VOL.  XXXIII.  No.  3.) 
WHOLE  No.  1355.  ( 
NEW  YORK,  AND  ROCHESTp,  N.  Y.,  JAN,  15,  1876.  . 
PRICE  SX3C  CENTS. 
S‘3.«5  PER  YEAR. 
[Entered  accordini?  to  Act  of  ConKross.  In  the  year  1870.  by  the  Rural  Publishing  Company,  in  the  otflca  of  the  Librarian  of  CongreBS  at  Washington.] 
irloiiciiltiiral. 
BEGONIAS. 
There  are  two  very  dintinct  olasaea  of  Begoniaa 
— the  one  tuberona-rooted  and  vuluwi  cbielly  for 
thfcir  flowora,  not  that  tho  foliage  ia  in  any  way 
inferior;  tho  other  for  thoir  foliage,  though 
many  of  thsao  are  attractive  for  their  dowers  as 
well.  Both  classes  possess  a  diatiiigiiishing,  rare, 
fcccfintrio  beauty — whether  we  view  their  flowers 
or  fohago  —  that  Invests  them  with  a  spta'ial 
adaptability  to  certain  jiurjioses.  Of  tho  foliage 
section,  many  bear  leaves  a  foot  in  length— some 
of  them  of  a  luotallic  -  olive  color.  «i)Otted  and 
doubly  margined  with  lighter  and  darker  sliades 
of  a  silvery  and  coppery  luster ;  olhors  with  a 
grisaille-colorcd  disc,  margined  and  veined  with 
crimson  :  while  both  upper  and  under  snrfac^os, 
as  well  as  the  petioles,  are  thickly  covered  with 
bright  rod  hairs. 
The  tuboi  ous  -  rooted  Begonias  have  annual 
stems  and  require  a  rest  during  tho  winter,  be¬ 
ginning  a  now  growth  early  hi  spring.  The 
leaves  aie  fleshy,  of  a  rich,  glabrous  green,  often 
doubly  toothed  or  incised,  aud  the  habit  of  the 
plants  is  generally  freo  and  branching. 
The  flowers  of  this  sectiou  are  often  of 
great  size,  as  re|U'es(.nted  in  our  ongraving, 
and  of  various  colors,  such  as  whiU',  creana, 
sulphur,  orange,  puik,  sahnou.  magenta. 
If — out-of-doors — Bogoniaa  are  inora 
captivating  in  one  situation  than  another, 
it  is  when,  iu  a  wliady,  secluded  nook,  they 
are  interspersed  with  Finis,  Fvfuroerias, 
Klenias,  <Sed«nis,  vlyrtivs  and  Cacti.  In¬ 
doors,  a  grcenliouiRi  temperature  is  suita-  ^ 
Lie.  aud  the  soil  needs  no  especial  prepara- 
tion. 
Onr  engraving  is  from  one  of  the  many 
beautiful  catalogues  sent  out  by  the  well- 
known  London  estabUshmeut  of  E.  O.  Hen¬ 
derson  &  Son.  E.  8.  C. 
- ■ 
NOTE  TO  EUKAL  FL0EICULTUEI8TS. 
We  beg  to  state  to  tho  roadei-a  of  the 
Rural  tliat  onr  hardy  FhU/i  seed  are  all 
disixised  of.  To  those  whoso  hearts  are 
not  made  sick  by  hope  long  defeived,  we 
would  say  that  we  shall  stive  next  fall  from 
the  some  vaiieties  {IXtvmie  and  Lairdes), 
as  well  as  from  seedlings  of  our  own,  a 
sulHcient  quantity  to  siipidy  any  probable 
demand,  when  wo  will  lie  happy  to  send 
them  to  those  whom  we  have  been  con- 
stiained  to  dlsapiioint. 
Many  applicants  have  inquired  where 
they  could  procure  DeutzUi  seeds — referred 
to  iu  the  same  aidicie  as  of  the  easiest 
cultivation.  Except  they  may  still  find 
tliem  clinging  to  tho  bushes  in  their  re¬ 
spective  neighborhoods,  we  do  not  know. 
I.ast  winter  bo  cut  down  the  Deidzias  upon 
oui-  own  premises  that  wo  did  not  have  a 
bloom,  except  upon  X».  gracHia.  But  our 
home  is  iu  a  valley  that  catches  the  earliest 
and  the  latest  frosts,  while  tho  interval 
boasts  of  a  lower  temperature  than  any 
other  locality  within  many  miles. 
Several  friends  cautioned  us  that  tho 
jKistcript  in  the  Hurai.  (offering  to  foiward 
Phl/rx  see<l8  to  applicants)  would  prove  oin 
last,  a§  it  was  oiur  first,  exixuiriieut  of  the 
kind.  We  received  many  more  letters  than 
we  anticipated,  it  is  true ;  but  the  intense 
attachment  expressed  in  many  of  tliem  to 
floricultural  pursuits,  well  repaid  us  for 
our  inconsiderable  trouble,  and,  if  we  live, 
the  exiieiiment  at  seasonable  periods  shall 
be  rexKiated  again  aud  again.  These  let¬ 
ters  show  that,  liberal  as  ai'e  our  seeds¬ 
men  in  the  diati-ibutiou  of  then  cata¬ 
logues,  tliey  do  not  reach  or  if  they  do, 
are  not  available  to  —  the  mass  of  poor  peo¬ 
ple,  who,  in  then  love  of  flowers,  no  sooner  as¬ 
certain  the  merits  of  a  particular  plant  and  that 
it  is  of  eaui/  cidtimdion,  than  they  seize  witli  avid¬ 
ity  the  first  means  witliin  their  nai-row  reacii  of 
procuring  it.  Wo  give  two  extracts  from  these 
letters  as  fair  spocinmns  of  many  of  tlioni :  ‘*1 
have  long  wished  for  some  plants,  but,  as  we  are 
in  debt  for  our  faim,  my  bnsband  thinks  it  fool¬ 
ish  to  HiKuid  money  for  sucli  Hungs— ho  don’t 
care  for  them  as  I  do.  When  we  send  for  vege¬ 
table  seeds,  I  get  a  few  jiais’^rs  of  flower  seeds; 
but  when  it  comes  to  slirubs  and  plants,  Oh! 
dear— it  makes  me  sad  to  think  of  prices.  And 
yet  I  am  oiu/.y  for  eveiy  new  catalogue.  I  feast 
m^  eyes  on  tlieir  imagined  beauties,  and  mark 
tlie  mo.st  dcfeirablo  ones  agahist  tho  time  when 
my  ship  anivoM.”  "Though  I  am  poor  and 
nearly  a  life-long  invalid,  yet  my  little  flower 
garden,  tended  by  my  own  hands,  is  such  a  coo- 
tiuual  source  of  dt^light,  that  without  it  life  would 
ohnost  bo  a  burden." 
Jfloricullm  al  papers  that  have  a  care  for  some¬ 
thing  boyoud  the  influx  of  subscriptiuDS,  could, 
we  think,  with  little  expense  luid  with  ultimate 
profit  to  themselves,  greatly  assist  this  class  of 
people,  while  performing  a  commandable  work 
In  promoting  a  more  general  appreciation  and 
cultivation  of  flowers  over  tlie  land.  There  are 
two  veiy  difltinct  classos  of  people  who  spend 
tune  over  flowers,  viz.,  tliose  who  like  tliem  as 
(lowers  and  those  who  like  them  as  ornaments. 
To  tlie  latter  class  they  are  to  the  house  what 
diamonds  aio  to  tho  person— a  species  of  elegant 
fiu'iiiture,  tho  more  prized  beciiuso  of  the  ex., 
ceeding  and  general  admiration  they  attract. 
ITiey  are  tlio  valued  exponents  of  wealth,  or, 
what  is  worse,  tho  affectation  of  wealth,  tho  tot¬ 
tering  pedestal  of  which  Is  well  concealed  beneath 
a  lavish  floral  display.  A  Cowslip  Is  to  them  a 
Cowslip,  and  rather  "  less  ’’  thiiii  "  nothing  more. 
They  must  have  gorgeous  flowers — flow- 
era  bigger  than  anybody  else’s,  and,  whoti  they 
droop  aud  fade,  the  plant  is  iu  disgrace,  and  the 
"desert  air"  may  claim  what  ruinains  of  its  fra- 
gi’auoo  ami  tlie  plant,  too,  until  it  is  ready  to 
bloom  again.  If  they  procure  rare  plants  they 
are  very  sure  to  keep  them — at  least  while  they 
oro  rare ;  exclusivcncsfi  adds  to  their  value.  The 
seeds  and  slips  are  jealously  guarded,  and  all  tlie 
more  so  if  a  neightor  has  loug  sought  them  iu 
vain. 
But  those  who  rightly  love  flowers  cannot  toll — 
know  not  why  they  love  them.  It  is  not  for  their 
bright  coloirs  or  their  fragrauce  aloue ;  It  is  not 
# -V  f.  V 
TUBEROUS  -  ROOTED  BEGONIA. 
for  tho  green  leaf,  or  Oie  plant’s  symmetry  or 
grace.  It  is  not  that  they  demand  daily  and  pa¬ 
tient  care.  'I'hey  love  them,  iu  a  measure,  as 
tliey  luvo  a  little  child.  Tlie  flowers  owmot  talk, 
but  tJifite  actions  are  very  winning.  They  lovo 
them  in  response  to  a  longing  of  their  natures — 
a  longing  Uiat  knows  not  of  greed,  and  that  de¬ 
mands  no  more  tho  gratification  of  poHsession 
tlian  tho  pleasure  of  distribution ;  and  so,  with 
slips  and  seeds,  they  are  ready  to  shave  their 
choicest  plants  with  those  who  wUl  accept  them 
and  prize  them. 
There  are  hundDxls  of  such  true  lovers  of  flow- 
era  who  read  thoir  floricultural  journals  with 
gi’oat  interest,  that  would  cultivate  plants  in  their 
sitting-rooms,  if  they  knew  what  species  to  pro¬ 
cure  and  how  to  procuro  them  without  much 
cost.  Now  tliere  arc  huudreds  of  individuals 
who  would  delight  in  saving  seeds  from  their 
owu  collections  and  sending  them  to  just  such 
persons.  But  how  is  the  one  class  to  communi¬ 
cate  with  the  other  ?  Wo  answer  through  the 
horticultiRul  journals.  Lot  those  good  people 
w  ho  have  seeds  to  spare,  coiuniunicatu  Uie  fact 
to  their  favorite  papers,  with  the  names  of  gen¬ 
era  species  and  varieties,  and  their  address.  Wo 
doubt  uut  that  auy  journal  would  publish  such  a 
notice,  if  it  convoyed  with  it  strong  evidence  of 
good  faith.  Then  let  those  desiring  sxwb 
genera,  etc.,  apply. 
There  is  scarcely  a  person  deeply  inter- 
‘  estixl  in  plants  that  does  not  learn  some¬ 
thing  every  season — either  in-doors  or  out- 
of  •  doors  -  -  not  generally  known.  If  such 
persons,  who  do  not  write  for  pubhcatlon, 
would  send  their  informa  Uou  to  those  who 
do— many  practical  suggestions  and  facts 
rot  value  might  bo  distributed  for  the  bene¬ 
fit  of  all.  Horticultural  writers,  who  nar¬ 
rate,  for  tho  most  part,  their  own  exiio- 
riences,  are  necessarily  confined  within 
comparatively  a  nan'ow  sphere;  aud  tho 
local  causes  which  ojiorate,  either  for  or 
agahist  a  particular  plant,  may  not  exist  a 
few  niUea  distant.  Time,  however,  does 
not  permit  a  minute  investigation  of  those 
details,  and  the  remarks  or  directions  iu 
specific  cases  arc  often  found  quite  inade¬ 
quate  to  general  application.  In  almost 
^  every  garden  certain  plants  will  bo  found 
to  do  well ;  others  to  thrive  iu  perfection ; 
still  others  that  sicken  and  perish.  If  tho 
details  as  to  the  soil,  moisture,  dryness 
and  exposure  were  carefully  noted  and  pub¬ 
lished,  wc  should  soon  arrive  at  a  compre¬ 
hensive  knowUidge  of  how  to  Improve  tho 
plants  In  our  own  grounds— what  to  select 
— what  to  reject. 
Thus,  through  tho  horticultural  'jour¬ 
nals,  tho  whole  community  might  consli. 
tute  itself  a  vast  Horticultural  Society, 
giving  and  receiving  seeds  and  information 
free  of  expense,  aud  with  a  teifle  of  trouble 
that  would  be  well  repaid  by  the  informa¬ 
tion  resulting  from  tho  observations  which 
each  would  feel  it  inciunhent  upon  him¬ 
self  to  make  and  to  record. 
Speaking  for  ourselves,  wo  are  always 
ready  to  welcome  such  infomation,  whether 
of  tho  least  or  gi-eatest  import,  and  would 
r  promise  it  a  careful  consideration,  and  to 
render  it  serviceable  to  our  readers  accord- 
iug  to  its  value  and  our  capacity. 
E.  8.  Cabman. 
River  Edge,  Bergen  Co.,  N.  J. 
- — - 
Coi-TEB  rN  Caufornua.— An  exchange 
says  that  "recent  experiments  prove  that 
Coffee  can  bo  raised  in  every  portion  of 
California,  where  the  soil  is  congenial. 
Snow  does  not  materially  injure  the  plant.’’ 
It  has  become  more  interestiug  to  know 
what  cannot  be  rused  iu  Califonua  than 
what  can. 
