March 15, 1893.] 



Garden and Forest. 



125 



Lacroix, Georg-e Maclure and President Harrison. The 

 plants were all strong and well furnished with flowers, and, 

 considering the lateness of the season, made a creditable 

 display. 



Paris. 



H. 



Cultural Department. 



Winter-flowering Begonias. 



AMONG the numerous varieties of Begonias I have found 

 the following to be the most desirable for winter Howermg : 



Begonia Souvenir de Frangois Gaulin (Crozy), said to be a 

 hybrid between B. olbia and B. rubra, is a winter-flowering 

 plant of great beauty and value. Under ordinary cultivation 

 it grows strongly, but not rankly, producing straight stems 

 from the bottom, in the way of B. rubra. The leaves are long, 

 of good substance, green above, with a satiny lustre, and 

 deeply suffused with a vinous-red color on the edges, which 

 are coarsely serrated, and on the reverse. There is often a 

 slight suffusion of red on the upper surface of the leaf, which 

 is very attractive. This Begonia blooms in clusters of about 

 twenty flowers, which, individually, are probably the largest of 

 any existing fibrous-rooted Begonia. The longest single flower 

 on the spray, illustrated on page 123, is quite three inches long. 

 The plants sometimes bear male flowers, but they are usually 

 female, with large-winged ovaries, which, with the petals, are 

 self-colored of a deep translucent carmine. The petals remain 

 partly folded, and the flowers are not apt to become fertilized. 

 They retain their beauty on the plants for several weeks, and 

 are useful for cutting. 



Begonia President Carnot is a hybrid of the same parentage 

 as Bego'-'.ia Souvenir de Frangois Gaulin. It differs from this 

 in the" color of the flowers, which are lighter; there is also 

 rather more suffusion of color in the leaves. B. Paul Bruant 

 is quite the most free-flowering Begonia of the season, and, 

 altogether, a beautiful plant with flnely serrated leaves light 

 green in color, and with numerous racemes of medium-sized 

 flowers. These are light pink, with a trace of green on the 

 ovaries. B. Gilsonii is an old and popular variety, the flowers 

 a deeper pink, but not so numerous as those of B. Paul 

 Bruant. It is one of the most robust and vigorous of Begonias, 

 every leaf and stem in a damp place showing young buds. B. 

 semperflorens gigantea, var. carnea and var. rosea, both have 

 flowers in large racemes of various sliades of red. The foliage 

 is gross, and the plants are not specially desirable in small 

 places, though valuable in large houses, where bold effects are 

 desired. 



There are three hybrids which should be in every collection 

 for their beauty of foliage and flower. These are B. Gloire de 

 Sceaux, B. Gloire de Jouy and B. Madame Hardy or Madame 

 Lionet, the last two being similar. They are each distinct and 

 make very handsome specimens. The first-named has smooth 

 dark red leaves and large racemes of rose-pink flowers. 

 B. Gloire de Jouy has oblique leaves deeply channeled and 

 covered with silvery spots on a green hairy surface, with a 

 metallic green lustre. B. Madame Hardy has leaves of a sim- 

 ilar form, very dark maroon in color and resembling cut and 

 figured velvet. 



Of the smaller-flowered kinds, B. manicata, B. manicata 

 aurea and B. hydrocotofolia are established favorites too well 

 known to need description. They are three excellent house- 

 plants. B. Saunderbruchii is a fine plant for a bracket and is 

 especially effective against a rear light, which shows oft' tlie 

 coloring of the leaves. These are large, deeply cut and pen- 

 dent. From the creeping rhizome spring many long spikes 

 with racemes of beautiful light pink flowers. There seemed 

 to be a promise at one time that we should have a race 

 of winter-flowering tuberous Begonias, similar in form to 

 the popular summer-flowering kinds. A few of these have 

 been produced, but do not seem likely to become popular or 

 useful plants, as they do not bear seeds or submit readily to 

 propagation. It is quite evident that we must depend on B. 

 Socotrana for the most important advances in winter-flower- 

 ing Begonias, these advances being in the lines of larger, 

 more persistent or lasting flowers. B. Socotrana seems to be 

 the link between the tuberous and fibrous-rooted Begonias, 

 crossing equally well with either. It is a plant of much beauty, 

 having large persistent flowers in winter. In the early year it 

 forms small bulblets at the base of the stem and dies off. 



The crosses already made with the fibrous-rooted kinds are 

 of value. B. Gloire de Sceaux is, as already said, a fine plant. 

 B. Bijou is less noticeable, with bright, small cherry-colored 

 flowers. Monsieur Lemoine seems to have made the most 

 progress in this line in B. Triomphe de Lemoine and B. Tri- 



omphe de Nancy, which are dwarf plants with hard stems and 

 which bear a profusion of almost imperishable flowers. In- 

 dividually, however, these flowers leave something to be de- 

 sired, while the plants do not seem to be as easily grown as 

 most Begonias. I grew them fairly well one season in the 

 greenhouse, but last year, at the suggestion of Monsieur Le- 

 moine, grew them in the open, with full exposure. Although 

 this produced hard stems and good foliage, they have not 

 flowered well, and I am inclined to think that a medium 

 course of growing them outside, with partial shade, will se- 

 cure the best results. The same growers claim an advance 

 this season in the new B. Triomphe de Lorraine, with larger 

 and very abundant flowers of the same texture as the varie- 

 ties just named. 



The cultural requirements of Begonias are usually of the 

 simplest. They should be potted in small pots in rich open 

 soil, and shifted along into larger sizes as required. After the 

 plant has grown to the size desired, and when coming into 

 flower, they are rather better for being pot-bound. At this 

 stage regular applications of weak manure-water will be bene- 

 ficial. They are particularly impatient of stagnant water at the 

 roots, which will cause them quickly to drop their leaves. 

 With plenty of pure air they are little subject to insect pests. 

 Though Begonias are easily propagated, and are thus widely 

 grown plants, a well-grown specimen is rare. Such speci- 

 mens, showing the best possible results, always make a sensa- 

 tion, as in the case of B. Gloire de Sceaux in England lately, as 

 related by Mr. Watson. B. rubra is a good plant for special 

 culture in this direction. When well grown it makes straight 

 bamboo-like canes, seven or eight feet long, with leathery 

 foliage and an abundance of bright-colored flowers in large 

 clusters. From indications I presume B. S. Pres. Gaulin could 

 be grown into a specimen of the same character, possibly only 

 inferior in size. 



Elizabeth, N.J. J.N. Gerard. 



The Persian Cyclamen. — I. 



/^YCLAMEN PERSICUM is a common greenhouse plant, 

 ^ unfortunately rarely seen at its best in this country. A 

 native of south-eastern Europe and various parts of Asia, it 

 was first introduced to English gardens from the island of 

 Cyprus, in 1731, but was much neglected until about half a 

 century ago ; since then it has steadily increased in popularity. 



In its wild state the plant has handsomely variegated leaves, 

 so conspicuous in the cultivated varieties. Many foliage- 

 plants in our greenhouses are less ornamental. The wild flow- 

 ers are comparatively small, white with a prominent blotch of 

 purple at the base, and in some instances they are fragrant. 

 The credit of the great improvement in its general habit and 

 in the increase of size and development of colors in the flow- 

 ers belongs to the market-gardeners and nurserymen about 

 London. It is due to their unceasing efforts that we have 

 plants of perfect habit, the flowers borne well above luxuriant 

 foliage that is compact and sturdy. The colors of the flowers 

 range, in selfs, from rich crimson to pure white, and in numer- 

 ous kinds are beautifully blended and intermixed. The few 

 varieties distinguished by the delicate odor of their flowers 

 are commonly inferior m other respects. Fragrance would 

 be a valuable trait in the best forms of the Cyclamen, and with 

 persistence it is possible that a strain with handsome, scented 

 flowers might be established. The work of the successful 

 Cyclamen specialist in cross-fertilization, selection and seed- 

 saving involves, of course, persistent and continued experi- 

 ments. 



There is, thus early in the cultivation of the Cyclamen in 

 this country, a strong inclination to deteriorate in the offspring 

 of plants obtained from European seed. Too often quantity 

 is the main consideration of growers and degeneration is in- 

 variably the result. It is most essential to guard, and, if pos- 

 sible, to improve the quality of the seed. Its excellence is in 

 proportion to the quantity ripened on a plant ; the average 

 plant will not produce more than six pods of high-grade seeds, 

 and the number should be reduced to three or four where the 

 plants have been cross-fertilized. More seeds than this will 

 certainly result in plants of inferior type, as has been proved 

 by careful experiments. 



By judicious treatment Cyclamen may be had in flower 

 during seven months of tiie year, trom the ist of October until 

 the eariy part of May. The long, stiff stalks of the flowers 

 make them admirable for cutting, and their duration is re- 

 markable. Specimens that have been fully developed in the 

 greenhouse do as well in the dry atmosphere of rooms as any 

 plant I know of, and they are serviceable favorites in window- 

 gardening. That this plant can be successfully cultivated with- 

 out the aid of a greenhouse is amply demonstrated in an instance 



