62 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
BANKSIA, 
of growth. To keep up a succession, one 
or two additional sowings should be made 
at intervals of about.a month. Seed is 
produced much more sparingly by the 
fine double flowers than by such as are 
single, yet it is only from the former that 
seed should be saved, and it should be 
selected from the flowers on the principal 
stems of the plants, not from the side 
branches, the flowers on which are usually 
semi-double, and yield a much less pro- 
portion of seed that will givedouble flowers. 
Insects.—Syringe overhead ,tokeepdown 
red spider. Should aphides be troublesome 
fumigate with tobacco. 
BAMBUSA. 
A genus of grasses of a highly orna- 
mental description. Some of them attain 
a gigantic size, such as the stove species B. 
arundinacea, which, in a house sufficiently 
high to allow it enough head-room, will 
reach 50 feet or more in a single season. 
Several of the smaller growing sorts that 
can be accommodated in an ordinary green- 
house have a distinct and elegant appear- 
ance, their reed-like stems and pretty foli- 
age being extremely effective. Some of 
the kinds are hardy in the south of the 
kingdom. 
They are increased by division of the 
crowns or suckers, which most of them 
produce freely. They should be divided 
im spring, and the pieces potted singly in 
pots large enough to accommodate the 
roots which will be made during the 
summer. Ordinary loam suits them, with 
a little sand, and theyshould have plenty of 
water when they have begun to grow freely. 
B. arundinacea. A majestic-looking 
plant, forming long, straight, thick stems, 
which, in their early stages, grow so fast 
as to make them very interesting on this 
account alone, independent of their stately 
appearance when fully matured. It re- 
quires a good deal of room, and comes from 
India. 
B. Fortuneti 
variegated kind. 
B. nana. <A dwarf-growing species, 
of elegant appearance. The stems are 
branched and slender; the leaves small 
and lance-shaped. A pretty kind that 
does well in a greenhouse. Introduced 
from Japan. 
B. Simoni. A moderately tall-grow- 
ing sort, with elegant habit. It will thrive 
out-of-doors, but makes a pretty pot plant. 
From China. 
B. Simoni aurea. 
the above. 
Insects.—Both aphides and red spider 
varvegata. A prettily 
A handsome form of 
will live on the plants, but the character 
of the leaves is such that these insects can 
easily be kept under by free syringing in 
the summer. 
BANKSIA. 
A fine genus of hard-wooded evergreen 
greenhouse plants, remarkable for their 
distinct appearance. They were largely 
grown in times past, but are rarely met 
with now. There are many species in 
cultivation, and a selection of the best 
deserves a place. 
They can be raised from seeds or shoot 
cuttings ; the latter, in most cases, will be 
_|the most ready way of increasing them. 
The wood should be nearly matured in 
autumn before being made into cuttings, 
which should be taken off at about the 
third joint, and inserted in pots filled with 
sand. Cover with a propagating glass, and 
stand for a time in a greenhouse, after 
which put them in a moderately warm 
stove, or pit. When rooted move singly 
to small pots; good peat, with a liberal 
addition of sand, suits them. When potted 
keep moderately close until they get esta- 
blished and have begun to grow, when 
the usual greenhouse treatment is all that 
isrequired. Give larger pots each spring, 
as more room is needed. Banksias will 
stand out-of-doors in summer, and are 
benefited by being thus exposed, provid- 
ing they are carefully attended to with 
water, of which they are impatient of hay- 
ing either too much or too Little. 
B. Caleyi. A large, handsome-leaved 
species, forming a good sized bush. 
B. Cunninghamu. This kind forms a 
moderately compact bush; the leaves are 
much smaller than those of the last-named 
species. The flowers, which are pale 
yellow, are singular. 
B. foliosa. A bold, handsome-leaved 
species, with a distinct appearance. 
B. solandra. A scarce and handsome 
species, quite different in appearance from 
any of the preceding ; the leaves are dis- 
tinctly lobed, and terminate so abruptly as 
to appear as if the extremities had been 
cut away. 
B. speciosa. A remarkable kind, with 
long, narrow leaves, so deeply lobed as to 
give it an appearance differing from any 
other plant we recollect. All the above 
are from Australia. 
Insects. —Few insects interfere with 
these plants, except scale, which, if it gets 
a footing, increases on them apace; it is 
best destroyed by sponging, but care should 
be taken not to disfigure the leaves in the 
operation. 
