106 
October 15, 1&98. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
you the early history of the flower—and for lack of 
time shall confine my remarks to-night chiefly, if not 
entirely, to the raising of seedlings, commencing, if 
you please, with 
Hybridisation. 
The initiatory difficulty is that of procuring pollen, 
because no properly minded double Begonia will pro¬ 
duce it, if fairly treated. Semi-doubles, it would 
seem, are flowers of less principle, producing it in 
abundance, and formerly these were used for the 
purpose, people being quite content if they secured a 
very moderate percentage of really double specimens 
among the seedlings thus raised. In these days> 
however, we are not satisfied unless we can scrape up 
a few grains of this precious commodity from some 
of the finest double varieties. How is it to be done ? 
Only, it would appear, by disturbing the even tenor 
of their lives! There must be very little watering, 
no more shading, no more stimulants, real hard living 
in fact. 
Perhaps in this the double Begonia a little 
resembles some people we know of, who, being poor, 
have few luxuries but large families, their families, 
in J^fact, being in inverse ratio to their means of 
keeping them ! At all events it is found that the 
best double Begonia will only produce pollen when 
subjected to privation, beginning to feel, perhaps* 
that life is precarious, and that if double Begonias 
are not to be entirely lost to cultivation, something 
must be done about it, and it gives expression to this 
feeling by substituting a few semi-double or even 
single flowers, for those rose-like or Camellia-shaped 
blooms which so delight our eyes. The poet tells us 
that— 
" Sweet are the uses of adversity, 
Which like the toad, ugly and venemous, 
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head." 
In this case, at all events, it occasionally brings good 
pollen, which, to the hybridiser, is quite as precious 
as the mythical jewel. 
A similar result may sometimes be obtained by 
starving cuttings in small pots ; and in either case one 
flower may yield enough pollen to fertilise several 
seed flowers, to which it can be applied with the 
smallest of camel’s hair brushes. The pods, 
particulars of which should be entered in a book, and 
which should be distinguished by pieces of coloured 
thread, will ripen in about a month, when the seed 
may be run out of them into small envelopes, which 
should be inscribed with the names of the pollen 
flower and seed parent, and stored for use. All this 
sounds rather a troublesome business, but in it lies 
one of the chief elements of success. 
Hybridising may be carried on all through the 
summer and autumn, and seed thus obtained will be 
ready for 
Sowing 
early in the January following, the methods of which 
may be summarised as follows:—Fill as many 5-in. 
pots as you have packets of seed, with any rough 
drainage, to within 2 in. of the rims, placing upon 
this some of the coarser portions of the compost, and 
adding a mixture of loam, leaf mould and sand in 
equal parts, on which to sow; after which you can 
flatten the surface gently, water with a fine-rose 
water pot, and leave the pots for a few hours to 
drain. You may then proceed to sow, mixing a little 
silver sand with the seed so as to spread it more 
easily and evenly If you place the pots in a tem¬ 
perature of 70°, a square of glass over each pot, and 
a newspaper over the whole batch, the operation will 
be complete; but when the seed begins to germinate 
all covering shoull be removed, the pots placed near 
the light, and shade given in bright sunshine from 
outside the house. The surface soil should never get 
dry, but all watering be done by partly immersing 
the pots, and never by overhead applications. 
As soon as the seedlings show a third leaf, prick 
them out into well drained boxes with more loam 
and leaf mould and less rough sand, using a small 
two-pronged wooden fork instead of the fingers, 
planting an inch apart every way and watering over¬ 
head. 
When they touch one another, give a second shift, 
with three times as much room and less drainage, 
into boxes in which they must remain. Move to 
cooler quarters in May, and, after hardening, plant 
out about the first week in June into 
The Seedling Beds, 
which should be thoroughly worked and manured 
during the winter, and lightly forked over before 
planting. 
Make the beds firm and plant each in four rows 
nine inches apart, the seedlings being inserted about 
the same distance from one another and the whole 
bed afterwards watered and covered with cocoanut 
fibre to the depth of a couple of inches. Pick off all 
blooms till the plants get a good hold. From about 
the middle of August until the middle of September, 
if the enthusiast can tear himself from bed an hour 
or two before the sun gathers power, he will any 
morning see a sight which will gladden his eyes, and 
now and then, he will find a variety which will grace 
his conservatory for years to come. In his selection 
I do not hesitate to say he should bear in mind two 
main types—the Camellia and the Rose. Some few 
Hollyhock-shaped flowers, with a crowd of small 
petals neatly arranged, are beautiful, and may be 
retained, if the colour be remarkable and the habit 
sturdy, but personally I incline to the Camellia and 
the Rose-shaped, with upright habit and thick 
leathery petals. These visits to the seedling beds 
are quite the pleasantest part of Begonia growing, 
and all the more so from the fact that each of the 
plants bedded out possesses a pedigree, which it 
shares with certain other members of its own par¬ 
ticular batch, and which has been duly noted in the 
book I have mentioned. Out of this system there 
arises a double advantage—in the first place the 
operator has it in his power to repeat a good cross 
the following year, and in the second he is enabled to 
confine his experiments to unrelated specimens. 
We only retain about 100 varieties each year out 
of some 15,000, a third being pulled up and thrown 
away as not being good enough, the rest going to 
the London or other nurserymen, which leads me to 
make this further remark,.that if any of my hearers 
think of cultivating this flower upon a large scale 
they will find that such an arrangement will enable 
them to escape those twinges of conscience to which 
people must now and then be subject, who engage in 
any system of unremunerative extravagance ! 
(To be continued.) 
— -- 
W00LT0N GARDENERS. 
The fortnightly meetings of the Woolton Gardeners’ 
Mutual Improvement Society re-commenced on 
Thursday of last week, when Mr. R. W. Ker occu¬ 
pied the chair. 
The chairman in opening the session referred to 
the pleasure it gave him to be amongst them after a 
considerable break, and was glad to notice that there 
was every evidence of a successful winter’s working, 
judging from the capital syllabus before them. 
Mr. J. Wynne, of Waverton, Chester, gave an ex¬ 
haustive paper on “The Culture of Vegetables for 
Exhibition Purposes.” The subject was introduced 
as an important one, the chief points being right soil, 
right stock, and right culture. The general prepar¬ 
ations should be done in winter, trenching the ground 
two spits deep, and introducing a liberal dressing 
of manure. This will ensure a proper blending of 
the manure with the soil before sowing time. 
Beans, French, Runner, and Broad, did not require 
much special attention, besides sowing the seed thinly 
and thinning out the weak and deformed pods. Beet 
was especially a section for diverse treatment, some 
requiring a rich soil and other varieties a poorer 
compost. Pragnell’s, a well-known variety, required 
liberal treatment, whilst if the same course was 
followed with Dickson's Exhibition immense roots 
would be produced, too large for the purpose. In 
sowing the seed a hole 3 ft. deep should be made 
with a pointed stick about 2 in. in diameter. The 
hole should be carefully filled with a compost con¬ 
sisting of three parts sand and one of loam. It 
should be filled within an inch of the top on which 
can be placed the seed, covering it with soil. Sow at 
the end of April or beginning of May. 
Cauliflower, Cabbage, Savoy, and Brussels Sprouts 
require similar treatment. If the ground is liable to 
club give a dressing of lime. If Cauliflowers are 
too early for show they should be retarded by cutting 
the stem nearly through and supporting with a stake, 
or the plant may be pulled up and inserted in water 
in a dark place. 
Carrots require a richer soil than Beet, but should 
be sown in a like manner, using a smaller and shorter 
peg for making the holes. Artificial manures should 
be avoided, as they produce forkedroots, an undesir¬ 
able form for exhibition. To check fly, syringe with 
soapsuds or hang rags dipped in gas tar between the 
rows. 
Celery should not be sown too early, the first 
week in March being a good time. Place it in a 
temperature of about 50°, until the seedlings appear, 
when they can be placed in a cooler temperature. 
Prick them off as soon as the seedlings can be 
handled, placing them in the warmth to give them a 
start. Plant out in heavily manured trenches, not 
very deep. Soil is not recommended for blanching, 
but rough paper, which should be removed every 
four or five days, for the purpose of clearing away 
pests. After a time some old sacking can be placed 
around them, keeping the outside damp, which will 
induce more rapid ^blanching. The pink varieties 
were preferred. 
Parsnips require similar treatment to Carrots, 
using a longer and larger dibber. The liberal mix¬ 
ture of sand in the compost should keep the wire- 
worm at bay. 
Peas require from twelve to fourteen weeks, 
Autocrat moving more slowly than many others, but 
the pea and pod grow simultaneously, thus differing 
from many kinds in which the pod is formed before 
the pea commences to swell. Gladstone (new) was 
mentioned as a likely show Pea, with a curved pod. 
A discussion followed, after which hearty votes of 
thanks were accorded to the lecturer and chairman. 
-<♦*-- 
THE UNITED HORTICULTURAL BENE¬ 
FIT AND PROVIDENT SOCIETY. 
The twelfth anniversary dinner of this excellent in¬ 
stitution took place at the Holborn Restaurant, on 
the evening of Wednesday, October 5th. Mr. Geo. 
Bunyard, V.M.H., occupied the chair, and about 130 
friends and members were present, including Messrs. 
N. N. Sherwood, Edward Sherwood, Jas. H. 
Veitch, H. B. May, Geo. Gordon, Geo. Wythes, W. 
P. Thompson, Jas. Hudson, H. Laing, R. Dean, W. 
Y. Baker, S. T. Wright, and A Outram. 
Dinner was laid for half-past six o’clock. This 
over, the customary loyal toasts of “The Queen,” 
and the “ Prince and Princess of Wales and the rest 
of the Royal Family ’’ were brought forward by the 
chairman, and duly honoured. 
Mr.Geo.Bunyard then gave the toast of the evening, 
“ The United Horticultural Benefit and Provident 
Society." He briefly reviewed some of the most pro¬ 
minent features in the history and constitution of the 
society. Its membership was now 738 in all, there 
having been an accession of 64 new members during 
the present year. Some might ask what was the 
need for such a society ? The answer was that the 
gardener’s life was a hard one. He had to work 
early and late, and battle with Dame Nature from 
January to December. He did not receive so high 
wage as he ought to have, but he had other advan¬ 
tages, for many gentlemen treated their gardeners 
as friends and equals. The society had been estab¬ 
lished since 1865, and since its inception had done, 
and was continuing to do a most useful work. The 
funds were properly invested, and everything was 
in order from first to last. He could not find any¬ 
where a flaw in its management. As an investment 
it was well worthy the notice of all gardeners, for in¬ 
vested monies bore an interest of 3 per cent., where¬ 
as the Queen only gave 2$ per cent. With the bene¬ 
volent branches, in addition to the provident, the 
society contained everything that was good. He 
coupled the toast with the name of Mr. Jas. Hudson, 
their hon. treasurer. 
That gentleman, in rising to respond, said he 
hoped the day was not far distant when his first ideal 
should become a fact, viz., a member list of 1,000, 
and £20,000 invested. The society showed a splen¬ 
did average of invested funds per member ; indeed, 
he would like to hear of any society that could show 
a better. The sick pay was eminently satisfactory, 
and the working expenses were kept down to the 
lowest possible limit, for none of the officers, with 
the exception of their worthy secretary, who received 
a nominal remuneration, were paid for their services. 
They were endeavouring to sow the seeds of frugal¬ 
ity and self reliance. He had been much impressed 
with a suggestion that had been made in the daily 
Press that government old age pensions should only 
be administered through benefit societies, for he 
thought that the money would then go to the right 
class of people—those who had tried to help them¬ 
selves. 
Mr. Nathan Cole proposed “ The Honorary and 
Life Members,” coupling with the toast the names 
of Mr. Jas. H. Veitch and Mr. N. N. Sherwood. 
