March 10, 1900. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
445 
BEGONIA CALEDONIA. 
No doubt most of our readers are familiar with the 
name of this Begonia by this time, and not a few have 
seen the plant in bloom at one or other of the several 
Chrysanthemum shows, at which it made its appear¬ 
ance last autumn. For the sake of those who may 
not have seen the plant we are now able to use an 
illustration of the same, placed at our service by 
Mr. John Forbes, Buccleuch Nurseries, Hawick, 
Scotland. It is a sport from B. Gloire de Lorraine, 
from which it differs by having pure ivory white 
flowers. B. Gloire de Lorraine is a hybrid 
between B. socotrana and B. Dregei, the former 
comiDg from the Island of Socotra, and the latter 
from Brazil. The white flowers of B. Dregei and 
the rosy flowers of B. socctrana may be regarded as 
combined in the rosy pink flowers of B. Gloire de 
Lorraine. The new sport, B. Caledonia may be 
regarded as a separation of the colour of B. Dregei 
from the hybrid. The form and colour of the leaves, 
the habit and free-flowering character of the plant re¬ 
main the same as in B. Gloire de Lorraine, so that B. 
Caledonia makes a very suitable companion to its 
parent, the one showing off the peculiar beauty of 
the other by contrast. The cultural treatment re¬ 
quired is the same in botn, as are the methods of 
propagation by cuttings and leaves. 
n due time 'the spikes of flower'will^be^showing, 
w hen a little liquid manure will be beneficial. When 
in flower they may be placed in conspicuous positions, 
where they never fail to attract the attention they 
deserve. L. tricolor and L. Nelsonii are the best.— 
5 . Cooke, Rosefield Gardens, Sevenoaks. 
DAHLIA KEYNES’ WHITE. 
Where the original colour is some shade of red, 
scarlet, or yellow, there is some difficulty in securing 
a pure white variety. The pure white Dahlias 
in the section of show Dahlias have long main¬ 
tained their position. For years past, attempts 
have been made to get a pure while Cactus Dahlia. 
Mrs. A. Peart and, later on, Mrs. Fell and Miss 
Webster, made their appearance. The first two may 
be described as decorative varieties with a consider¬ 
able amount of cream in them. Miss Webster is 
pure white, except that in hot weather the back of 
the florets get tinted with pink. As a pure white, it 
has been awarded fourteen First-class Certificates, 
but, being as much allied to the decorative as the 
Cactus section, it has already been surpassed by 
Keynes’White, which is more decidedly a Cactus 
Dahlia. The long, pointed florets are more 
or less incurved towards the tip, forming a type of 
flower to which a large number of the more re¬ 
cently developed varieties belong. The florets are 
ivory white, with a creamy tint at the base only, to 
that the variety is reckoned the best white Cactus 
Dahlia in cultivation, and in included in the twelve 
LACHENALIAS. 
Those that possess a greenhouse should give these 
bulbous plants a chance in baskets. Grown this way 
they make splendid decorative plants. First place 
the dormant bulbs thickly together in a pot in light 
soil about November to start them. When growth 
has attained a length of about i in. they will be 
ready for transferring to the basket, which should 
be circular in form, and made of galvanised wire. 
Get some wood moss and put a layer over the bottom 
and a little way up the side. Have your compost 
ready, which should consist of two parts loam, one 
cf leaf mould, and a little sand. Place about i in. 
on the moss, pressing it fairly firm ; then lay round 
the bulbs, allowing the inch of growth to just peep 
out through the moss; then another layer of soil 
with moss up the side ; then some more bulbs, and 
so on,"until’the top is reached, when a few may be 
inserted upright to give a finish to the whole. Give 
a gentle watering with a rose can and suspend near 
the glass. When they are seen to be growing freely 
afford them copious|supplies of waterfat the roots. 
best or c istinct colours for exhibition by the Nalional 
Dahlia Society. The accompanying illustration, for 
which we are obliged to Messrs. Dobbie & Co., 
Rothesay, N B., shows the form and general appear¬ 
ance of the flower. Messrs. Dobbie & Co. grow 
Cactus Dahlia Keynes’ White, 
shady position, and kept well watered until planted, 
which must be done before the end of July. The 
ground that has grown early Potatos will suit them, 
heavily manured. If the weather is diy after plant¬ 
ing, thoroughly water occasionally. By October, 
they will be fine plants, when they should be well 
mulched. Pot rooted runners have great advantages 
over the trench system ; they receive no check, and 
every roct the plant can make is secured. With 
proper treatment they bear well for three years.— 
G.B., Mona Cottage, Holbeach. 
