'February  18,  1897. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTA UE  GARDENER. 
133 
GROWING  TUBEROUS  BEGONIAS. 
Starting  the  Tubers. 
As  a  rule  the  tuber#  of  double  and  single  tuberous-rooted 
Begonia#  do  not  commence  growth  early  without  some  gentle 
stimulation.  They  should  not  be  forced  or  hurried  into  starting  by 
an  undue  amount  of  heat  and  moisture.  A  constant  and  regularly 
moist  bottom  heat  of  55°  to  60°  is  a  suitable  temperature  for 
promoting  growth.  Heat  and  moisture  judiciously  applied  and 
managed  during  the  time  preceding  the  appearance  of  shoots,  as 
well  as  for  some  time  afterwards,  is  most  helpful  in  securing  a  few 
early  flowering  plants  of  both  double  and  single  varieties  for  the 
decoration  of  the  greenhouse  and  conservatory. 
The  main  bulk  of  the  tubers  may  be  allowed  to  commence  their 
growth  in  a  more  natural  way.  Afford  a  portion  the  benefit  of  a 
warm  corner  in  a  greenhouse  or  vinery.  The  rest  may  be  temporarily 
placed  in  boxes  of  light  sandy  *oil  in  a  frame  after  danger  of 
frost  is  past,  and  in  due  time  sturdy  young  shoots  will  be  produced, 
probably  much  more  vigorous  than  those  induced  to  push  under  the 
pressure  of  artificial  heat.  The  frame  treatment  is  without  doubt 
the  best  for  plants  intended  for  bedding  purposes.  When  they  are 
thus  wanted  for  outdoor  purposes  the  tubers  should  be  allowed 
sufficient  room,  so  that  the  shoot#  and  leaves  may  not  be  crowded 
at  the  first.  Much  depends  on  securing  vigorous,  compact  plants, 
exhibiting  no  appearance  of  the  growth#  being  unduly  accelerated. 
Frame  treatment  insures  this,  and  the  plants  can  be  transferred 
direct  from  the  boxes  to  the  beds  in  the  early  part  of  June. 
Instead  of  placing  in  boxes  the  tubers  might  be  planted  in  a  spent 
hotbed  in  light,  rich  soil  in  April,  keeping  the  lights  closed  until 
growth  has  started  freely. 
The  method  of  starting  the  tubers  into  growth  for  an  early 
display  of  bloom  is  simple  and  usually  effective.  Instead  of 
placing  the  tubers  in  soil,  which  i#  liable  to  become  sour  before 
root#  can  enter  it,  I  find  cocoa-nut  fibre  refuse  mixed  with  silver  sand 
to  be  an  excellent  medium.  It  isopen  and  readily  diffuses  warmth, 
retaining  no  superfluous  moisture  whereby  the  tubers  or  young 
rootlets  can  be  injured.  The  young  roots  which  issue  from  the 
tubers  easily  penetrate  the  particles  and  find  the  genial  warmth  as 
well  as  the  moisture  they  delight  in.  That  they  like  this  substance 
is  evidenced  by  the  rapidity  with  which  the  roots  multiply  in  it, 
forming  quite  large  tufts  or  wigs  of  rootlets. 
Potting  and  After  Treatment. 
Though  the  fibre  and  sand  is  useful  for  the  earliest  roots  to 
penetrate,  yet  the  continued  and  successful  growth  could  not  exist 
upon  the  limited  food  supply  the  mixture  affords,  hence  it  is 
desirable  that  more  substantial  fare  should  be  provided.  A  suit¬ 
able  compost  for  Begonias  consists  of  well-decayed  turfy  loam 
four  parts,  leaf  soil  t  wo  parts,  decomposed  manure  one  part,  sand 
half  a  part.  To  a  bushel  of  this  mixture  add  a  pound  of  artificial 
manure  of  a  general  character.  By  allowing  the  compost  to  lie  a 
short  time,  frequently  turning  it,  some  of  the  elements  in  the 
manure  will  become  diffused  through  the  bulk,  and  a  more  complete 
intermingling  of  the  whole  ingredient#  secured. 
In  potting  the  growing  tubers  larger  pots  than  necessary  ought 
not  to  be  employed.  For  producing  the  earliest  plants  the  tubers 
should  not  by  any  means  be  overpotted.  When  it  is  desirable  to 
shift  the  plants  again  the  smallest  sized  pots  in  which  the  tubers 
can  be  accommodated  should  first  be  used.  It  is  not  advisable  to 
eramp  the  tufts  of  healthy  rootlets  proceeding  from  tubers  which 
have  commenced  growth  into  pots  which  will  not  admit  of  their 
being  reasonably  spread  out.  Some  tubers  only  require  once 
potting.  Fair-sized  examples  furnished  well  with  rootlets  usually 
need  5,  6,  or  7- inch  pots,  in  which  they  may  be  allowed  to  flower. 
(For  the  smaller  tubers  pots  must  be  employed  most  suitable  to 
their  vigour  as  indicated  by  the  strength  or  weakness  of  the 
growths  and  the  freedom  or  otherwise  of  the  rootlets. 
Clean  pots  are  indispensable.  If  the  plants  remain  in  them 
permanently  for  the  season  there  is  every  need  for  sweetness  and 
cleanliness.  Should  they  only  temporarily  remain  in  the  pots  first 
used,  subsequently  transferring  to  others  of  larger  size,  the  inside 
of  the  pots  must  be  clean,  in  order  that  the  root#  may  turn  out 
easily  and  not  adhere  to  the  dirt  on  the  pots,  as  they  do  when  they 
are  not  properly  washed.  This  is  a  simple  matter,  but  one  of 
importance.  Arrange  efficient  drainage  in  the  pots,  and  the  tubers 
may  be  level  with  the  surface  of  the  soil  when  the  potting  is 
finished.  The  compost  must  be  worked  among  the  robts  carefully, 
so  that  they  are  distributed  well. 
The  potting  material  being  moist  when  used,  only  slight 
sprinklings  of  water  are  required  for  a  few  days  until  the  roots 
commence  working.  Subsequently  more  liberal  supplies  may  be 
afforded,  judging  correctly  the  quantity  needed  at  each  application 
according  to  the  activity  of  growth  and  the  loss  #ustained  by 
evaporation.  Dry  hot  weather  and  free  growth  make  large 
demands  upon  the  available  moisture.  A  fairly  moist  atmosphere 
with  a  buoyant  warmth  of  about  60°  seems  to  suit  the  Begonias 
during  the  early  stages  of  growth.  Abundance  of  light  is  essential 
to  modify  the  growth,  but  hot,  direct  sunshine  may  not  always 
prove  beneficial,  and  a  light  shade  then  becomes  necessary.  As  the 
natural  warmth  of  the  season  increase#  a  free  circulation  of  air  is 
of  the  greatest  importance.  It  insures  the  continuance  of  a  short- 
jointed  robust  character  of  growth  in  the  stems  and  a  rich  healthy 
tone  of  colour  in  the  foliage.  Flowers  will  then  be  produced 
freely  and  in  the  highest  state  of  excellence  the  plants  are  capable 
of.  Checks  to  growth,  from  any  cause  whatsoever,  must  be  avoided 
when  Begonias  are  on  the  point  of  flowering.  This  is  the  real 
cause  of  flowers  falling  before  they  open  and  bud#  dropping 
prematurely. 
Mild  stimulants,  occasionally  given,  are  of  assistance  to  growth 
and  the  promotion  of  continued  free  flowering  throughout  the 
season.  They  are  not  required,  however,  until  the  pots  are  full  of 
roots.  Deficiently  rooted  plants  do  not  experience  any  benefit 
from  bquid  manure.  The  applications  tend  to  sour  the  soil, 
because  the  absorbing  power  of  weak  or  few  roots  is  not  strong 
enough  to  abstract  the  supply  quickly.  Weak  soot  water  may  be 
used  alternating  with  solutions  prepared  from  cow,  sheep,  or  horse 
manure  used  in  a  clear  diluted  state.  Slight  top-dressings  of  any 
of  the  advertised  chemical  manures,  washing  in  with  water,  are 
excellent,  or  the  manures  can  be  dissolved  in  the  water  supplied. — 
E.  D.  S. 
HARDY  FLOWER  NOTES. 
Strive  as  we  may  it  is  difficult  to  write  cheerily  of  our  outdoor 
flowers  when  they  are  deep  under  the  snow.  We  were  in  hope  that 
other  mild  seasons  might  be  repeated  this  year  ;  that  we  might 
enjoy  the  earliest  flowers  without  interruption  from  the  great 
powers  of  the  north.  For  a  time  it  was  but  guerilla  warfare  they 
waged.  Short-lived  frosts,  sprinklings  of  snow,  cold  winds. 
These  only  lasted  a  time,  and  were  met,  not  unsuccessfully,  by  the 
gentler  influences  with  which  the  hand  of  Nature  calls  her  children 
from  their  sleep.  But  now — when  January  is  nearly  gone — the 
armies  of  King  Frost  are  almost  in  possession  of  the  land  ; 
their  fierce  beleaguerment  only  modified  by  the  gentler  accom¬ 
paniment  of  their  ally  the  snow.  All  through  the  night  it  ha# 
fallen,  and  still  it  comes.  It  is  the  deepest  fall  of  the  season. 
The  golden  Winter  Aconite  cups  are  warm  and  snug  under  it.  Its 
counterparts  in  purity,  the  Snowdrops,  have  bent  to  the  ground 
beneath  its  weight,  and  are  long  out  of  sight.  The  Crocuses  are 
shut  off  from  our  eyes  by  an  impenetrable  screen,  and  the  other 
flowers  which  have  sought  to  dare  the  winter’s  wrath  gladden  us 
no  more.  Yet  we  know  they  are  there,  and  we  shall  not  forget 
them  as  they  were  before  they  disappeared  from  our  sight. 
First  must  come  the  Snowdrops,  many  of  which  have  been  in 
bloom.  Varied  are  they — not  in  colour  perhaps,  but  in  size 
and  form.  The  common  Snowdrop  looks  small  and  slender 
beside  Elwes’,  one  of  the  best  forms  of  Imperati’s  great  Italian 
one.  The  last  reminds  us  of  the  name  of  the  Snowdrop  in  that 
land  of  the  south — Pianterella.  How  musical  it  sounds  !  Far 
more  so  than  the  German  Schneegloechem  (Snow  Bell),  or  even  the 
French  Perce  Neige.  Benserade,  the  poet,  has  given  us  an  exquisite 
verse,  in  which  he  makes  the  flower  tell  of  its  birth  under  the  snow. 
Unfortunately  it  is  in  the  language  of  “LaBffle  France,”  and 
thus  hardly  suitable  for  quotation  here  as  it  stands,  and  the  writer 
cannot  venture  to  put  it  into  English  verse.  A  prose  paraphra  e 
rendered  somewhat  roughly  would  express  the  thought  after  this 
fashion: — “Tbe  earth  covered  by  a  veil  of  silver,  despite  her 
coldness,  gives  me  birth.  The  snow  preserves  my  life,  and,  giving 
me  her  name,  gives  me  also  her  purity.” 
One  is  tempted  to  linger  among  such  thoughts  of  the  flower, 
but  we  must  leave  them  to  look  at  it  from  another  point  of  view. 
The  so-called  “autumn-flowering”  Snowdrops  dallied  by  the 
way,  and  some,  like  the  hare  in  the  well-known  fable,  were  over¬ 
taken  in  the  race  by  others,  which  one  would  naturally  expect  to 
fall  far  behind.  Among  the  earliest  of  these  was  one  of  Mr.  James 
Allen’s  seedlings  named  Aurora.  It  has  received  an  appropriate 
name  so  far  as  its  early  habit  goes,  and  it  is,  moreover,  a  beautiful 
and  shapely  flower.  When  we  see  such  charming  blossoms  as  these 
one  cannot  wonder  at  the  confession  of  that  true  lover  of  flowers, 
the  Rev.  H.  Ewbank,  in  the  Journal  of  January  28th.  that  he  has 
often  tried  to  pick  Mr.  Allen’s  brains.  As  Mr.  Ewbank  #ays,  some 
of  his  Snowdrops  are  “  extraordinarily  lovely.” 
Such  a  one  is  Aurora,  which  a  letter  received  from  our  good 
and  generou#  friend,  Mr.  Allen,  only  recently,  says  is  a  seedling 
from  Galanthus  Melvillei  major,  but  is  quite  different  from  its 
parent.  It  in  one  of  the  flowers  to  care  for,  as  giving  our  gardens 
greater  interest  and  higher  types  of  beauty.  Here  one  cannot 
