MAMILLARIAS 235 
greenhouse is best for them at. this stage. When they have grown to 
touch each other, they should be planted singly in pots in light rich 
soil. If intended for bedding, five-inch pots are large enough for the 
final shift, but if wanted for the greenhouse, larger pots still should be 
given. Choice varieties are multiplied: by means of cuttings taken from 
the tubers in spring when the shoots are a few inches high. Seeds of 
a good strain of these plants are easily obtained from a Begonia 
specialist, or selected tubers may be procured cheaply and started in 
February. The tubers should be wintered dry in a frost-proof frame 
or shed. 
Descriptions of Plate 112. Begonia rex, with young and old leaves, 
Plates 112-115. and flowers. Although this may be considered natural- 
sized, the leaves frequently attain a length of 15 or 16 inches. Fig. 1 
is a section through the male flower, and Fig. 2 is the female flower 
similarly treated. 
Plate 113 represents B. fuchsioides, one of the shrubby section. 
Fig. 1 is an unopened male flower; Fig. 2, the same fully open; and Fig. 
3, a section of the female flower. 
Plate 114 illustrates one of the varieties of B. semperflorens. Fig. 
1 is the female flower, and Fig 2 is the same in section. 
Plate 115 is a garden hybrid of the tuberous-rooted section. Fig. 1 
is a male flower; F ig. 2, the female, both in section; and Fig. 3 is one of 
the tubers, 
MAMILLARIAS 
Natural Order Cactrx. Genus Mamillaria 
MAMILLARIA (Latin, mamilla, a little breast, from the breast- 
shaped tubercles). A large genus (about three hundred species) of 
succulent perennials, with cylindrical or globular stems covered with 
numerous tubercles of variable shapes, spirally arranged, and bearing 
radiating cluster of spines at their apex. The plants in this genus are 
never tall, one foot being an extreme height, the more general stature 
being from 3 to 6 inches. The flowers are produced towards the 
summit of the plant, usually in a zone, each starting from the axil of a 
tubercle. They are tubular in form, both calyx and corolla coloured 
rosy, yellow, or white. The stamens are numerous, attached to the side 
of the tube; the style thick, long, and terminated by a three- to seven- 
rayed stigma. Fruit a smooth berry, containing many seeds. The 
