BILLARDIERA, 



BITTER-SWEET. 



gamot Mint {Mentha citrdtd), which 

 smells nearly the same. 



Biennials. — Plants that do not 

 produce their flowers till the second 

 year, and then die after they have 

 ripened their seeds. The Bromp- 

 ton Stocks, Hollyhocks, Wall- 

 I flowers. Snapdragons, and Canter- 

 i bury-bells, are also generally con- 

 sidered biennials, though some 

 of them live three or four 

 years. Biennials should be sown 

 in March or April, thinned out in 

 May, and transplanted in September 

 j to the place where they are to flower 

 I the ensuing year, A little earth 

 I should be takeu up A^dth the roots, 

 I when they are transplanted, and 

 j they should be well watered, and 

 i shaded for a day or two, till they 

 j are thoroughly established. Those 

 i kinds which require a peculiar soil, 

 I should have pits prepared for them 

 j about a week before they are trans- 

 { planted, that the eaiih may have 

 j time to settle. 



i Bigno'nia. — Bignoniacece. — The 

 Bignonias or Trumpet-flowers once 

 formed a very large and splendid 

 genus, chiefly of climbers, from 

 tropical countries, and remarkable 

 for their large, brilliant-coloured 

 flowers. Many of the species have, 

 however, been now removed to the 

 genera Tecoma and Spafhodea. 

 j\[ost of the plants which are still 

 called Bignonia require the hot- 

 house, but some will thrive in the 

 greenhouse, and one, £. capreoldta, 

 is hardy. B. xenusta is one of the 

 handsomest hothouse species, and 

 when planted in the free soil, it 

 will produce its pale orange flowers 

 during the greater part of the sum- 

 mer. They are all of easy culture, 

 requiring chiefly abundance of room, 

 and cuttings of them all root readily 

 in sand. — See Te'coma. 



Bilberry. — See Yacci'nium. 

 Billardie'ra. — Pittospbrece. — 



Appleberry. — Climbing, half-hardy 

 shrubs, natives of Australia, with 

 bell- shaped flowers, and long berry- 

 like fruit which tastes like roasted 

 apples. The beautiful plant now 

 called Sollya was at first supposed 

 to belong to this genus. For the 

 culture, see Australian Shrubs. 



Bindweed. — The common Bind- 

 weed (Convolvulus sepium L. ; Caly- 

 stegia scpium E. Br.), with large 

 white flowers, and not unfrequent in 

 hedges, is one of the most ornamen- 

 tal of British twiners; but in gardens 

 it has this disadvantage, that its 

 roots or rather imderground shoots, 

 spread rapidly, and are very diflicult 

 to eradicate. 



Birds are generally considered 

 enemies of gardens, and some kinds, 

 as the common sparrow (when seeds, 

 which are their usual food, are 

 scarce), are apt to live upon buds, 

 especially blossom-buds, as being 

 the largest; and others live upon 

 fruits. As, however, all the soft- 

 biUed kinds, which constitute the 

 great majority of singing-birds found 

 in oui" gardens, live upon insects, 

 especially on the aphides, and the 

 caterpillars or grubs of moths, flies, 

 and beetles, they are rather to be 

 considered as advantageous to gar- 

 dens than otherwise. 



Bird Cherry. — Cerasus Pddus. 

 — See Ce'rasus. 



Bird's-eye Primrose. — Primula 

 farinbsa. — A very neat little plant, 

 when cultivated in peat soil and kept 

 moist. 



Bird's - foot Trefoil. — See 

 Lo'tus. 



BiRTHWORT. — SeeARISTOLO'CHIA. 



Biscdte'lla. — Cruciferoi. — 

 Buckler Mustard. — Hardy annuals 

 with yellow flowers, natives of Eu- 

 rope, which only require sowing in 

 the open border in ]\Iarch or AjDril. 



Bitter-sweet. — Soldnum Dul- 

 camara. — An indigenous climbing 



