Begonias.
Begonias used to be little grown in the outdoor garden, but of late years you see them everywhere. We advise you to buy the inexpensive unnamed tubers in April from any good nurseryman. When your Begonias arrive you will find that they look rather like flattened, badly-grown potatoes, and if you see no little pink shoots on them, you must put them in a shallow box of sand or sandy soil or cocoanut-fibre, and set the box on a dry light shelf till growth begins. If you can put your box in a cool greenhouse, so much the better. The soil must be kept just moist, but not wet, and the tubers must not be put out till the spring frosts are over. In cold climates this will not be till the end of May. When the time comes, choose positions in front of your border, and as far as possible sheltered from high winds, which would play havoc with their succulent stalks and broad, fleshy leaves. The soil should be well dug, and if it is heavy you must add sand, and, when you can get it, leaf-mould. Take up your tubers very carefully with a trowel, so as not to injure their fine fibrous roots, and plant them, with the pink shoots upwards, about four inches below the surface. Then you must watch your Begonias carefully, and when they appear above ground protect them from slugs by putting a circle of soot round each plant. You will find Begonias useful as successors to the spring bulbs that are over, and can be taken up for division or thrown away. In the autumn they must come out of the ground before the frosts, and if the leaves and stalks are not quite dead, cut them off with a sharp knife; never pull at them, or you may injure the tuber. Some growers keep their tubers exposed in a light, airy greenhouse until the stalks and stems are so shrivelled that they will drop off with a touch. As long as they are not shrivelled, they constitute a danger to the tuber during its time of rest. Begonias must be stored in sand or cocoanut-fibre in shallow boxes, and kept in a frost-free place through the winter. They can be grown from seed or from cuttings under glass, but we think both operations are a little beyond the juvenile gardener.