June 25 , 1887 . 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
C81 
at this particular time. This appears to me to be as 
soon as the flowers have come to the highest state of 
perfection, and before they begin to close their petals for 
ever ; for it is seldom the flower lasts longer than a day 
when grown under glass.— JV. G. 
-- 
JUBILEE BEGONIAS AT FOREST 
HILL. 
A magnificent display of tuberous-rooted Begonias,' 
in endless tints and variety of colour, is now the all- 
absorbing feature at Messrs. J. Laing & Co.’s Nurseries, 
Forest Hill, London. An entire house is devoted to 
the cultivation of single varieties, and another to 
doubles, an inspection of which could not fail to 
surprise those who have not 
already seen them. The 
perfection to which this class 
of plants has been brought 
within a comparatively few 
years is in itself a monument 
of fame to the art of the 
hybridist and cross-breeder ; 
and for this degree of excel¬ 
lence in a most useful and 
ornamental class of plants 
the horticultural world will, 
for all time, be indebted to 
the work done at Forest 
Hill. 
It is impossible to do 
justice to the description of 
a tithe of the fine things—■ 
both as to size, colour, and 
form—now in splendid con¬ 
dition in the two houses 
just mentioned ; but special 
reference, in the first place, 
to the “Royal and Jubilee 
Begonias ” in this the Jubilee 
year would be most appro¬ 
priate. 
Jubilee Begonias. 
Twelve of the very best 
double - flowered seedlings, 
raised at Forest Hill, enjoy 
this distinctive title ; and 
to those who have not seen 
them a surprise is in store. 
There is no comparison be¬ 
tween the first doubles that 
enjoyed the esteem of culti¬ 
vators and the present race 
of large, perfectly double, and 
regularly - formed flowers 
that may now be had in 
almost all possible shades of 
colour at Forest Hill. In 
connection with these 
doubles, a most important 
and noticeable fact is, the 
naturally dwarf and com¬ 
pact habit, not only of the 
Jubilee doubles, but all 
others almost without ex¬ 
ception. This is difficult to 
account for unless by special 
care in the selection of seed- 
bearing parents, from which 
new varieties are obtained. 
Their superiority over the singles in this respect is 
very great. 
Alba fimbriata is a very dwarf, perfectly double, pure 
white, particularly distinct and noticeable from the 
deep notches and crenatures fringing the margin of 
every sepal. Marchioness of Stafford is a creamy 
white flower of great size, and noticeable from its being 
furnished with several rosettes or centres to each flower. 
The largest double white yet produced, named Alba 
magna, is comparable to a Camellia. Some varieties 
with two distinct shades of colour would doubtless be 
acceptable to many. One of these, Mrs. Amy Adcock, 
is of a fine salmon-red colour, with a white centre. . A 
companion to this variety, named Alba rosea, has a 
perfectly double rosy pink flower with a white centre. 
Amongst self colours, Lady Lennox is a fine double 
yellow-flowered variety, resembling the yellow Car¬ 
nation, Pride of Penshurst. Jubilee is a very large, 
fully double form, of a fine rose colour and suffused 
with magenta. Lord Loughborough is an excellent 
variety, of a brilliant scarlet colour ; and Lord Ran¬ 
dolph, a full double flower of great size, is several 
shades darker, or crimson-scarlet. Lillie and Little 
Beauty are also charming varieties—the former being 
salmon-coloured, slightly tinted with rose, and having 
a white centre ; while the latter is pink, or slightly 
paler in the centre. These twelve are well fitted to 
commemorate the jubilee year of Her Majesty’s reign, 
and at the same time to mark the progress made in 
improving this liigHly ornamental class of plants. 
Royal Begonias. 
There are only eight included under this title, and all 
are figured in the beautiful chromo-litho sent out by 
Messrs. Laing & Co. last year. They are so entirely 
different from the doubles, both in habit and general 
appearance, that Begonias could be very indifferently 
represented without a goodly number of each. The 
stems are taller and stronger, the leaves broader, with 
blooms of such enormous diameter, that they seem to 
belong to a different type from the doubles. Most of 
the Royal varieties have already been certificated, some 
of them twice, and deservedly so. Queen Victoria is 
notable for the immense size of its orbicular flowers, 
some of which measure over 7 ins. in diameter towards 
August, when the plants have attained full size. They 
are of a deep rose colour, with a short globular mass of 
bright yellow stamens, which are, however, not very 
conspicuous. This has been twice certificated, as 
well as Princess Victoria, the latter of which has also 
fine blooms of enormous size, of a pink colour suffused 
with rosy salmon, darkest at the margin with a lighter 
centre. Already the blooms measure 5 ins. to 6 ins. in 
diameter. The Prince of Wales is an intense crimson- 
scarlet, and the Princess of Wales a fine deep rosy 
pink. Both have large flowers and are remarkable for 
their breadth and roundness. The blooms of the 
former are also borne erect, showing themselves off to 
advantage. The Duke of Edinburgh is a striking dark 
maroon, self-coloured flower, and has been twice certi¬ 
ficated. The Duchess of Edinburgh is also a self- 
coloured flower, yellow, but orange externally, which 
shades the yellow tint to some extent. This is common 
to many of the yellows, but detracts little from the 
handsome appearance of the flowers. Prince Albert 
Victor is an attractive flower of a brilliant scarlet 
colour, and, to complete 
the set, a handsome white 
variety—one of the purest 
and best — named Princess 
Louise, of large size and per¬ 
fect outline, lends a charm 
to a group which, although 
small, would form a grand 
and valuable nucleus to any¬ 
one commencing the culti¬ 
vation of these rich and 
gorgeously coloured flowers, 
that break out into ap¬ 
parently all shades and tints, 
except blue and violet. 
Several other fine varieties 
) 
now flowering freely, might 
be mentioned here ; and 
although, strictly speaking, 
not included amongst the 
list of Royal varieties, might 
conveniently be so, as the 
names are significantly ap¬ 
propriate. Her Majesty is 
a fine white flower, broadly 
margined with rose and per¬ 
fectly orbicular in outline. 
A dwarf variety with dark 
foliage, named Sulphur 
Queen, has fine flowers of 
that colour. Golden Queen 
has rich golden yellow 
flowers and large handsome 
deep green leaves ; it is one 
of the finest of its kind, 
and has been certificated. 
Earl of Rosslyn is a very 
floriferous variety with 
bright scarlet flowers some¬ 
what shaded with orange, 
and the Countess of Rosslyn 
has erect, flat bronzy orange 
flowers of medium size, and 
white veined foliage similar 
to B. Pearcei. Primrose 
Queen, with primrose-yellow 
flowers, might also be added 
to the list of fine things, 
with large well - formed 
flowers. 
New Types. 
It would seem rather 
paradoxical to speak of new 
types in a class already so 
rich in variety, but it does 
not yet seem that we have reached the limits the 
Begonia is capable of producing. Edged—or as they 
are called Picotee-edged—varieties will probably yet 
become popular when the public has become acquainted 
with them. We noticed a seedling of a delicate pink 
or blush colour distinctly edged with a soft rosy pink, 
aud sharply toothed at the margin like a leaf, which is 
comparable in this respect to Alba fimbriata amongst 
the doubles. Another distinct variety was a white- 
flowered seedling with a broad pink margin resembling 
Mrs. Petch, which is simply a broader-margined form. 
This reaches a climax in Charmer, a truly charming 
variety, fully the outer half of which is a rich rose, 
with a white centre. A pale yellow seedling, margined 
with red, and having a large round flower, is also 
distinct. Crimson-flowered seedlings, with a white 
eye, are distinguished as Forbes’ type. A fascinating 
and pretty variety not yet named is white, with a 
