31 



BEDS FOR FLOWEKS. 



of the moist stove requires to be 

 ieated by pipes of hot water or 

 steam, or by smoke flues : the first 

 mode being found by experience to 

 be the best. 



Barnade^sia. — Compositce § La- 

 hiaiijldrce. — A very curious plant, 

 "with scarlet flowers, and a prickly 

 stem. It requires a warm green- 

 house, in which the heat should be 

 at an average of 47°, and it should 

 be grown in a compost of peat, loam, 

 and sand, in equal proportions ; 

 abundance of water should be given 

 in summer, but very little in winter, 

 as it is easily killed if kept too damp. 



Barto^nia. — Loasdcece. — JB.aii- 

 rea is a splendid annual, with gold- 

 en-yellow flowers, which have quite 

 a metallic lustre when the sun shines 

 upon them. The seed-pod is cu- 

 riously twisted. Like all the Cali- 

 fornian annuals, it is very apt to 

 die off" if the roots become at all 

 withered by drought, or if the collar 

 of the plant be exposed to the full 

 heat of the sun ; and thus it does 

 best when grown in masses, so that 

 the ground may be quite covered 

 with its leaves, B. albescens has 

 greenish-white flowers, and is not 

 worth growing. 



Bast, or Bass. — The inner bark 

 of the lime-tree, separated by steep- 

 ing the bark in water till it can be 

 readily pulled asunder into ribands 

 or strands ; these are hung up for 

 some months in the shade to dry, and 

 they are then woven into mats. The 

 manufacture of these mats is confined 

 to Russia, and some parts of Sweden, 

 where the name for bark is bast. 



Bastard Acacia, — SeeRoBi'xiA. 



Bastard Saffron.— See Ca'r- 



THAM17S. 



Bata'tas. — The Sweet Potato : a 

 kind of Convolvulus, the root of 

 which is eaten. 



Bauh'inia. — Leguminosce. — 

 Mountain Ebony. Stove shrubs, 



mostly w^ith white flowers, and re- 

 markable for their leaves always 

 being produced in twins ; on which 

 account the genus was named in 

 compliment to J. and C. Bauhin, 

 both eminent botanists. 

 Bat Tree. — See Lau'rus. 

 Bead Tree. — See Me'lia. 

 Beaefo'rtia, — Mijrtacece. — 

 I Splendid New Holland slirubs, with 

 1 scarlet and red flowers ; free growers 

 j and abundant flowerers, and well 

 I adapted either for planting out in a 

 I conservatory, or growing in pots. 

 I The best soil is sandy loam and 

 i peat, well drained ; and cuttings, 

 taken off with a small portion of 

 half-ripened wood, root fi-eely in 

 sand, under a bell-glass. B. de- 

 cussdta, which produces its scarlet 

 flowers from May to July, is one of 

 the handsomest species. 



Beaumo'ntia Wal. — Apocynece. 

 — Climbing shnibs from the East 

 Indies, of elegant foliage and large 

 w^hite flowers; of easy culture in the 

 stove, and propagated by cuttings 

 either of the stem or roots. The 

 best soil is sandy loam, mixed with 

 rotten dung or leaf-mould. By 

 careful management they may be 

 made to flower in the open air. — 



See ALLAilA'xDA. 



Be'cium, — Lahiatce. — An Abys- 

 sinian shrub, with white flowers, 

 and long, projecting, violet-coloured 

 style and stamen. It is a half- 

 hardy plant, and flowers in autumn 

 and winter, if kept at a temperature 

 of 40° or 45°. 



Bedeguar. — A disease which 

 affects the Rose-tree. — See Cr'NiPS. 



Beds for Flowers. — Divisions 

 of a flower-garden, which are formed 

 in different figures, and which are 

 generally covered with a mass of 

 flowers of one kind, or at least of 

 one colour, though sometimes they 

 contain single plants, or small tufts 

 of plants and flowers, at regular 



