96 
shining, lying close to the soil, out of 
which spring long stems topped by im- 
mense panicles of feathery flowers 
mark another section. Recinafolia and 
Rubella are among the best varieties. 
To a fourth section of the fibrous 
belong species which send up from that 
base of the plant where the taproot dis- 
tributes its rootlets, canes so vigorous, 
so straight, so stately, that one is re- 
minded of bamboo. These shoots, if 
never let dry out, grow with the rapid- 
ity of Jack’s fabled bean stalk. The 
thick leathery leaves and brilliant 
showers of bloom, the rapid growth 
under one’s eyes as one stands and 
watches, make these varieties very 
gods whose shrines of beauty one is 
loath to quit. 
A ten by twelve inch pot will hold 
food and drink enough for one of these 
plants three to four feet tall bearing 
thirty to forty panicles of flowers at 
one time. The Rubra, an old-time fa- 
vorite, is still holding its own by the 
side of Otto Heckor and President Car- 
not. 
The Giant Tree Begonias, creations 
of Mrs. Theo. B. Shepherd, the pioneer 
seed grower of the Pacific coast, are 
hybrids from crossing the Rubra with 
Glorie de Jouy of Rex ancestry. The 
successful experiment was the result 
of many years of hunting-for, and 
mating-with, the right affinities, for, 
do you know flowers have affinities as 
well as man, and without these affini- 
ties, no hybrid can be produced. Pa- 
tience, study, research, toil and care, 
rounding up with absolute failure, 
marked a road full of disappointments 
for years before that experiment in 
twenty-four tests (in the dropping of the 
petals,) told the marvelous story of suc- 
cess to the female wizard, whose hand 
had found at last and united the “soul- 
mates” which were to give out a new 
line of wonderful creations. 
The result of this crossing gave 
many fine specimens, possessing the 
cane habits of the Rubra, its long 
stemmed flowers in huge panicles ; but 
an extra beauty was add d to the flow- 
ers in an inheritance from the Glorie 
de Jouy; the petals and pistils were 
much larger. Then, too, this Rex an- 
cestry took on the coloring of the 
leaves. Lustrous and shimmering like 
silk, some lined with wine tints, some 
lighter reds, and some bearing a 
flush like the bloom on a young girl’s 
cheek— oh, but they are beauties ! Six 
years passed from the first planting of 
the first broken strains to the final 
crossing before Mrs. Shepherd had any 
stock for market. Of these hybrids, 
Fair Rosamond and Majeska are among 
the finest. Another successful crossing 
of the Rubra with a trailing sort, the 
Glaucaphylla-scandens, by Mrs. Shep- 
herd, gave us Marjorie Daw. Mrs. 
Shepherd considered this a marvel for 
blooming and for rapid growth. 
REX BEGONIAS. 
Are cultivated exclusively for the 
wondrous beauty of their leaves. Any- 
one can grow them who cares to by 
giving them the right treatment, re- 
membering always, the main point of 
this right treatment, unlike either 
Slower (BrovPir 
fibrous or tuberous, viz: is never to wa- 
ter the leaves. Watering the leaves will 
gradually kill the plant. They grow 
readily in ordinary pot soil, requiring 
water about once every ten days. The 
hybrids are hardier, growing more 
readily. We have never tried cultiva- 
tion beyond the hall and open porch. 
Unlike the fibrous clas4, florists usu- 
ally propagate Rex Begonias from 
leaves instead of cuttings. Any time 
between May and October is favorable. 
Fully grown leaves are selected and 
cut from the plants, leaving about an 
inch of the stem attached. With a 
pair of sharp scissors the leaf is all cut 
away to within an inch of the stem. 
This leaves only the “heart” of the 
leaf. Proceed now to slit the ribs apart 
being careful not to separate them from 
the center and stem. Plant the stem, 
pressing the leaf-remnant close to the 
earth so that the little plants to spring 
from the ribs may be able to catch 
their rootlets in the ground. Keep the 
ground moist and semi-shaded and in 
a short time the “ baby plants ” will 
peep their little faces at you. 
TUBEROUS BEGONIAS. 
As Rex Begonias are grown exclus- 
ively for their resplendent foliage, 
tuberous Begonias receive the same at- 
tention for their large and brilliantly 
colored and delicately shaded flowers. 
Not until 1864 have we any definite 
knowledge of this special class. Then 
a specimen came to us from Bolivia 
under the ponderous name of “Bolivi- 
aensia,” which name completely over- 
shadowed its plebeian personality. The 
next year, Bolivia sent us a better 
representative in yellow instead of red 
flowers, larger foliage, and bearing the 
name of B. piercii. Closely following 
came B. veitchii from Peru. With large 
round flowers of vermilion cinnabar- 
red, it made a splendid record for itself 
being pronounced a popular favorite at 
once. Seven years later, B. froebilli, a 
very beautiful variety with velvety- 
red foliage and large intensely scarlet 
flowers, was introduced from Ecuador. 
From these five species all our won- 
drous tuberous kinds of to-day have 
originated. English and French ex- 
perts have been foremost in the trans- 
formation. 
LENGTH OF BLOOMING TIME. 
For a period of six months tuberous 
Begonias if properly watered and fed 
are profuse bloomers, then the tubers 
begin to get busy for another season 
and the top dies. In England, tuber- 
ous Begonias are considered, with the 
exception of zonale Geraniums, the 
best all round exotics for massing in 
beds and growing in borders. They 
can be grown ordinarily, in and out of 
doors. For pots, boxes, or baskets, 
nothing is better. Single varieties hold 
their blooms longest. They come 
readily from seeds, but two-year-old 
tubers are more satisfactory, from the 
fact that they bloom so much quicker. 
SOIL FOR POTS. 
A strictly light soil is usually recom- 
mended for all Begonias, whereas, we 
use a heavy one with splendid success. 
October, 1919 
All flower catalogues speak freely of 
“heavy and light soils,” but they never 
tell you these soils are made, and made 
too, by formula. We had to learn this 
just as you may learn from us. 
The formula for heavy soil is §ds 
adobe with Jd sharp sand and leaf- 
mold in equal proportions. Leaf mold 
is the same as loam. Sharp sand is 
the sand that plasterers use. 
Light soil is made of § leaf mold, the 
other half, sharp sand and barn manure 
used sparingly. Adobe not obtainable, 
any loose soil can be used with the addi- 
tion of bone-meal or other commercial 
fertilizer. The dust under an old house, 
especially one built close to the ground, 
is heavily charged with a wonderful 
life giving power. Apply a good dress- 
ing of this to your plants and in a 
short time you will be astonished to 
see how they grow. 
Liquid fertilizers applied understand- 
ing^ are valuable and tone up a plant 
like tonics do the human family. 
Royal Horticultural Society. 
(ENGLAND). 
The extract below is from a report 
of the August 12, 1919, meeting of the 
society as it appeared in The Garden : 
GLADIOLI. 
Messrs. Kelway arranged an extensive exhibit of 
these, though the spikes in the main were not of the 
high-class quality that we are accustomed to see. 
Varieties of the “Lang-prim” set were rather numer- 
ous, some of the more distinct being Ghost, soft yel- 
low ; T. W. Sanders, scarlet and yellow ; Wraith, 
Sylph and George Gordon . Primulinus Major is a mis- 
leading name given to a golden yellow variety marked 
or blotched with rich crimson in the lower petals, in 
which latter particular it differs entirely from the 
typical species. Others apart from this set were 
Barbara, yellow and cream with crimson blotches : 
Star of Langport, Lady Scott, flesh ; J. W. Kelway, 
crimson ; Lady M. Digby, cream and pink, with great 
velvety crimson blotches internally, and SirE. Carson, 
red and crimson fancy. 
Major Churcher, Alverstoke, was awarded a silver 
Flora medal for a small, though particularly choice 
lot of these flowers. His Primulinus Hybrids im- 
pressed us by reason of their dainty grace and re- 
finement, while retaining the true characteristics of 
the species from which they have descended. Vega 
was particularly pleasing, and in its greenish yellow 
color distinct. Pruminella is of lovely salmon tone : 
Firefly, glowing crimson scarlet; Anamosa, pale 
salmon, internally flaked crimson. Midsummer Dream 
has a velvety sheen over rich reddish scarlet. The 
finest of the set, however, was Alice Tiplady, of the 
deepest apricot and salmon, shaded internally with 
yellow. This is a lovely variety ; we know nothing 
to equal it. Negro— not a Primulinus form— is of 
blackish velvet with purple shade ; and Senator Hol- 
land, mauve and blue, has a purple blotch on each of 
the lower petals. It is handsome and distinct. Great 
freshness characterized the whole, while the colour 
distribution was very pleasing. 
A large and varied assortment of these flowers was 
also sent from Messrs. J. J. Grulleman and Sons, 
Lisse, Holland, but, owing to the great heat, many 
had suffered during transit. Primulinus varieties 
were freely shown among Palms In all probability 
we may see these in better form later, and, if again 
staged, we think a less free use of the variegated 
Acer Negundo might provide an improved effect. 
Geo. Wolfrum, of Berlin, N. J., re- 
ports that on July 4th, 1919, with the 
assistance of Mrs. Wolfrum and his 
two young daughters, he cut before 
breakfast, which was served at 6:30 
A. M., 2,500 spikes of Gladiolus Pink 
Beauty. This is not only a pretty good 
record for cutting as to quantity for 
the early part of the day, but it is also 
a good record for earliness in the sea- 
son, and we imagine that for this reason 
Mr. Wolfrum must have struck a pretty 
good market for his first cuttings. The 
flower cutting season is a strenuous 
time and Mr. Wolfrum’s record is only 
typical of what other growers have to 
contend with. 
