Gardening for Amateurs 



721 



especial care must be taken that it is kept 

 shaded. When the soil again needs water- 

 ing the flower-pan must be immersed as 

 above advised ; a temperature of 50 to 

 60 is suitable. In a short time the young 

 plants make their appearance, when the 

 glass must be tilted to allow of a circula- 

 tion of air. but it is necessary that they 

 be protected from sunshine. 



When the first rough leaf 

 is developed the young plants 

 are " pricked off " in pots or 

 pans, prepared as described 

 previously. The pricking off 

 or transplantation is a deli- 

 cate business, the young plants 

 being lifted with a pointed 

 stick cleft at the end, while 

 the dibbler with which the 

 hole is prepared must also 

 be pointed. When the flower- 

 pot or pan is filled, the seed- 

 lings are watered through a 

 very fine " rose." If kept in 

 the temperature already ad- 

 vised, and carefully attended 

 to in the matter of watering, 

 shading, etc., the young plants 

 make rapid progress, and will 

 soon be ready to pot off singly. 

 For this purpose the compost 

 may be as before, except that 

 it should be passed through 

 a -inch sieve instead of a 

 finer one. Pots 2% inches in 

 diameter are suitable, one 

 seedling being placed in each. 

 As the plants grow they may 

 in time be shifted into 5-inch 

 pots, in which they will flower 

 the first season, usually towards the latter 

 part of the summer. The same compost 

 will suit them, but it must not be sifted. 



As in autumn the plants show signs of 

 going to rest, the water supply is lessened, 

 and when they are quite dormant watering 

 is discontinued altogether. In order to 

 economise space the tubers may then be 

 shaken clear of the old soil and laid thickly 

 in shallow boxes of dry soil, taking care 

 that they are quite safe from frost. 



With the return of spring the soil in the 

 boxes must be moistened, when the tubers 

 46 



will soon start into growth, and as soon 

 as the young shoots are about | inch in 

 length the tubers may be potted singly in 

 4-inch pots. They will then make quick 

 growth, and may in time be shifted into 

 pots 6 inches in diameter, in which they 

 will flower well. Seeds of double and single 

 varieties are sold by seedsmen. Both sec- 



Winter-flowering Begonia Turnford Hall, pale blush. 



tions are valuable for decorative purposes. 

 There are innumerable varieties, but as most 

 raisers have their own set of names, no 

 useful purpose would be served by giving 

 a list of them. 



Apart from their value as pot plants, 

 some of the less compact of the tuberous 

 Begonias are well adapted for growing in 

 suspended baskets. A few of the best for 

 this purpose, all with double or semi-double 

 flowers, are : Alba plena fimbriata, white ; 

 Alice Manning, yellow ; Carminia, carmine 

 red ; Fleur de Chrysantheme, salmon-pink ; 



