28 



THE TUBEROUS BEGONIAS. 



plumpness by placing them in a moist place for a few 

 hours, and sprinkling with tepid water. After frost has 

 destroyed the plants grown out-doors they may be taken 

 up and dried. Cut away the old stems to within about 

 two inches of the tubers, and after a little time these 

 will gradually fall away, when the tubers may be 

 cleaned and stored away for future use, just as is done 

 with those grown in pots. 



The named varieties are all perpetuated by cuttings, 

 though some growers hybridize their finest sorts and 

 save the seed. In this manner they rarely produce as 

 fine a variety. The flowers of the double varieties can 

 be used with good effect in many floral arrangments of 

 designs or bouquets, by the aid of a wire stem. 



Seed sown in March will produce blooming plants by 

 the end of July or early in August. The seed may be 

 sown in an ordinary box or seed pan, which should be 

 first filled half full with some material to give plenty of 

 drainage, over which place some finely sifted soil to re- 

 ceive the seed. Scatter the seed thinly, and sufficient 

 covering will be given by simply pressing the soil down 

 level. Keep in darkness by covering with glass and paper 

 for a few days in a temperature of not less than 70°. 

 As soon as the seedlings appear the covering must be 

 be removed, and as soon as they have roots a quarter of 

 an inch long transplant them into small pots of nicely 

 prepared soil. The seedlings are so small they cannot 

 well be handled. A good plan is to take a pencil as a 

 dibber ; loosen the soil around them, and by dipping the 

 pencil in water the small plants will hang to it and can 

 be placed in holes prepared for them in the small pots. 

 Press down gently, sprinkle lightly and place in a tern 

 perature as before, for a few days ; afterwards gradually 

 expose them to a medium temperature, where they can 

 be shaded and kept near the glass. — James Morton, 

 7 'ennessee. 



Where to Grow Tuberous Begonias. — The tuber- 

 ous begonia should be placed among the most beautiful 

 of plants. It deserves to be grown by every lover of 

 flowers and is worthy of the skill of the most skilful. 

 However large the collection may be, monotony cannot 

 be produced, as the flowers are of so many different col- 

 ors and the leaves of various forms, and there is no pur- 

 pose for which these begonias are unsuitable. 



The large flowered and double varieties are a beauti- 

 ful feature in the conservatory, and it is for standing 

 about a greenhouse and for placing in a light hall-way 

 that these are most suitable. For hanging-baskets and 

 for standing on brackets the drooping varieties should 

 be selected. For bedding purposes these begonias are 

 destined to supersede the geranium, and for this pur- 

 pose the small flowered varieties are most desirable. 

 For window culture tuberous begonias are without a 

 rival, and can be grown as easily as the common plants 

 generally seen, and with one-half of the trouble, for the 

 corms can be dried off and stored away for the winter ; 

 the dwarf varieties should be selected for this purpose. 

 Every one who grows window plants should have at least 

 a dozen tuberous begonias of different colors. 



For ordinary purposes I consider it best to raise the 

 plants from seed. Some skill is required in this method, 

 but it is much the cheapest, and plants good enough for 

 producing cut-flowers and for decoration are easily 

 obtained. The seed should always be purchased from a 

 reliable source. I used to sow the seed in pans that 

 were well-drained — in fact, they were more than half 

 filled with the draining material. About an inch of good 

 sandy loam was placed over the drainage, and about half 

 an inch of leaf-mold and sand was put upon the loam. 

 The leaf-mold was baked before it was used. The pan 

 was placed in water for a time and then set aside to 

 drain ; when the soil had become sufficiently dry, the 

 seed was scattered very thinly on the surface. As the 

 seed is exceedingly small this operation requires great 

 care. The seed was lightly pressed into the soil, and 

 the pan then covered with a piece of glass and placed in 

 a temperature of 70.° The young plants were trans- 

 planted as soon as they had made a rough leaf, into well- 

 drained boxes, filled with a soil composed of loam, sand, 

 well-rotted manure and small pieces of charcoal ; I used 

 to add leaf-mold when it was at hand. The tiny plants 

 were set an incn apart and potted on as they required. 

 Some were planted out in beds and others were grown 

 during the summer in pots. These plants produced 

 flowers the first season. 



Named sorts were increased by cuttings or by divis- 

 ion of the crown. Cuttings about three inches long 

 were taken off close to the crown. They were inserted 

 in sand, covered with a glass, and given a temperature 

 of 70.° The crowns were divided into two, three or four 

 pieces as soon as the young shoots could be seen and 

 laid aside to dry for two or three days ; then potted in 

 small pots and treated as above. Old plants were 

 wintered in their pots, the pots being laid on their sides 

 under the stage. When they began to grow in the spring 

 they were shaken out and placed in small pots, and pot- 

 ted on as they required until eight-inch pots were 

 reached. When they became pot-bound, they were 

 watered once or twice a week with clear manure water. 



Amateurs needing plants for window gardens should 

 buy one year old crowns in March, pot them in small 

 pots, and stand them in a warm room with a sunny 

 window. When the roots reach the sides of the pot 

 they should be given a larger pot. It is very unwise to 

 repot a plant before the roots have penetrated the soil in 

 which it is growing. At no time during the winter 

 should the crowns be kept in a temperature lower than 

 45.° — H. W. Smith, Baton Rouge, La. 



Tuberous Begonias as Bedding Plants. — Our Bir- 

 mingham correspondent writes : Mr. Bell's note as to 

 his success with these plants at Baroncourt, Ireland, in 

 your last issue, is identical with the experience gained 

 in the immediate neighborhood of Birmingham by Mr. 

 Cooper, in the pleasure grounds at Highbury, the resi- 

 dence of the Rt. Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, M. P. Two 

 beds of these were bright with flower late into October, 

 when the pelargoniums were comparatively without 

 flowers and shabby ; and Mr. Cooper told me that for 



