October  17,  1901. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER , 
361 
Gadding  and  Gathering. 
“Here  awa\  There  awa’.” 
Messrs.  T.  S.  Ware,  Ltd.,  whose  offices  are  now  at  Hale  Farm 
Nurseries,  Feltham,  Midddlesex,  have  a  great  fame  for  the 
superior  excellence  of  their  tuberous  Begonias.  Whether  double 
or  single,  the  strain  is  second  to  none,  and  their  exhibit  of  the 
double-flowered  varieties,  that  yearly  fills  a  bench  at  the  great 
Temple  Show  in  May,  is  one  of  the  chiefest  floral  treats  of  the 
season.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  generally  known  that  the  new 
varieties  that  annually  receive  recognition  from  the  Floral  Com¬ 
mittee  of  the  Royal  Horticultural  Society  are  selected  from 
seedlings  grown  during  the  summer  in  the  open  air.  Two  weeks 
ago  I  took  train  to  Bexley  Heath,  which  is  not  very  far  from 
Greenwich,  and  found  over  two  acres  of  ground  smothered  in 
colours  of  crimson,  scarlet,  golden,  bronze,  white,  and  yellow — 
the  shades  of  huge  beds  of  Begonias  all  in  bloom. 
Ware’s  Begonias. 
Mr.  Pope  is  the  successful  raiser  and  grower  in  the  employ 
of  Messrs.  Ware,  Ltd.  He  told  me — it  was  a  Saturday  afternoon 
A  TASTEFUL  WINDOW  GARDEN. 
— that  he  would  be  busy  from  six  till  twelve  o’clock  the  next 
morning  in  securing  his  “  crosses  ”  for  next  season’s  seedling 
novelties.  The  Begonias  he  cross-fertilises  are,  of  course,  grow¬ 
ing  in  pots  under  glass,  in  a  dry  temperature  of  70  degrees, 
wherein  the  seed-pods  are  ripened,  and  by  January  of  the  new 
year  the  seeds  are  sown.  The  usual  pricking-out  operations  are 
enacted,  and  in  due  course,  say  in  the  third  week  of  May,  the 
plantlets  are  planted  out,  half  a  foot  apart  either  way,  in  beds  in 
a  long,  beautifully  sheltered,  sunny  orchard. 
The  summer  treatment  includes  the  usual  weeding,  hoeing, 
watering,  and  general  watchfulness  to  ensure  sturdy  and 
floriferous  plants.  Then,  in  September,  or  somewhat  earlier, 
when  the  characteristics  or  idiosyncrasies  of  the  plants  have  been 
exhibited,  all  that  show  an  advance  in  one  or  more  qualities,  be  it 
habit,  prolificacy  in  flowering,  or  form  and  colour  of  the  blooms 
— all  these  are  lifted  and  immediately  potted.  When  grown 
indoors,  the  treatment  can  be  regulated  according  to  the  aims  of 
the  cultivator.  By  the  end  of  September  these  plants  have 
become  exhausted  through  the  efforts  of  the  cultivator  to  stop  the 
supply  of  nourishment  to  the  tubers.  This  operation  is 
technically  described  as  “drying-off.”  The  effect  of  this  is  to 
cause  the  double  flowers  gradually  to  become  less  and  less 
perfectly  “  double,”  until  the  male  flowers  are  in  a  fit  state  to 
produce  stamens  with  potent  pollen.  The  hybridist,  or  cross¬ 
fertiliser  rather,  seeing  that  the  operation  is  merely  that  of  cross¬ 
ing  varieties,  chooses  the  male  and  female  plants  of  different  sorts, 
but  generally  with  flowers  whose  colours  approximate,  and  these 
he  “  crosses.”  The  seed-pods  eventually  mature,  and  the  seeds 
provide  him,  as  in  Mr.  Pope’s  case,  with  the  seedlings  he  yearly 
offers. 
Years  ago,  when  the  tuberous  Begonia  was  first  operated 
with,  the  percentage  of  double  varieties  that  the  grower  could 
expect,  or  used  to  expect,  was  very  low,  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty 
per  cent.  By  very  great  care  and  skill,  combined  with  an 
infinitude  of  patience,  double  tuberous  Begonias  have  become  the 
subjects  possessed  of  the  exquisite  beauty  of  form  and  richness 
of  colour  which  we  now,  in  them,  enjoy.  But  it  is  ever  becoming 
a  more  arduous  and  exacting  task  to  secure  even  the  slightest 
advance.  The  pollen-bearing  flowers  are  far  harder  to  insure, 
owing  to  the  complete  “  doubling  ”  that  has  taken  place,  and  the 
hereditary  tendencies  that  are  gradually  settling  into  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  the  tuberous  Begonia.  “  Doubling,”  as  we  nearly  all 
know,  is  the  natural  (or  unnatural)  transformation  of  a  stamen 
into  a  petal.  A  perfectly  double  flower  has  no  stamens,  that  is, 
male  organs ;  but  the  cultivator  knows  that  in  the  case  of  the 
Begonia,  which  in  a  state  of  Nature  has  abundant  stamens,  he 
can  always  cause  his  perfectly  double  flowers  to  revert,  and  so 
become  less  perfect — perfect,  that  is,  according  to  his  ideals.  By 
starving  the  plants  they  produce  flowers  with  fewer  petals ;  some 
of  the  petals  (or  what  would  be  petals)  again  assume  the  form  and 
function  of  stamens,  as  in  former  times,  and  the  cross-fertiliser 
has  secured  what  he  desired,  namely,  pollen. 
After  having  selected  the  creme  de  la  creme  of  the  year’s 
seedlings  from  the  open  ground,  Mr.  Pope  works  away  till  lifting¬ 
time.  The  beds  are  all  in  distinct  colours,  in  beds  of  scarlet, 
yellow,  white,  or  crimson,  as  the  case  may  be.  They  are  all  true, 
having  come  from  distinct  sets  of  seed-pods,  known  and  kept  in 
careful  record  by  the  manipulator.  I  cannot  dwell  on  the  beauty, 
the  grand  richness  of  a  two-acre  orchard,  long  and  narrow  in 
form,  covered  entirely  with  cross-beds  of  these  most  exquisite 
flowers.  The  sight,  with  the  Apple-trees  acting  as  a  break  and 
slight  screen  above  and  in  the  distance,  seemed  to  me  finer  than 
anything  of  a  similar  nature  that  I  had  ever  seen  before.  Truly, 
if  I  were  a  millionaire  (which,  Providence  forbid !)  I  would 
have  such  an  orchard  ! 
The  colour  of  each  variety  is  carefully  noted  before  the 
thousands  that  compose  a  bed  are  lifted.  These  are  then  offered 
through  the  firm’s  catalogue  under  certain  sections.  In  the 
catalogue  one  can  find  seven  sections ;  1,  for  mixed  bedders  ;  2,  for 
varieties  selected  in  colours  for  pot-culture  or  for  beds ; 
section  6,  for  exhibition  doubles,  selected  to  colour ;  and 
there  are  other  sections  providing  varieties  purely  for 
conservatory,  decorative  uses,  and  for  single  Begonias.  The 
gardener  may  rest  assured  of  an  ample  selection  in  these  seven 
sections.  There  are,  of  course,  the  gems  that  are  thought 
meritorious  enough  to  receive  distinctive  names  and  are 
catalogued  in  lists.  The  supply  is  yearly  drawn  from  the  beds  of 
seedlings  already  mentioned.  Of  late  years  Messrs.  Ware  have 
devoted  their  closest  attention  toward  securing  a  well-defined 
Picotee-edged  race  of  tuberous  Begonias,  and  with  very  consider¬ 
able  success.  The  “  bearded  ”  varieties  receive  their  due  meed 
of  consideration,  but  the  great  end  in  view  is  to  obtain  erect 
growing  doubles  and  singles  of  bushy,  sturdy  habit,  and  abun¬ 
dance  of  the  most  brilliantly  coloured  flowers.  The  soft  and 
tender  flesh-tints,  pure  whites,  and  rare  combinations  of  crimson, 
bronze,  buff,  and  yellow  furnish  another  vein  for  evolution  to  be 
broadened  and  improved. — Wandering  Willie. 
- ♦  m  ♦ - 
A  Tasteful  Window  Garden. 
Mr.  Gardiner  writes  to  us  from  Birmingham  saying  that 
“the  enclosed  photograph  of  a  window  garden  was  handed  to 
me  by  Mr.  Goodacre,  of  Elvaston  Castle  Gardens,  whom  I  met 
at  Derby  recently,  and  he  asked  if  I  could  manage  to  assist 
him  in  getting  one  of  the  horticultural  papers  to  insert  a  few 
remarks  anent  the  judging  of  window  gardens  at  Stratford-on- 
Avon,  where  lie  was  requested  by  Miss  Marie  Corelli,  the  dis¬ 
tinguished  novelist,  to  adjudicate  upon  them.  This  lady  had 
given  the  prizes,  being  anxious  to  encourage  floral  window  deco¬ 
ration  there.  The  photograph  was  taken  and  sent  to  Mr.  Good- 
acre  by  Mr.  Randall,  the  first  prizewinner.  The  following  is 
portiorf  of  letter  sent  by  Miss  Marie  Corelli  to  Mr.  G.  Randall, 
Chudleigh  House,  Stratford-on-Avon :  ‘  I  wish  you  would,  by 
word  as  well  as  example,  encourage  many  others  in  Stratford  to 
compete  next  year.  The  arrangement  of  flowers  inspires  beauti¬ 
ful  thoughts,  and  one  cannot  have  too  many  of  them  in  Shake¬ 
speare’s  town.’  ”  .  ,  _  _  ,  j  t>  i 
[The  illustration  shows  the  luxuriance  in  the  Ivy-leaved  Pelar¬ 
goniums,  the  Ampelopsis,  Clematis,  and  other  trailing  and 
climbing  plants;  proof  indeed  of  the  watchfulness  and  skill 
that  has  been  bestowed.  Perhaps  Mr.  Gardiner  or  Mr.  Randall 
can  name  a  few  more  of  the  flowers  that  are  grown  m  this  front 
garden.] 
