THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



33 



putting the tubers into flats of sandy 

 soil. Half leaf-mould and half sand is 

 a good mixture and two inches of it in 

 the flats is enough. Place the tubers 

 just below the surface and an inch 

 apart. We place the flats on the hot- 

 water pipes and remove to the bench 

 as soon as the young leaves are show- 

 ing. By middle of April the leaves 

 will be crowding and every tuber will 

 have made a mass of roots. There is 

 now only one place for the plants and 

 that is a mild hot-bed. No great heat 

 is needed. We pot into 4-inch and 

 plunge in the bed. By middle of May 

 the glass can be removed except on 

 cold nights. By this method you will 

 have fine, sturdy plants inured to the 

 weather and broad sun and they will 

 receive no check when bedded out. 



As a bedding plant they need lots of 

 water and for that reason the beds 

 should not be rounded up, but should, 

 be flat so that the water will soak in 

 and not run off to the sides to nourish 

 the grass. They should not be water- 

 ed overhead as you would a bed of 

 geraniums, but the hose, running an 

 unobstructed stream, should be guided 

 among the plants. I said unobstructed 

 because the different kinds of sprayers 

 and attachments they have for spray- 

 ing with a hose are an abomination to 

 a gardener. A good light soil into which 

 has been dug a liberal dressing of rot- 

 ten cow manure will suit the begonias. 



Plants grown in pots want a liberal 

 sized pot and plenty of air, and to do 

 them well they should be shaded only 

 from the brightest sun. Few insects 

 trouble the begonias. 



Bed of Begonias. 



Rex Section. 



Begonia Rex: The Rex or leaf be- 

 gonias were a great and expensive 

 novelty when first introduced some 50 

 years ago, but are now so common 

 they are worth no more than a gerani- 

 um. Occasionally you see one in the 

 window of a humble dwelling, giving 

 the passer-by a full view of its fine 

 leaves, so it can not be a very poor 

 house plant. 



Nicholson's Dictionary says this 

 handsome species of begonia was in- 

 troduced into Europe from Assam in 

 1858. With due respect to that grand 

 work I can swear I saw a small plant 

 introduced into a private garden from 

 London as early as 1856, at the modest 

 cost of $5.00 a leaf. There were two 

 leaves on the plant. But this is of 

 little consequence. 



Besides being a fine decorative plant 

 for the conservatory it is very effect- 

 ive in vases and veranda boxes where 

 not exposed to the afternoon sun, their 

 large leaves having a striking effect. 

 It is really a tough plant even if it is 

 royal. A good light loam with plenty 

 of leaf-mould and rotten manure will 

 grow it finely. It likes more shade 

 than the shrubby section, in fact will 

 grow in very shady positions, and lux- 

 uriates in a warm, moist atmosphere. 

 It can be syringed daily, contrary to 

 general practice, and delights in it. 



There are two methods of propaga- 

 tion. Either will do. You can cut the 

 leaf (a mature, but by no means an 

 old yellow one) into pieces two or 

 three inches long, cutting the pieces 

 wedge shaped to a mid-rib and putting 



upright half their length in warm 

 sand; or, the entire leaf can be laid 

 right side up on the surface of the 

 sand, pegging the leaf down close to 

 the sand, having previously cut 

 through from the underside at every 

 inch or two the principal nerves or 

 ribs of the leaf. In the last named 

 method the young plants will spring 

 from the ends of the cuts. As with 

 those struck the other way keep well 

 shaded when first potted. If plants 

 are wanted for spring sales the leaves 

 should be put in as soon as firing com- 

 mences, as it will take them all winter 

 to make useful plants by the following 

 May. 



BELLIS. 



The perennial daisy is a favorite 

 garden plant with many and some of 

 the improved varieties are grown 

 under glass, in a cool house, for cut- 

 ting. But we have so many better 

 flowers for all purposes that as cut 

 flowers they are little used. 



We are frequently asked for plants 

 in the early spring as we are for pan- 

 sies. They are easily divided either 

 in spring or fall. The commercial man 

 who has need to grow them had bet- 

 ter divide the roots in September, 

 plant in a cold-frame a few inches 

 apart and cover with glass during the 

 coldest months. 



There are many fine varieties, red, 

 pink and white. 



BILLBERGIA. 



See Bromeliads. 



