Beetles 



Begonia 



often falls a prey to the ravages of slugs, which 

 will soon destroy a bed if not chocked. Dust the 

 plants with soot, lime, and sifted wood ashes, 

 when damp with dew or rain. Sparrows and other 

 small birds are very partial to the leaves of young 

 plants, and check the growth by eating them. 

 Protect the plants with close-meshed fish netting, 

 or strands of black thread stretched over them. 

 Dust with soot and lime. 



Varieties : 



Blood Red. Perpetual or Spinach 



Cheltenham Green Top. Beet. 



Dell's Crimson. Pragnell's Exhibition. 



Egyptian Turnip-rooted. Silver or Seakale, the 

 Improved Globe. stalks and midribs are 



served like Seakale. 



Dell's Crimson, Dracfena leaved or Chilian, andBelvoir 

 Castle are good for bedding. 



For the names of species sec BETA. 



races that are comparatively easy to grow, and 

 which produce masses of bright flowers at various 

 seasons. It is impossible to give general instruc- 

 tions to apply to so large a family, consequently 

 five divisions have been made in the present work, 

 i.e. (1) Species, (2) Fibrous rooted, (3) Foliage, 

 (4) Tuberous rooted, (5) Winter flowering. 



(1) BEGONIA SPECIES. 



Propagation. The plants may be increased bj 

 cuttings inserted in sandy soil and placed in a 

 gentle bottom heat in spring or summer, tlmse 

 that flower naturally in winter and spring being 

 propagated as early as possible. Very many may 

 be divided after flowering, and if the tops are cut 

 back, and each division is put into as small a pot 

 as possible, it will soon start away, and may be 

 potted on as necessity demands. Leaf cuttings 

 can be secured in nearly every case by cutting 



BEET DOBJUES' SELECTED. 



BEETLES. 



Many beetles have an interest for horticulturists, 

 if only because of the damage they do to crops. 

 The principal ones are dealt with under the crops 

 they associate themselves with. 



BEFARIA. 



A small family of American plants (prd. Eri- 

 cacere) that need to be grown in a warm green- 

 house and potted in a mixture of loam, peat, and 

 sand. Cuttings made of young growth, with a 

 heel attached, strike readily in sandy soil. 



Principal Species : 



glauca, 3', Je., pur. (syn. Bejaria glauca). 



racemosa, 4', Je., pur. (syn. Bejaria racemosa). 



BEGONIA. 



The usefulness of the Begonia familv (ord. 

 Begoniacea?) is fairly well understood by the 

 majority of horticulturists, but it is only w'hen a 

 rich collection of species and well marked varieties 

 like that in cultivation at Kew is inspected that 

 the size of, and variation in, the genus can be 

 understood. Only a very few species have re- 

 ceived attention at the hands of gardeners, chiefly 

 because the florist and hybridist have produced 



through the ribs and veins of a leaf, and then 

 pegging it flat on to a moist, sandy surface in a 

 propagating frame. Seed sowing needs to be 

 carefully done, for the seeds are very small, and 

 easily blown or washed away. The resulting seed- 

 lings, if they come up in thick patches, will damp 

 off at a marvellous rate. Sow on the even surface 

 of some previously moistened sandy soil, cover 

 with a glass, and give shade. Some species of 

 special value for winter flowering are placed in 

 another section. 



Soil. Good loam and leaf soil, in equal parts, 

 with a liberal addition of dried cow manure and 

 sand, make an admirable rooting medium. 



Other Cultural Points. To the intelligent culti- 

 vator it will soon be apparent that many species 

 are shallow rooters, and these, like gracilis. will 

 be placed in broad, shallow pans ; some make large 

 bushes, like haageana and others, and these will 

 be afforded an ample root run by the provision of 

 large pots or a small border; others again arc 

 naturally pendulous, suggesting basket culture ; 

 and still others, like fuchsioides, grow so tall that 

 they may be trained to pillars or rafters. All the 

 species are best managed in an intermediate house, 

 where the atmosphere is kept fairly moist the 

 whole year round. 



