J 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
HYBRID  ^VlTTFAi  FLOY^ERING  BEGOYIAS. 
By  many  persons  Begonias  are  regarded  solely  as  handsome 
summer-fiowering  plants  suitable  alike  for  the  garden  or  the  green¬ 
house.  The  kinds  and  varieties  utilised  for  these  purposes  are  cer¬ 
tainly  very  beautiful,  but  we  must  not  allow  our  appreciation  of 
them  to  prevent  us  recognising  the  value  of  newer  hybrids  that 
I  lower  from  October  onwards  through  the  winter.  Among-^t  these 
latter  there  are  s  ime  charming  llowers  which,  coming  as  they  do 
1'Tg.  2.— Begojvia  Ensign. 
during  the  dullest  months,  are  most  acceptable.  There  are  not 
hundreds  or  even  dozens  cf  I'orms,  as  in  the  case  of  those  with  tuberous 
roots,  which  llower  in  the  summer.  In  fact,  the  numbers  a  e 
extremely  limited,  but  every  one  is  good  and  worthy  of  a  position 
in  the  warm  greenhome. 
For  how  many  valuable  plants  horticulturists  are  indebted  to 
Messrs.  J.  Veitch  &  Sons,  Etd.,  of  Chelsea  it  would  be  almost  impossible 
to  say,  but  certain  it  is  that  when  they  gave  us  the  first  of  these 
hybrid  winter-llowering  Begonias  they  added  to  their  laurels.  This 
was  in  1885,  and  since  that  time  several  have  been  added  to  the  list. 
When  IMr.  Ileal  iirst  started  fertilising  flowers  of  B.  socotriina  with 
pollen  from  llowers  of  tuberous-rooted  varieties  we  cannot  say,  but 
we  do  know  that  when  John  Ileal  was  exhibited  before  the  Royal 
Horticultural  Society  on  October  18th  of  the  year  named  above,  it 
was  received  with  jrleasnre,  and  ^vas  pronounced  by  the  Journal  of 
Horticulture  to  be  the  forerunner  of  many  valuable  plants  for  winter 
use.  Such  has,  indeed,  proved  to  be  the  case,  and  those  of  to-day  are 
immense  inpaovements  on  the  one  of  twelve  years  ago.  The  field  is 
still  open,  and  l\Ir.  Ileal  is  at  work  at  Chelsea.  Who,  then,  will 
venture  to  say  what  will  eventually  be  attained  to? 
As  is  perfectly  well  known  now,  the  foliage  of  John  Heal  is  round 
and  small,  the  numerous  llowers  being  of  rich  rose  colour,  and  the 
same  can  be  said  of  the  leaves  of  Adonis,  which  resulted  from  a  cross 
between  an  orange  coloured  tulierous  variety  and  John  Heal,  the 
former  being  the  soed-liearing  parent.  J’he  flowers  of  this,  it  will  be 
remembered,  are  broad  in  the  petal  and  rosy  scarlet  in  colour,  while 
the  whole  plant  has  a  resemblance  to  socotrana.  The  third  of  marked 
beauty  was  named  Winter  Cem,  which  was  staged  at  the  Drill  Hall 
on  January  13th,  1891.  In  this  case  a  crimson  tuberous  variety  was 
the  pollen  and  B.  socotrana  the  seed  parent.  It  is  a  charming 
January  6,  1898. 
Begonia,  the  soft  rose,  circular  flowers  being  very  pleasing.  All  of 
these,  it  is  now  conceded,  are  admirable  jilauts  for  the  winter,  and 
each  received  an  award  of  merit  from  the  R.II.S.  The  roots  of  the 
first  and  third  named  are,  as  with  B.  socotrana,  in  the  form  of  bulbils. 
It  was  in  October  of  1895  that  IMrs.  Ileal  was  first  exhibited,  and 
it  is  undoubtedly  the  finest  of  the  section.  The  large  bright  crimson 
flowers  are  of  great  substance,  while  the  leaves  have  a  texture  and 
size  not  apparent  in  eitlierof  those  previously  adverted  to.  This  and 
those  that  will  be  named  subsequently  had  tuberous  rooted  varieties 
as  the  seed  parent,  and  socotrana  as  pollen  parent,  or,  in  other  words, 
they  have  sprung  from  the  parents  of  John  Heal  reversed.  Visitors  to 
the  Drill  Hall  will  ]  robably  remember  the  basket  of  IMrs.  Heal  that 
was  staged  by  the  Chelsea  firm  at  one  of  the  latest  1897  meetings. 
The  day  was  a  dull  one,  bat  the  flowers  stood  boldly  above  the  bright 
green  foliage,  and  made  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  exhibits  in  the 
show.  Hitherto  we  have  noted  single  flowers  only,  but  on  October 
29th,  1895,  a  hybrid  named  ISuccess  was  shown  with  semi-double 
lloweis  of  good  size.  'Ihe  plant  is  of  branching  habit,  and  the 
crimson,  flowers  are  produced  with  great  freedom.  It  is  a  handsome 
Begonia,  and  is  always  much  admired,  though  it  is  somewhat  eclipsed 
by  ^Irs.  Heal,  which  only  preceded  it  at  Westminster  by  a  fortnight. 
Following  Success  we  had  another  double  in  189G  that  was  called 
Ensign,  and  of  which  we  give  a  woodcut  (fig.  2).  The  colour  of  this 
is  red,  and  the  shapely  plant  is  wonderfully  floriferous.  It  is  one  of 
the  best  in  cultivation  so  far.  Exhibited  on  the  same  occasion 
(November  24th)  was  IMyra,  but  not  being  in  proper  condition  it 
failed  in  securing  recognition  fiom  the  Committee;  nevertheless  it  is 
of  great  value,  and  is  dissimilar  from  all  the  others  in  producing  pendent 
flower  scapes  that  give  it  a  very  graceful  appeaiance.  The  colour  is 
rosy  lake.  On  November  23rd  last  we  had  Julius,  with  double 
salmon  pink  llowers.  In  habit  this  must  be  classed  as  one  of  the  best. 
The  last  to  be  mentioned  in  our  short  list  is  Winter  Cheer,  for  a 
representation  of  which  see  the  illustration  (fig.  3).  This  was  staged 
on  December  14th,  and  is  of  a  rich  rosy  carmine  colour,  that  will 
insure  its  becoming  a  favourite.  Each  of  the  six  just  named  arc 
tuberous-rooted,  and  every  one  has  secured  the  award  of  merit,  except 
in  the  instance  already  named. 
The  beauty  of  these  plants  and  their  utility  entitle  them  to 
consideration  from  everyone  who  wishes  the  best  possible  display 
in  the  winter.  Fortunately  they  do  not  demand  anything  very 
exceiitional  in  the  way  of  culture,  for  they  grow  splendidly  in  an 
intermediate  temperature.  ■  An  ordinary  greenhouse  is  too  cold  for 
them,  while  a  stove  house  is  too  warm.  Propagation  is  easy,  as 
plenty  of  cuttings  can  be  secured  which  wdl  root  freely  with 
ordinary  care  and  attention.  They  need  not  occupy  any  great 
amount  of  space,  as  the  plants  will  flower  in  as  small  as  3-incli  pots, 
though  of  course  larger  plants  require  larger  sizes. — 11.  W. 
CELEJiY. 
This  forms  one  of  the  most  important  winter  crojis  in  every  well- 
managed  garden,  for  nearly  everyone  enjoys  good  Celery,  either  as  a 
salad  or  when  stewed  as  a  vegetable.  To  have  produce  of  the  highest 
quality  the  cultivation  of  the  plants  must  be  of  theTiest  from  first  to  last. 
I  find  the  middle  of  February  a  good  time  to  sow  for  the  earliest  crop. 
This  is  done  thinly  on  a  pan  of  loamy  soil,  covering  with  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  of  the  same  finely  sifted.  The  receptacles  are  then  placed  in  a  warm, 
moist  atmosphere.  White  Gem  is  one  of  the  best  for  a  first  crop,  while 
Wright’s  Giant  White,  Solid  White,  Sulham  Prize,  and  Standard  Bearer 
can  be  depended  on  to  produce  large  plants  of  the  finest  quality  from  the 
middle  of  August  onwards. 
A  sowing  of  the  larger  kinds  should  be  made  during  the  first  week  in 
March,  and  as  soon  as  the  plants  are  large  enough  to  handle  they  must 
be  jiricked  into  boxes  or  a  frame  properly  prepared  by  treading  hard  on 
the  bottom  6  inches  of  well  decayed  manure  and  spreading  over  this  a 
couple  of  inches  of  fine  soil. 
The  young  plants  may  be  dibbled  in  4  inches  apart  up  to  the  seed 
leaves.  Given  a  good  watering  and  the  frames  kept  close  for  a  few  days, 
they  will  soon  grow,  and  as  they  gain  in  size  will  require  copious  supplies 
of  water,  as  it  is  quite  as  important  that  the  plants  shall  not  suffer  any 
check  from  the  want  of  water  in  the  early  stages  as  at  any  other  period. 
We  like  to  prepare  our  trenches  some  weeks  before  planting,  and 
prefer  the  single  row  system  to  two  or  more.  Our  trenches  for  the 
larger  kinds  are  taken  out  G  feet  from  centre  to  centre,  each  one  being 
16  inches  wide  and  1  foot  in  depth.  This  is  .nearly  filled  with  manure, 
or  failing  manure  decayed  Oak  leaves,  and  made  firm  l)y  treading.  On 
this  is  placed  3  inche.s  of  soil,  and  when  planted  is  not  much  below  the 
ground  level.  Some  of  the  finest  Celery  we  ever  grew  was  from  trenches 
filled  with  leaves,  the  latter  having  been  saturated  with  sewage.  In 
removing  the  plants  from  the  frame  or  boxes  care  must  be  exercised,  and 
the  jJants  damaged  as  little  as  possible  during  the  ojieration.  Imme¬ 
diately  after  planting  in  the  trenches  they  must  receive  a  thorough  watering, 
and  if  the  weather  is  cloudy  so  much  the  better.  The  large  heads  some¬ 
times  seen  at  exhibitions,  and  which  some  people  seem  to  consider  unfit 
for  consumption  (although  one  is  at  a  loss  to  know  why  this  should  be), 
are  the  outcome  of  marked  attention  as  to  thorough  waterings,  with  at 
