132 the fruit-tree and shrub pruner. 



The Shrubby Begonia. 



There are a number of these, all being very desirable, 

 warm, greenhouse or stove plants. All the Begonias 

 may be grown in the common greenhouse through the 

 summer months without any trouble, but none of them 

 will do well in such a place through the winter without 

 a moderate- heat. They are beautiful things as a genus, 

 but B. Fuchsiodes, B. Ghelsonii, B. Chambersii, are 

 among our best. Chelsonii is a splendid thing, but 

 requires some attention in the stopping of the leader 

 shoots to induce a neat and compact habit. 



Begonias like a little shade as a rule, but if too 

 much is given to Chelsonii it will become drawn and 

 get thin. All the Shrubby Begonias must have the 

 knife used to them pretty freely while they are young, 

 to prevent them from growing too much at the extremi- 

 ties, and also to keep them dwarf and compact. The 

 cutting back, however, must be done only during the 

 early part of the growing season. 



The Datura. 



The Daturas are a noble, and some are even a splendid 

 race of plants, but I). Arborea may be considered the 

 best. This variety, as the word implies, is of a woody, 

 tree-like nature, although it is a greenhouse shrub. 

 This term applies to several varieties, but I now refer 

 to Floribunda, a sort that is frequently grown on trellises 

 in the greenhouse, and which blooms freely, producing 

 beautiful horn-shaped, golden yellow flowers of a large 

 size, measuring as much as five or six inches in length 

 and an inch and a half in diameter ; and even a small 

 plant will flower when a few months old from the 

 cutting, which latter will strike freely. 



The annual varieties are all more or less noble plants, 

 but the one I here allude to has no rival. It flowers 

 upon the current season's young growth, consequently 

 the pruning of the plant must be done soon after the 

 flowering is over, or at least before it begins to make 



