194 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



elevated on shelving — staging tier above tier in the centre of the 

 house and near the glass. A free play of air amongst the foliage 

 keeps it fresh and healthy, and a dry atmosphere prevents the 

 spotting of either flowers or foliage, as the weather gets warm 

 about April and onwards. More or less shading during the 

 heat of the day will be required after that month. When the 

 plants have finished flowering, or become useless for decorative 

 purposes, stand them out of doors, in a sunny position, but 

 sheltered from wind, and keep them watered till the leaves show 

 signs of decay, after which water may gradually be withheld till 

 the tubers ripen and the stems drop away. Eemove them 

 indoors on the approach of frosty nights. 



WINTER-FLOWERING AND EVERGREEN BEGONIAS. 



By Mr. H. Cannell, F.R.H.S. 



Although not so numerous and effective as the tuberous - 

 rooted varieties, and more limited in their range of colour, the 

 evergreen Begonias nevertheless claim our attention on account 

 of their flowering so profusely during February and March, a 

 time when their more showy brethren are at rest. For this 

 reason they are also often called Winter-flowering Begonias, a 

 term which may fairly be applied to the whole evergreen class, 

 although a really large proportion of them can be had in bloom 

 throughout the year ; so that they not only make our greenhouses 

 gay and interesting during the dull days of winter and early 

 spring, but likewise afford us pleasure out of doors during the 

 summer months, thus possessing an advantage over the tuberous 

 section which ought to make them more generally grown and 

 appreciated than they are. And even the smaller variety in 

 their shades of colour is partly counter-balanced by the great 

 diversity and beauty of their foliage, several varieties having, 

 even when not in bloom, a very pleasing effect amongst other 

 plants. During the last few years hybridisers have been at work 

 amongst the different classes, and the result has been the produc- 

 tion of several good varieties for winter-flowering, with at the same 

 time the additional attraction of highly coloured foliage, so that 

 at the present moment we may be described as being on the turn- 



