232 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF GARDENING. 



away without a check, provided the cutting up is carefully 

 done. Seed must be sown early in the year, and if there 

 is a gentle hot-bed at hand to start it. so much the better. 

 Whether sown in pots or pans the latter should be well 

 drained with crocks, leaving space for 2in. of soil on the 

 top. This may consist of loam and leaf mould in equal 

 parts, with a liberal admixture of silver sand. This being 

 pressed down moderately firm and level, and watered 

 through a fine rose, the seed must be thinly scattered 

 thereon, and a square of glass laid over the pot till 

 germination takes place. The young plants must then be 

 gradually inured to the ordinary air of the greenhouse, 

 and pricked off, which is done bv dibbling them into 

 other pots prepared as for seed sowing. They should then 

 be put about one-third of an inch apart. Directly the 

 leaves touch they must be polled into small pots, using 

 the same compost, and as thev make headway larger pots 

 should be provided. Pots 5m. in diameter are a good 

 size for the first season. Some of the seedlings 

 will improve considerably when grown on the second 

 yeai\ 



Winter-flowering Begonias. — Many of the original 

 species and hybrids raised 

 from them flower during (he 

 winter, especially if they are 

 grow n on freely throughout 

 the summer w ith that object 

 in view. To develop the 

 fl o w e rs p r o perl y t h e 

 warmest part of the green- 

 house should be chosen for 

 them. These Begonias are 

 increased by cuttings of the 

 young growing shoots taken 

 in the spring, and treated 

 after the manner of a 

 Fuchsia. Some ol the besl 

 are : Adonis, carmine rose : 

 Ascotensis, pink ; Carrier!, 

 while; Digsw elliana. pink; 

 Dregei, white ; Ensign, 

 rose ; Fuchsioides, bright 

 red ; Gloire de Lorraine, 

 rich pink, a beautiful plant, 

 that will flower through 

 autumn, winter, and spring ; 

 Gloire de Sceaux, hand- 

 some bronzy leaves, and 

 rich reddish pink blossoms; 

 Flaageana, blush; John 

 Heale, carmine ; Knows- 

 leyana, whitish; Metallica, 

 silvery pink ; Mrs. Ileale, 

 carmine red ; Paul Bruant, 

 rich rose ; Semperflorens 

 gigantea rosea ; Lynchiana, 

 bright red ; Weltoniensis, pink 

 crimson. 



B. Rex and its varieties require durin^ 

 temperature above that of a greenhouse, but in this 

 structure established plants will succeed perfectly in the 

 summer, at which time they are particularly valuable for 

 grouping. Their propagation and other particulars 

 are dealt with under the head of Foliage Plants for tie 

 Stove. The dwarf forms of B. semperflorens. which are 

 used for bedding, are remarkable for the rich crimson hue 

 the leaves acquire when fullv exposed to the rays of 

 the sun. Of original species not noted above may be 

 mentioned, B. coccinea. red ; B. corallina, coral red ; 

 B. Evansiana, pink ; B. heraclei folia, pink ; B. manicata, 

 blush ; B. socotrana, bright rose ; B. Sulherlandi, orange. 



To show how handsome this family is, not a single 

 kind mentioned above is in any way ineffective. Every one 

 possesses considerable beaut}-, some being more easily 

 grown than others — Weltoniensis, for example, being even 

 suitable for window culture. There is such a wealth of 

 beauty in this family, from the familiar tuberous Begonia 

 ol the summer garden, but suitable, be it remembered, for 



DOUBLE BEGONIA. 



ami Winter Cheer, rich 

 the winter a 



the adornment of the greenhouse earlier in the year, to the 

 big-leaved, warmth-loving B. manicata, that if the whole 

 collection were grown one would not tire of the flowers. 

 Boilgainvillea. — The Bougainvilleas are of a loose 

 rambling nature, and hence are suitable for clothing the 

 roof, furnishing the end of a glass structure, or a 

 similar position. They may also be grown as specimens, 

 but in that case train them around a trellis. Though 

 extremely showy when in bloom, the flowers themselves 

 are small and inconspicuous ; but they are surrounded by 

 bright-coloured bracts, which unless closely examined 

 appear to be the true (lowers. When treated as climbers 

 they are generally planted mil ; but w hether such a mode 

 of culture is followed, or they are grown in pots, they 

 must have a period of rest in the winter, during which 

 far less water should be given. There are two or 

 three species and several intermediate forms. The 

 best for pot culiure, and the most floriferous, is B. glabra, 

 and particularly its variety Sanderiana, an intense colour ; 

 while the stronger-growing li. spectabilis is preferable 

 where a large space has to be covered. 

 BoilVctrdia. — A very popular class of little greenhouse 

 shrubs, nearly all of which 

 are natives of Mexico. The 

 original species are very 

 attractive, but are now 

 greatly surpassed by many 

 of the hybrids raised from 

 them. They are increased 

 by cuttings of the young 

 shoots, taken in the spring, 

 and put into gentle bottom 

 heat till rooted. Then, if 

 the plants are grown on 

 freely during the summer, 

 being pinched occasionally 

 to make them sturdy, they 

 will be by autumn neat 

 little Lmshes bristling with 

 flower buds, and in this 

 state may often be seen in 

 the florists' shops of London. 

 A soil composed chiefly of 

 fibrous loam, with peat, leaf 

 mould, and sharp silver 

 sand added, is suitable. 

 The cut flowers, too, are 

 in considerable demand for 

 bouquets, button-holes, etc. 

 A selection of the best 

 comprises — Single flowers : 

 Dazzler, rich scarlet ; Ho- 

 garth, light scarlet ; Hum- 

 boldti corymbiflora, very 

 long tubes, pure white, 

 deliciously fragrant ; 

 Maiden's Blush, blush ; Mrs. Green, salmon ; President 

 Cleveland, intense scarlet, the best of this tint ; Priory 

 Beauty, pale pink ; Queen of Roses, deep rose ; Vulcan, 

 scarlet; and Yreelandi, white. With double flowers: 

 Alfred Neuner, white ; Hogarth flore-pleno, scarlet ; and 

 President Garfield, pink. 

 BrOWallia. — Nearly all Ike Browallias are natives of 

 South America, and one species, the pretty blue B. elata, 

 has been called the Forget-me-not of the Andes. This 

 and the nearly allied B. speciosa may be treated as 

 half-hardy annuals, while B. Jamesoni, which forms quite 

 a bush, is of a bright orange colour and flowers profusely 

 for months together. The most useful, however, of the 

 Browallias is B. speciosa major, which is easily raised from 

 seed, and seems always in bloom, growing about 2ft. in 

 height, and being smothered with bright violet-shaded 

 flowers relieved by a white throat. It is so easily grown 

 that in every small greenhouse there should be one 

 or more plants. 



Calceolarias. — The Slipperwort is one of those quaint old- 

 fashioned flowers not likely to pass out of general 

 cultivation. It would be a loss if our greenhouses and 



