BLITUM. 



35 



BOEDER. 



slirub, witii pretty floAvers and red 

 berries, common in hedges . 

 Bitter-vetch. — See O'robus. 

 Blackberry. — The common 

 name of the bramble. — See Ru'bus. 

 Black Brtoxy. — See Bryony. 

 Bladder Ketmia. — Hibiscus 

 Tribnum and Africanus. — Hardy 

 annuals, natives of Italy and Bar- 

 bary. The seeds should be sown in 

 March or April. — See Annuals. 

 Bladder Nut. — SeeSiAPHYLE^A. 

 Bladder Senna. — SeeCoLu'iEA. 

 Blandfo'rdia. — HemerocalU- 

 dece. — Showy plants with scarlet, 

 I yellow, and green tube-like flowers, 

 I natives of New South Wales, of 

 ■ which B. nobilis, B. flammea, and 

 B. r/randijidra well deserve culture. 

 Both species ought to be grown in 

 : sandy loam and peat ; and they are 

 ! increased by seeds or suckers. 

 I Blessed Thistle. — See Centau- 

 I re'a. 



! Ble'tia. — Orcldddcece. — Showy 

 plants, natives of the ti'opics, and re- 

 quiring stove-heat in Britain. They 

 should be grown in sandy loam and 

 ! peat ; and they are propagated by 

 I division of the roots, 

 j Blight. — A popular term for the 

 j sudden inj uries which plants receive, 

 apparently from the weather, but in 

 reality from the attacks of insects, 

 or the growth of parasitic fungi. In 

 ' general, whenever the progress of 

 ! plants is suddenly arrested by some 

 i cause not understood, it is attributed 

 ! to blight. Blight differs from mil- 

 dew, which is always a fungus, in the 

 j latter exhibiting a white, bluish, or 

 j mouldy appearance. 

 j Bli'tum. — Ckcnopodiacece. — An- 

 j nuals of the easiest culture, of no 

 i beauty with respect to the flowers, 

 ! but remarkable for the showj ap- 

 1 pearance of their spikes of succulent 

 ! scarlet fruit. The English names 

 I of the species are Strawberry and 

 ! Spinach Elite. 



^ Blood-flovv-er. — See H^ma'x- 



THUS. 



j Bluebottle.— See Centaure'a. 



I Blumenba'chia. — Loasdceoi. — 

 Dwarf annuals, "with pretty white 



_ flowers, and very curiously twisted 



'. seed-pods, which only require sowing 



I in the open border in April. There 



I is, however, one di-awback to their 

 general cultivation, which is, that 



I they sting as badly as a nettle. 



j Bog Earth. — See Peat and 



j Heath Mould. 



I Bonapa'rtea. — See LYTiiE'A. 

 Borage. — See Bora'go. 



j Bora'go. — Boragraece. — Annual 

 and perennial plants, with blue, 



! white, or pink flowers, nearly allied 

 to the Forget-me-not. Natives of 

 the South of Europe and Persia ; of 



, easy culture in any common soil. 

 BcRDER. — A border ditfers from 



I a bed in having a walk only on one 

 side ; and an ornamental border, in 



I w^hich flowers or shrubs, or both, are 



I grown, ought to have the plants so 

 arranged in regard to height and 

 distance, as to have them seen to the 

 greatest advantage from the walk. 

 For this purpose the lowest-growing 

 plants should be placed in front, and 

 the highest kinds behind them, and 

 the distance between the difierent 

 plants should be proportioned to 

 their breadth, not to their height ; 

 because a very tall-growing plant, 

 such as the common Lily, is some- 

 times a very narrow one, and a low 

 bushy plant, such as the Pseony, 

 is sometimes three times as broad as 

 it is high. Hence, in a border which 

 is to be composed of a great variety 

 of flowers, the plants cannot be placed 

 in rows, or at regular distances ; but 

 a space must be apportioned to each 

 plant according to its width ; keeping 

 in view the necessity of always 

 leaving a clear space of a few inches 

 round every plant, whether large or 

 small. With regard to the mode of 



