16 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
September 7 , 1895 . 
THE NURSERIES, EXMOUTH. 
Begonias are grown both in the houses and planted 
out in beds by Mr. W. J. Godfrey, The Nurseries, 
Exmouth. The latter, owing to the dry weather 
early in the season, did poorly, but the recent rains 
have improved the plants very much and the beds 
are now very gay and contain many charming varie¬ 
ties. The plants indoors are now past their best, 
but a few varieties raised by the firm are worth 
describing. Amongst the doubles “Gem of the 
West ” is the most noticeable; the blooms, which 
are undersized, are of a bright crimson-scarlet, of 
good form, on erect stems, and are produced in such 
quantities as to almost cover the dwarf bushy plants. 
A good stock is being worked up with the object of 
using the variety as a bedder. Countess of Drogheda 
is a large salmon of true Camellia form. Mrs. Hume 
Long is a nice soft yellow, with very large blooms of 
good shape. Orange King is one of the finest singles 
in the collection. The large erect blooms are of 
great substance,and splendid form, orange, shading to 
apricot at the edges. Another single of great merit is 
Queen of the Exe, the blooms of which leave little to 
be desired in form and substance, and its colour is 
deep rose, shaded orange and buff. 
-»#»——- 
BEGONIA SOCOTRANA. 
At present this interesting Begonia is only develop¬ 
ing its short stems and characteristic pale green 
foliage. The leaves are peltate, that is, they are 
circular, and the petiole is attached to the middle of 
the back, much in the same way as in the case of a 
Tropaeolum. While the ordinary summer-flowering 
race have been in their glory for months past, B. 
socotrana is comparatively inconspicuous. The 
gardener with an eye to the future makes prepara¬ 
tions in good time for a display of something else 
when the tuberous Begonias will be resting. B. 
socotrana is peculiarly a winter-flowering species, 
and by the use of it, both as a seed and pollen 
parent, with varieties of the summer-flowering race, 
a valuable section of winter-flowering forms have 
been produced that are intermediate in character 
between the parents, and while all are beautiful, 
some are peculiarly graceful. In the nursery of 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, the bulbils of B. 
socotrana are allowed to start of their own accord, 
and which they do about the end of June and the 
beginning of July. 
Double Type (Webb). 
W0RDSLE7, STOURBRIDGE. 
A correspondent writes :—“ I have had an oppor¬ 
tunity of seeing the collection of tuberous-rooted 
Begonias, which represents Messrs. Webb & Sons’, 
Wordsley, Stourbridge, strains, and which they 
are growing for seeding purposes. The doubles 
contain some remarkably fine colours, whilst the 
size and form of the blooms leave nothing to be 
desired. The singles, also, are a splendid lot, the 
flowers being large, of great substance, and most 
brilliant in colour. 
" At present Messrs. Webb have not offered their 
strains in separate colours, but they will shortly 
introduce one or two distinct shades separately, and 
which will no doubt become great favourites. One 
double variety of a peculiarly effective shade of dark 
orange is particularly striking, no less on account of its 
unique colour than for the perfect form and large 
size of the flowers, which appear in profusion on 
plants of capital habit. Specimen plants on view at 
the Shrewsbury Horticultural Show recently were 
greatly admired.” 
[Messrs. Edward Webb & Sons supplied us with 
the illustrations.— Ed.] 
OLDFIELD NURSERIES, ALTRINCHAM. 
This highly-esteemed class of plants has for many 
years been one of the foremost specialities of Messrs. 
Wm. Clibran & Son, Oldfield Nurseries, Altrin¬ 
cham, vast quantities being grown for bedding and 
indoor decoration ; and their strains of doubles and 
singles are exceptionally fine, as a walk through 
their huge show house will convince the visitor. 
This house is devoted solely to the cultivation of 
tuberous-rooted Begonias, and at the present time 
is entirely filled with a rich collection, embracing 
every possible shade of colour, the plants having all 
the good quantities desirable in a Begonia, being of 
dwarf, bushy, sturdy habit, and producing large 
flowers on stout erect stems. 
Singles. 
Messrs. Clibran do not grow a large quantity of 
named single varieties, as they find their customers 
prefer the selected seedlings in distinct colours. 
Amongst the few varieties under name we noted 
Beauty of Oldfield, pure white with a distinct 
Picotee-edge of bright rose ; Oculata, rosy-crimson 
with a large white centre; Oldfield White, an 
immense, pure white, perfectly formed flower; 
President, rosy-salmon; and Evangeline, very large, 
handsome and pure white, the edges of the petals 
being beautifully fringed. Sensation is a telling 
and beautiful shade of salmon-pink, of remarkable 
size, and very refined. 
Doubles. 
The collection of named double varieties is very 
choice, and includes the cream of the English and 
Continental introductions; but the majority of them 
are Messrs. Clibran’s own raising. One of the first 
to claim our attention was Clibran’s Picotee, a pure 
white variety with a distinct and well defined 
Picotee-edge of bright scarlet; t he flower is large 
and well formed, and very choice, as the edging is 
quite clear and decided. Baroness Schroeder is pale 
salmon with deeper edges. Camellia-formed, very 
large and full. Duke of Portland is rich salmon, 
Camellia-like and full. Dowager Lady Williams- 
Wynn is delicate rosy blush and of Camellia form. 
Earl of Lisburne is a clear primrose, large, 
perfectly formed, Camellia-like flower. Duchess of 
Devonshire possesses a rich cream colour. Earl of 
Durham is delicate blush with pale rose centre, and 
is a charming Rose-like flower. Golden Ball, golden- 
yellow, is well named, as it forms a perfect ball in 
shape. Lord Tredegar is salmon-red, very large and 
superb. Mrs. Groves is a lovely variety with very 
broad and large, shell-shaped petals of a pleasing 
shade of pale salmon. Mrs. Wynne Corrie, clear 
rose, distinctly edged with a deeper shade, is a full 
flower of excellent form. Viscount Emlyn is rich 
scarlet, large and extra fine. Yellow King is pale 
yellow, very large and full. J. S. Leadam is a lovely 
shade of pale rose, and a large handsome flower. 
Lady Harlech is scarlet, large and very floriferous. 
Lord Langton is of a vivid crimson, and very 
showy. Lord Penrhyn is blush white, with the 
flowers thrown well above the foliage, Camellia- 
formed, and very full. 
Madame Antoinette Stirling is a pale salmon, 
Camellia-like flower, large and full. Miss Lucy is 
delicate blush; Mrs. Clibran, delicate flesh, 
perfectly formed and very beautiful. Sir Pryce 
Pryce-Jones is white, delicately shaded with rose, 
and of immense size. Sir William Hareourt is a 
charming salmon-pink, noble flower of grand 
form and substance. All the foregoing are of 
Messrs. Clibran's own raising. We also noted some 
magnificent varieties, several being unnamed, but 
very choice, and if stock permits, most of them will 
be included in Messrs. Clibran's new set for 1896, 
which they say will eclipse any previous set. 
The outdoor beds occupy a considerable space, and 
were looking remarkably fine, but the cold spell or 
cold snap of weather (as the Americans would say) 
has affected them for the time being, and they are 
not quite so effective as usual. 
-- 
CHORLTON-CUM-HARDY. 
The popular race of Begonias is not treated as a 
speciality by Mr. A. J. A. Bruce, The Nurseries, 
Edge Lane, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, near Manchester, 
though he keeps a stock of a good strain both single 
and double. The plants are selected for habit and 
the flowers for size, form, and brilliancy of colour. 
The double white, yellow, and bronze shades are 
highly valued, and the double sorts, as a whole, are 
held in higher estimation than the single ones, the 
seedlings of which produce a greater percentage of 
really good things. Mr. Bruce enters somewhat 
largely into the cultivation of shrubby w inter-flower- 
ing kinds. 
Single Type (Webb). 
