April 21, 1900. 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
F7-";cr 
« 
539 
cement mixed up with coarse red or gray sand. It 
may be coloured slightly with soot to make it darker 
if thought desirable. If left to the weather it will 
in time get more or less discoloured, so that it will 
ultimately assume a close resemblance to real stone- 
Rockwork carried out on the lines I have tried to in¬ 
dicate will have a far more satisfactory appearance 
than the disjointed productions so often called rock- 
work. 
When this outer covering of cement is well set 
proceed to fill up the spaces for plant growing 
with suitable soil. Where Ferns, dwarf Rhodo¬ 
dendrons, Heaths, Gaultherias, Vacciniums and 
other peat loving plants are to be introduced that 
material must be provided for them. There are 
numerous alpine plants which will do well in almost 
any ordinary garden soil, or better still in a mixture 
of leaf soil and decayed friable loam with a good 
dash of coarse sand in it. During dry weather 
watering must be attended to, and a sharp look out 
kept for snails and slugs. Plant the smaller 
subjects in close proximity to each other; and be 
ever on the watch against any plant being overrun by 
its more robust neighbours.— IV.B.G. 
--— 
PRUNUS DAVIDIANA, 
This Peach is considered to be a variety of the com¬ 
mon Peach (P. Persica), but it is much earlier and 
ought to be planted in sheltered shrubberies on that 
account. In selecting a position for it, wind swept 
areas should be avoided. At the same time a sunny 
position facing the south would encourage the early 
development of a display of blossom, when that is 
scarce in the open. There are pale rosy and white 
varieties of it, both quite distinct from the Almonds 
now flowering much behind time. As a pot plant 
in the conservatory it would come in early, practi¬ 
cally without forcing, and without exposure to frost 
and wind. The accompanying figure shows two 
sprays of blossom. 
THE TUBEROUS BEGONIA. 
Begonias, especially the double-flowered varieties, 
are yearly finding more favour among professional 
and amateur horticulturists. They are a most beau¬ 
tiful class of plants when properly treated, but if a 
few cultural points be overlooked, or due care be not 
taken, the plants which result are often poor enough 
through no fault of their own. To be really accept¬ 
able, they must be done well. 
The propagation is by seeds, cuttings, or by 
division. Seeds are far to be preferred, but they are 
exceedingly small, and some care must needs be 
exercised in the sowing, so that they may not be 
sown too deeply. Pans of 3 in. in depth are the 
most serviceable, and the crocking of these must be 
thoroughly well done. The drainage hole should be 
covered with one large crock over which smaller 
ones should be placed. Then to prevent the drain¬ 
age from becoming choked, place a layer of rough 
loam, fibre, or aught else over the top of the crocks. 
Light soil should be used to fill the pans with. Half 
an inch of space should be left at the top, the soil 
being made firm. Water the pans through a fine 
rosed can, leaving them for an hour before sowing, 
after which operation only the lightest covering 
should be given to the seeds which may then be 
sown, and pieces of glass put over the pans to pre¬ 
vent evaporation. If a hot-bed or bottom-heat can 
be given to the pans then let them have it. If not, 
the warmest part of the propagating pit should be 
their position. Pieces of paper may require to be 
put over the glass to protect the young seedlings 
from the sun’s rays. In a fortnight or three weeks 
the seedlings should appear, and as they grow 
gradually lift the glass little by little each day until 
it can be dispensed with altogether. It is now that 
the closest attention should be given. The plants do 
not up to this stage require much or any water; and 
when water is given, the leaves should not be unduly 
b;aten dowo. Only the very finest rose-can should 
be used. Constant care as to shading is also to be 
seen to. In half an hour the sun's hot rays can spoil 
all previous efforts, and destroy all future hopes of 
having first-rate plants. 
As soon as the seedlings are large enough to 
handle prick them off either widely apart into other 
pans, or directly into small pots. Two parts'of 
loam, one of leaf-mould and one of sand, will answer 
in this respect. Place the newly pricked off plants 
on the shelf of a somewhat cooler house, allowing 
them good light, and so treat them that they become 
gradually hardened, firm, and robust. When propa¬ 
gating Begonias from cuttings gardeners often take 
part of the tuber as a heel, along with the shoot. In¬ 
crease by division is a very simple and sure method. 
When the old tubers become too large, which they 
do, shortly, it is a simple matter to split them into 
four or five parts, each section having an eye or two. 
After having finished a summer’s growth, as those 
from the spring sowing are supposed to have done, 
they should be dried off and rested in the pots or 
shaken out and stored in boxes of cocoanut fibre. 
In April they may be selected and re-potted, one im¬ 
portant point being to get them started evenly. The 
first stages of growth should not be neglected on the 
score of nourishment, for starved young plants can¬ 
not be worked up satisfactorily afterwards. This, of 
course, does not mean that manures and high 
feeding are to be too freely applied. Good soil, 
however, ought to be used. A compost for this 
later potting should consist of one part each of leaf- 
mould and cow manure, two parts of turfy loam and 
a fair quantity of sand. 
On no account should the Begonias be coddled. 
For good large blooms disbudding will have to be 
attended to. When the plants have formed good 
specimens and are showing flower nourish them by 
frequent applications of weak manure water. Be¬ 
gonias are becoming more and more used for sum¬ 
mer bedding. Once a good stock has been raised 
the after trouble and care amounts to that of plant¬ 
ing and lifting them again after the season’s growth 
is finished. The surface of the beds will have to be 
kept stirred, as this is a great and helpful item in the 
treatment. In dry seasons the beds should be 
mulched with fibre or short manure. The soil has 
to be thoroughly well prepared for their reception, 
and it ought to be kept moist to allow them to start 
strongly.— D. 
-- 
Experiments in the Growth of Sugar Beet.—At 
a recent meeting of the Sugar Beet Committee of the 
Central Chamber of Agriculture (Colonel Victor 
Milward, M.P., in the chair), it was decided, says the 
Irish Farming World, to make arrangements for a 
series of not less than twenty experiments in the 
growth of sugar Beet in different parts of Great 
Britain and Ireland duriDg the forthcoming season, 
each experimental plot to be at least one acre in 
extent. It is proposed that of the twenty experi¬ 
ments about twelve should be located in England, 
four in Scotland, and four in Ireland. As in certain 
cases previous experiments have demonstrated the 
value of sugar Beet for the feeding of stock, indepen¬ 
dently of the value of the root for the manufacture of 
sugar, this point will be specially kept in view in 
connection with the proposed experiments of the 
present year. 
The Annual Revenue derived from the national 
roads of Saxony planted with fruit trees, rose from 
£1,800 in 1880, to £8,400 in 1892, furnishing a total 
sum of £68,000 for thirteen years. 
Prunus "’davidiana] 
