3°4 
THE GARDENING WORLD. Ma y 2 > I 9 ° 8 - 
parts of the day. If they can be kept for 
a few weeks in a warm place before finally 
being put in a cold frame so much the 
better. 
If potted about this time the plants will 
require another shift about the beginning 
of July, when they may be potted in 48 
size pots. The same sort of compost may 
be used at this potting, but it may be 
made richer with the addition of bone 
meal and soot. The plants may be re¬ 
turned to the frame and carefully at¬ 
tended to till towards the end of Septem¬ 
ber, when they may be taken into a 
greenhouse and kept sufficiently warm to 
enable them to bloom, which they will do 
towards the middle of November if the 
plants were potted off in April. Later 
rooted shoots will, of course, require 
longer time to get large enough before 
they should be allowed to flower. The 
accompanying illustration shows the old 
Double Chinese Primula in full bloom. 
These flowers, being pure white and very 
durable in the cut state, are much em¬ 
ployed in some establishments for this 
purpose. 
-- 
= How to Succeed with ~ 
Deutzia gracilis. 
Having seen a great many people fail 
to secure this lovely shrub in all its splen¬ 
dour, I offer my experiences as a grower. 
We will suppose that a dozen plants, pur¬ 
chased from a nursery prepared for 
forcing, are started with. They will be 
potted in a compost of good loam and 
leaf mould in equal parts, in pots suit¬ 
able for the size of the plants. These will 
flower in two months from the time of 
potting if grown in a temperature of about 
60 degs. Now the difficulty often arises 
what to do to flower them another season. 
They are usually turned out after flower¬ 
ing and stood outside the greenhouse-door 
to take care of themselves, and then ex¬ 
pected to flower another year. After the 
plants have done flowering they should be 
taken in hand and trimmed into shape, 
not cutting hard down as one often sees 
done. Pot them on in a size larger pot, 
after shaking out the old soil from the 
roots, in the same compost as before, with 
a little soot and bone meal mixed with 
the soil. 
Place them in a cold frame and water 
overhead for about a month, when they 
should be removed outside. First digout 
a trench in the most open and sunny part 
of the garden, as a good deal depends on 
the thorough ripening of the wood. Then 
in this plunge the pots, placing a piece of 
slate under each to. keep the roots from 
running through. Fill in the soil again 
round the pots, leaving the trench hollow 
when completed. Supply the plants with 
plenty of water,’ liquid manure and soot 
water to encourage them to make as much 
growth as possible, and they will then be 
ready for flowering the following winter. 
To increase the stock layer a few shoots 
round the pots, first cutting a little of the 
wood, off across a joint, and peg down two 
inches below the soil; they will form 
roots, and when the old plants are re¬ 
moved plant the young layers outside in 
any good garden soil six inches apart. 
In'two years’ time they will be ready for 
potting and forcing. R- NORBXJRY. 
Address: The Editor, The Gardening 
World, 37 and 38, Shoe Lane, London, E.C. 
The Editor invites enquiries, which may 
cover any branch of gardening. Questions 
should be as brief as -possible and written on 
one side of the paper only; a separate sheet 
of paper should be used for each question. 
Replies cannot be sent by post. 
Garden Plans .—Gardeners who would make 
the best use of this column are invited to 
prepare and forward to us a rough outline 
drawing or plan of their gardens, indicating 
the position of beds and lawns, the charac- 
STOVE AND GREENHOUSE. 
2807. Good Points of Begonias. 
Would you describe .the good points of 
double and single Begonias in pots for ex¬ 
hibition purposes ? Mention (the size of pots 
for mature tubers. Should all female blooms 
be removed ? How many weeks before the 
exhibition day should pinching the bud.s be 
discontinued ? (H. iStaddon, Essex.) 
In summarising the good points of tube¬ 
rous Begonias for exhibition purposes you 
should take note of the number of good 
blooms relatively to (the size of the plant. 
The size of the blooms and their quality 
count for a great deal. The distinctness and 
clearness of the colour are also of para¬ 
mount importance, as seedlings selected for 
their colours when they come into bloom 
should not have washed-out or indistinct 
colours, but be uniform in hue, except in the 
case of fancy varieties, but in any case the 
colour should be well defined and attractive. 
Healthy and clean foliage, with an abun¬ 
dance of it covering the stems, is an indica¬ 
tion of good cultivation, and that ranks 
largely in considering the value of any ex¬ 
hibit of flowers. The flowers should be 
round and of .good texture. Although a 
variety may really possessi flowers of good 
texture, bad cultivation, such as an insuffi¬ 
cient amount of light, insufficient ventila¬ 
tion |and too high a temperature, would 
cause them to be thin and flabby. The round¬ 
ness of the petals is really determined by 
the variety. In the early stages of the tube- 
rousi Begonia tthe petals were elongated and 
more or less pointed, biuit in more recent times 
the varieties have been selected for the round¬ 
ness of the petals. The inner pair of petals 
in the male flowers are most usually defi¬ 
cient in this respect, being naturally nar¬ 
rower than the outer ones, but the improve¬ 
ments that lhave now been effected enables 
the exhibitor to select varieties with which 
little fault can be found in this respect. 
N eveirthelessi we often see Begonias at exhi¬ 
bitions (that have evidently been .raised from 
seeds and probably from a poor strain. This 
is not directly the fault of the cultivator, 
but ,he should endeavour to get varieties hay¬ 
ing good quality. Cultivation may help ibis 
to some extent, but it can neveT get over the 
difficulty-if the variety is really a bad one. 
Another point of importance upon which 
stress is llaid is the upright character of the 
flower stems, which should be stiff and carry 
the flowers clear above the foliage. These 
particulars may be .said to include all the 
principal points about single varieties, but 
ter and height of the fence or wall-, po¬ 
tion of vegetable garden, orchard, etc. T\ 
north side of the garden and any ov- 
shadowing buildings should be denoted. ! 
should also be stated whether the garden ; 
flat or on a declivity, and all large tr.: 
should be marked. Particulars of the >■ 
lure of the soil will also help us to ga 
satisfactory replies. When such plans t: 
received they will be carefully piled , wi 
the name and address of the sender, ai 
will be consulted by the Editor whenever i 
enquiry is sent. 
many or most of the points apply to don * 
varieties. Double flowers, like the singl, 
have been gTeatly improved within xec<t 
years, and you should select varieties w 1 
broad, overlapping petals arranged roul 
a single centre, like the flowers of a Rosei 
Camellia, a Hollyhock or (Carnation, all t 
which are imitated by some varieties of 1- 
gonia. In the case of the Rose and (- 
mallia, the petals are flat or without wavi; 
and closely overlapping one another, It 
there are also good varieties with wa- 
petals which imitate the curled character f 
the petals of a good double Hollyhock. 1 
this case the waving should be regular al 
uniform throughout the flower. Broad pets 
are alliways a strong feature in tuberous 1 - 
gonias, and they should (be arranged roul 
a single centre, if possible, without ef¬ 
fusion of parts.. If there is more than <8 
centre to a flower, broad .petals could t 
lie flat, but would be more or less twisd 
and contorted. That, again, is largely 1 
question of variety, and if your flowers h;e 
been selected by yourself you should - 
deavour to. make yourself acquainted vi 
the points of a good Begonia, so as to selt 
and retain only the best. The flowers .e 
now carried to such a high state of f - 
fection that varieties that would have pas 1 
a dozen years ago would now find lite 
favour with judges. Even if you succeed! 
gaining (the first prize it would mean 11 
all the other Begonias, if any, exhibited a 
the same class were even poorer than yr 
own. We do not know that any partiour 
size of pots has been fixed upon for Begonn, 
and unless it is actually stated in the schi- 
ule that would not carry much weight if 1© 
plants are in proportion to the .pots. In. e 
early part of the season 32 size .pots mi t 
be large enough, but in July and Aug 1 
welll-grown plants would fill a 24 size r 
8 in. pot. The female blooms are usuay 
smaller tihan the males in single vaniet ; . 
and the effect of the whole will be impro d 
by their removal. Just how many weeks p- 
fore the exhiibtion day the removal of e 
buds may be left off depends largely iui)jn 
the time of the year. In the spring six we-> 
might not be too long, though a month, miff 
be sufficient during the summer. It wod 
be well not to pinch them too close, but 0 y 
remove those buds which you are certn 
will be too far advanced. If Begonias e 
grown in a cool and airy greenhouse dun g 
summer, they last a long time in good eola¬ 
tion, so it would be wdll not to pinch tl t 
too close to the date of the exhibition,'!' 
the number of flowers will be limited. 
