296 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



should be used, and in potting it must be rammed down firmly. The 

 plants must then be returned to the greenhouse for a time, carefully 

 watered, and liberally syringed. Never use too large a pot, and as the 

 plants get old they will stand for years, keep in good health, and flower 

 well, without being disturbed at the roots. Whether repotted or not 

 the Azaleas must, after flowering, be syringed three or four times a day 

 if possible, except during dull weather, to encourage a free growth. By 

 the end of May or in June place them out of doors, and lightly shade 

 them at first from the full rays of the sun. Take care that they are 

 well supplied with water throughout the summer, and syringe morning 

 and evening. Under such conditions the plants will not only grow 

 freely but plenty of flower-buds will appear, which, during the follow- 

 ing spring, will expand and make a bright display. Get the plants 

 under cover before the autumn frosts. So treated Azaleas may be kept 

 year after year in good condition. In a too dry atmosphere the leaves 

 are liable to an attack of thrips, which can be eradicated in the way 

 previously advised. 



Balsam. See Impatiens. 



Begonia. The Begonias form an extensive class, which may be 

 readily divided up into several distinct sections. First, we have the 

 tuberous-rooted varieties, single and double, which are now so popular 

 both for bedding out and for the greenhouse ; then there are the dwarf- 

 growing forms of B. semperflorens , which are much used for bedding, and 

 the several distinct kinds, valuable for their winter flowers, which in many 

 instances are also produced in spring. Lastly, we have the numerous 

 forms of B. Rex, remarkable for their large, handsomely-marked leaves. 

 B. Rex is more delicate than the others, and although the plant will 

 succeed in the greenhouse during the summer it cannot be depended 

 upon to successfully pass the winter in that structure, though if the 

 thermometer does not go below 45 degrees, and the atmosphere is at the 

 time fairly dry, the more robust kinds of this section will, as a rule, be 

 safe. Tuberous-rooted Begonias are generally increased by seeds sown 

 early in the spring, though the particularly choice forms are propagated 

 by cuttings. The seed is very minute, and full directions for sowing it 

 are given on p. 287. 



Tuberous Begonias, particularly in a young state, prefer a light com- 

 post ; hence a mixture of equal parts of loam and leaf-mould with a little 

 sand will suit them well. After the seeds germinate and the young plants 

 are pricked off into a pot or pan, the next shift will be into pots three 

 inches in diameter. When they are large enough they should be shifted 

 into pots five inches in diameter, and unless there are a few specimens 

 of exceptionable vigour this size of pot will be sufficient for the first season. 

 Plants raised in this way will, as a rule, flower well during the latter half 

 of the summer, particularly if they have a dose of weak liquid manure 

 every fortnight after the pots get full of roots. In the autumn as the 

 plants go to rest the water supply must be diminished, and the under- 

 ground tubers will pass the winter in a dry state, provided they are not 

 parched up. A fairly cool spot, where they are quite free from frost, is 



