tion, they will perfect their lovely blossoms, and last a much longer period in 

 bloom than if left in the stove or greenhouse. The period at which they will be 

 in bloom, if such a course be adopted, will be from about the end of June until 

 September, varying as their maturity may be encouraged or retarded. 



IMPATIENS JERDONI^. 



TRANSLATED FROM THE REVUE HORTICOLE. 



The Balsams, to which the present species belongs, affect shady, damp locali- 

 ties, and the decayed mould of large forests in both hemispheres ; they are annual 

 or perennial plants, with cylindrical stalks and branches, smooth, frequently swol- 

 len at their articulations, and filled 

 with a VQry abundant watery juice ; 

 the leaves are alternate, or opposite, 

 nearly always dentated, and unpro- 

 vided with leaf scales. 



The common Balsam, introduced 

 into Europe at the beginning of the 

 sixteenth century, has served as the 

 type of this family, to which the 

 earlier botanists added a plant of the 

 group of the Cucurbitaceae, the 

 Momordia halsamina ; a whimsical 

 connection, indeed, but one which 

 indicates a tendency to generic ap- 

 proximations, founded, in this case, 

 on the dehiscence of the fruit, which, 

 at maturity, bursts open with great 

 elasticity. 



Like the Tropeolse (Capucines), 

 which resemble them, the Balsams 

 present us with a remarkable variety 

 in the color of their flowers, and the 

 species under consideration exhibits 

 this, in a high degree, in a mixture 

 more curious than harmonious of 

 green, yellow, and red. 



The Impatiens Jerdonice is a na- 

 tive of the Neilgherry Hills ; its stalks, which are carneous, of a deep violet brown 

 color, and of the size of one's little finger, and very smooth, are generally provided 

 with joints, which render them very fragile ; the edges of its leaves, which are 

 thin, and of a bright green hue, are furnished with teeth, terminatin 



IHFATIESS JEBDONI^. 



