BEGONIAS 



with. To achieve the highest degree of success 

 with the Begonia you must give it the soil best 

 suited to its needs. 



Leaf -mold from the woods — or its substitute 

 of turfy matter — mixed with sharp, coarse sand 

 until the entire mass is friable will erow fine 

 plants. 



All kinds of Begonias should be provided 

 with the best of drainage. In a soil from which 

 the surplus water cannot run away readily 

 you cannot expect to grow fine specimens. 

 Undue retention of water will very soon sour 

 the soil, and if there is one thino; the Begonia 

 objects to more than another it is a soured soil 

 to spread its roots in. It is not a semi-aquatic 

 plant, as some persons seem to think. Be- 

 tween the two extremes of a wet and a dry soil 

 it will do best in a dry one. 



As a general rule, Begonias ought not to be 

 exposed to strong sunshine. They like, and 

 need, plenty of good light, but not the direct 

 rays of the sun, except such as come to them 

 from an eastern exposure. If you have only 

 south windows to grow them in, give them a 

 place in the rear of taller plants, where the heat 

 of the sun will be greatly modified before it 

 reaches them. Some of the white-flowered 



159 



