BALSAMINA. 



29 



entirely iu wooden or slate boxes, 

 without tlie intervention of pots. 



Balm.— See Dracoce'phalum. 



Balsam. — See Balsami'na. 



Balsami'na. — Balscuninacece. — 

 Tender and half-hardy annuals, with 

 splendid flowers, mostly natives of 

 the East Indies. The common Bal- 

 sam {B. hortensis) is a well-known 

 greenhouse plant of great beauty. 

 To grow it in perfection, seeds at 

 least a year old should be sown on a 

 hotbed, and when the plants come 

 up they should be transplanted into 

 very small pots, which should be 

 plunged into the hotbed, and well 

 supplied with water. In about a 

 week, the plants should be trans- 

 ferred to larger pots ; and this 

 operation should be repeated ten or 

 twelve times, always removing the 

 plants to pots only a little larger 

 than those they were taken from. 

 As soon as the flower-buds begin to 

 form, the plants should not be 

 shifted any more, and the pots which 

 contain them must no longer be 

 placed in the hotbed, but the plants 

 must be gradually accustomed to the 

 open air. Many gardeners never 

 plunge the pots after the plants are j 

 three or four inches high, and re- 

 move them from the hotbed to the \ 

 greenhouse as soon as possible. Be- j 

 peated shiftings are, however, essen- | 

 tial to produce fine large flowers and ' 

 handsome plants. The great secret j 

 in growing Balsams is to allow them ! 

 plenty of air and light, and never to ' 

 sufl"er them to become dra-mi up ; as, | 

 when that is the case, they will : 

 never afterwai'ds make handsome 

 plants. As Balsams, from their suc- 

 culent nature, require a great deal 

 of moisture, the saucers in which 

 the pots stand may be kept con- I 

 stantly full of water ; but this water 

 should be changed every day. Bal- ] 

 sams generally ripen seeds, even 

 from the double flowers, and thus 



numerous varieties are raised. Where 

 there is any difficulty in raising the 

 plants, new seeds should be used ; 

 but though the plants raised fi-om 

 seeds ripened the same year will be 

 very robust, the flowers will be 

 generally single, and their colours 

 neither bright nor distinct. Careful 

 growers of Balsams, who wish to 

 raise prize flowers, never use seeds i 

 less than three years old ; and they ! 

 are particular in saving them from ' 

 the handsomest and most double j 

 flowers ; the best being those which 

 have their colours distinctly marked, i 

 like a Carnation. The more choice ' 

 varieties may be preserved by cut- j 

 tings, Avhich root readily in sand | 

 kept moist below, but dry at top, 

 and covered with a bell-glass. The 

 seed-pods of Balsaraina, and those 

 of Ipipcitieiis, or Touch-me-not, open 

 with a jerk when touched, so as to 

 throw the seeds to a distance. 



Bamboo. — See Bambu'sa. 



Bambu'sa. — Graminece. — A 

 rapid-growing stove-plant, which has 

 a noble appearance where there is 

 abundance of room. There are some 

 species so hardy as to stand the open 

 air in the island of Jersey ; and one 

 of these, B. nigra, will thrive in a 

 greenhouse, or against a conservatory 

 wall, in the climate of London. The 

 Bamboos should be grown in loamy 

 soil, and they are increased by offsets. 



Bana'na. — See Mu'sa. 



Ba^nksia. — Proteacece. — Ever- 

 green New Holland Shrubs, with 

 flowers resembling a kind of brush, 

 and curiously notched and cut leaves. 

 All the species gi-ow well in a mix- 

 ture of sandy peat and loam, with 

 the pots well drained ; and cuttings 

 of the young wood root with some 

 difficulty in sand under a bell-glass, 

 with a slight bottom -heat. 



Bapii'sia. — Lerjv.mviibsre. — Her- 

 baceous pea -flowered plants, from 

 North America, of vigorous growth 



