
Choreword 
Dear Friends: 
I greet you as friends for I have learned from the many 
lovely letters I receive that our wonderful hobby brings us 
together in friendship. Paraphrasing Will Rogers who said 
he never met a man he didn’t like, I can truthfully say the 
same of Begonians! All over the country I have dear friends, 
seen and unseen, made through our common love of flowers. 
While I sell plants, it is still a hobby because I live for 
my plants, not by them. They are a never-failing source of 
interest and delight and | get great enjoyment out of sending 
nice plants to you who so eagerly await them, ready to give 
them a good home. 
It is very interesting to hybridize begonias with so many 
new varieties and species available for use. The hard part 
is to discard the many good but common ones that result to 
save the space for those which exhibit the distinctive or im- 
proved characteristics desirable in new varieties. But dis- 
crimination must be the chief tool of the hybridizer. 
The introductions for this year include two raised by a 
friend in Connecticut, Mrs. Julia Nisbet, who is a keen student 
of begonias. Both are very much worthwhile. 
I wish I had space in which to discuss with you some 
of my “very favorites” but must close wishing you every 
success with your plants. 
Sincerely, 
BESS -L. SHIPPY 
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