BA BING TONIA — BE A UFORTIA —BOM A RE A . 



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Hybrid Azaleas. 



Lady Musgrave. — Light carmine. 



Miss Buist. — Pure white. 



Mrs. Carmichael.— Rich magenta. 



Prime Minister. — Soft pink. 

 Princess Beatrice. — Light mauve. 

 Princess Maude. — Magenta, shaded rose. 



The above hybrids, obtained by crossing Azalea indica with A. amoena, produce 

 small flowers in great profusion early in the season by gentle forcing. 



babingtonia (or B-ffiCKiA). — In B. camphorosma3 we have a pretty greenhouse ever- 

 green shrub of easy culture, and interesting, if not particularly showy. It is a native of 

 Australia, where it attains a height of 7 feet. The flowers are freely produced during 

 the summer in long terminal racemes ; colour pinkish white, with a scent not unlike 

 camphor. Propagation is effected by means of cuttings of young non-flowering shoots 

 under a bell glass in gentle heat. From the pans or pots in which they are rooted the 

 plants should be placed singly in small pots, in which they may remain on a greenhouse 

 shelf all the winter. Early in February top them, and three weeks later give a small 

 shift. Established plants must be topped or lightly pruned to make them branch, and 

 be given a shift in March or April. A mixture of equal parts of fibrous loam and peat, 

 with sharp sand added, suits these plants, and during the summer they ought to be 

 grown in cold frames where they can be freely ventilated and lightly shaded. 



Begonias (tuberous).— See "Florist's Flowers," page 309, Vol. I. 



beaufortia. — A small family belonging to the myrtle tribe, succeeding well and 

 flowering freely under warm greenhouse treatment. B. decussata (New Holland) grows 

 from 3 to 8 feet in height, flowers scarlet — May ; B. purpurea, also from New Holland, 

 colour purplish red; and B. sparsa, scarlet (West Australia), are the three species 

 cultivated. They are propagated by cuttings of firm shoots in sandy soil under glass 

 in a temperature of 55° to 65°. March is the month in which to prune and regulate the 

 growths, doing what potting is needed soon afterwards. Compost suitable: equal 

 parts of fibrous loam, peat, and leaf soil, with sand freely added. Pot firmly. 



bomarea.- — About five species of bomareas are in general cultivation, and, where 

 properly treated, they seldom fail to give pleasure. All are herbaceous perennials, 

 twining in growth, and producing pendulous, alstrdmeria-like flowers in clusters during 

 the summer. B. Carderi is a native of Columbia ; B. frondca, B. patacocensis, and 

 B. Shuttleworthi were introduced from Bogota, and B. Williamsi from New Grenada. 

 Warm greenhouse treatment is required by all of them. They may be propagated by 

 seeds, sowing in March in sandy soil in a temperature of about 65°, potting the seed- 



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