530 



Gardening for Amateurs 



pink, orange, bronze, yellow, white, creamy- 

 white, rose and white, and blush. Of all these 

 colours there are also beautiful sorts with 

 double flowers. With their daintily frilled 

 or crimped edges and charming colours the 

 single fringed or frilled tuberous Begonias 

 claim many admirers. Another quaint and 

 interesting section is found in the single 

 crested varieties, which have bearded or 

 crested petals. Both sorts can be obtained 

 from seeds, and a large percentage come true. 

 Though, as a rule, tuberous Begonias for 

 bedding are sold according to the colour of 

 the flowers, a few named sorts, mostly small 

 free-flowering varieties, are fairly common 

 in the market. These include Major Hope, 

 double pale rose ; Count Zeppelin, double 

 crimson ; Lafayette, double red ; Colonel 

 Laussedat, double yellow ; Washington, 



double scarlet ; Worthiana, small single 

 scarlet ; Queen of Whites, large single white ; 

 and Maria Lentz, double white. 



Varieties of fibrous-rooted Begonias to 

 raise from seeds are Crimson Gem, Coral Pink, 

 Fairy Queen, and Snowflake ; all these grow 

 about 1 foot high. Then we have numerous 

 named sorts which are propagated from 

 cuttings or by division of the roots. The 

 best of these for bedding are Mrs. Bertram 

 Currie ; Princess Beatrice ; Triomphe de 

 Lorraine, double red ; semperflorens rosea ; 

 and semperflorens alba. 



The distance apart to plant Begonias 

 varies from 6 inches in the case of the small 

 double-flowered variety Major Hope to 15 

 inches for large, old plants of the single- 

 flowered tuberous varieties, which are much 

 more vigorous. 



Hints on Painting the Greenhouse. 



The greenhouse and frame must be painted 

 at regular intervals if their life of utility is 

 to be prolonged for many years. The process 

 is a very simple one, for the innate artistic 

 ability of every gardener is generally sufficient 

 to ensure the success of this work, but one 

 or two details must always be remembered. 

 Never paint a surface which is not dry, and 

 do not carry out the process during frost, or 

 the paint is sure to blister and peel off after- 

 wards. If the surface has been coated with 

 paint some time previously, remove all loose 

 parts and such as are not likely to adhere 

 to the wood ; if time can be spared the sur- 

 face wih 1 be improved by a sand-papering or 

 light scraping beforehand. Rub the paint 

 into the pores thoroughly, especially when 

 the wood is new. Do not use " preserva- 

 tives " of any kind for the woodwork inside 

 the greenhouse, and even before painting 

 with oil colours remove all delicate plants. 

 If fungi or moulds have attacked the wood- 

 work add a teaspoonful of carbolic oil to each 

 pound of paint, and this will be of material 

 assistance in preventing any damage from 

 them. When overhauling the greenhouse and 

 frames previous to the winter storms pick 

 out loose putty carefully and add fresh 

 material in its place. Remember, too, that 

 fresh wood sucks all the oil out of putty, 



and causes it to crack, thereby lessening its 

 power, but this can be avoided if the wood- 

 work receives in the first place a coating 

 of any kind of paint. Work the putty 

 firmly into its place and see that the parts 

 underneath are dry. Putty is also most 

 useful for filling into holes in the wood so as 

 to prevent water lodging in them and acceler- 

 ating decay. 



The Strawberry Tree (Arbutus 

 Unedo). This delightful evergreen shrub or 

 small tree is worthy of much more attention 

 in shrubbery borders. Though unsuitable for 

 exposed positions in the colder part of the 

 country, it is hardier than is generally recog- 

 nised. At Kew large bushes flower and fruit 

 very freely in autumn. It is very interesting 

 to see them carrying many clusters of very 

 small, creamy, bell-shaped flowers, rather 

 suggestive of some of the Heath family, to 

 which the Strawberry tree belongs, and the 

 orange and scarlet fruits at the same time. 

 This is due to the fact that it takes a whole 

 year for the fruits to mature and ripen from 

 the time of flowering. The name Strawberry 

 Tree has been very fittingly given to Arbutus 

 Unedo, for when hanging on the trees in 

 clusters the fruits have a considerable resem- 

 blance to the Strawberry fruit. Seeds pro- 

 vide the readiest means of increase, and 

 they may also be propagated by layering. 



