Rocky Ford enterprise., 1899-07-13

Ing can surpass the beauty OF begonias
when massed on a well-kept lawn.
They may be had In every shade OF
color and are more easily reproduced
from seed than the double varieties.
A very fine pair OF single begonias are
Emperor and Empress. the first named
being golden yellow, the second pure
white. Nc plus ultra is bronze. with
a salmon-pink center. a most elegant
flower, and President Is a magnificent
crimson begonia. But for bedding
purposes 1t Is easy to raise these plants
from seed In the summer. a good stock
OF tubers being then available for the
following season. After the middle OF
June no artificial heat Is needed for
the termination OF begonia seed. but It
requires very careful sowing and man
agement In the earlier stages. A small
shallow box tsuch as those sold with
Turkey flgs) is . convenient receptacle
for 1t. well drained. with n layer Of
crooks and small cInders. covering
these with clean moss. which has pre-
viously been dipped into boiling water
to destroy all germs Of insects. A
little fbrous peat or turfy mold Is then
laid over the moss and laid quite level
with the trowel. after which n quar-
ter OF an inch OF very fine compost
deaf mold. sand and loam) is sifted.
to receive the seed. making the surface
fat and firm. The seed. being cx-
tremely minute. should not be covered
with soil: half n teaspoonful OF silver
sand can be added TO the seed and both
should be distributed evenly over the
prepared surface through perforated
tin. for In this way It Is more easily
sown than by the hand. The box may
then be held for minute In pan OF
lukewarm water which must not be
allowed to cover the surface, however,
but should barely reach within half
an inch OF II, for any disturbance OF
the seed by watering must always be
avoided. A piece OF glass will then
cover the box. which should be shaded
with q sheet OF paper and placed in n
warm. sunny place. The covering OF
glass should be turned over every
morning and whenever the dew on the
glass becomes slight the box should
again be dipped in iukewarm water as
before.
The seed will In this way be sup
piled with moisture. shade and n tenn
perature from 65 to 75 degrees. and un-
der these conditions the tiny plants
should make their appearance in about
twelve days. although many OF them
may start later on: and the dipping
process must therefore be continued.
When the seedlings have two leaves
they should be pricked out singiy into
boxes. two inches apart from each
other, like tiny cabbagcs. The soil
for these seedlings should be prepared
and drained in the same way as for
the seed. but 1t may be enriched with
a teaspoonful of SCOT. and the whole
compost should be about an inch In
depth. Dipping will still be found pre-
ferable to watering for the little plants
until they shall have settled them
selves and begun to grow. after which
the glass covering should be gradually
raised to admit more air. until they
are hardened: but they will always
prefer n slightly shady position to the
full glare of the sunshine. When suf-
fciently large, each tuber may be pot
ted separately. or they can be removed
to larger boxes of richer soil as soon
as they need more room. in which they
will remain for the winter, starting
again in February or March IL placed
in slight warmth. Double begonia
seed thus treated will produce both
double and single varieties in many
beautiful tints: and II is an interesting
moment when the seedlings open their
first buds and reveal the beautiful Sc
cret they each contain.