver sand. The pan should be covered with glass 

 shaded with paper until germination has taken place, 

 when the seedlings should be inured to the light by 

 degrees. When the soil gets dry it should be moistened 

 by lowering the pan into a vessel of water. Pouring 

 water on to the surface, even through a fine-rosed can, 

 is dangerous, as it is liable to displace the seed or seed- 

 lings. The pan should be put near the glass, and air 

 given in fine weather. 



Planting. The seedlings can be removed on the end 

 of a label when they begin to crowd each other, and set 

 three inches apart in a shallow box. As they have to 

 form tubers, they must not be expected to move as fast 



