154 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



Balm — conHnued. 

 divisions, in sprin;?. A pretty variegated form is some- 

 times met witli, having tlio additional advantage of being 

 equal to the normal species for medicinal purposes. 



BALM OF GILIAD. Hee Cedronella triphylla 

 and Fopulus balsamifera. 



BALSAM {Impatiens BaUamina). A well-known 

 ornamental and tender annual, native of India. It is 

 one of the showie.st of summer and autumn flowers, and 

 well deserves a place in every garden. Although of com- 

 paratively easy cultivation, good blooms and well-gro«-n 

 plants are far too rarely seen. A good Balsam bloom should 

 be quite as double as a perfect Camellia, and to show to the 

 greatest advantage sliould appear like one in the arrange- 

 ment of the petals. To secure this, seeds should only be 

 saved from the finest and most perfect flowers, although 

 the quantity must, of necessity, be small. They should be 

 sown, about the third week in March, in properly prepared 

 pans of rich sandy soil, and placed in a gentle bottom heat 

 of about 65deg. As soon as the first rough leaf appears, 

 the plants should be potted off into Sin. pots, care being 

 taken to let the cotyledon, or seed leaves, be close to the 



Fio. 201. Camkllia-flowered Balsam. 



soil. When the roots touch the sides of the pots, the plants 

 should be moved into larger ones, and this should be re- 

 peated until they are in Sin. or lOin. pots. Some growers 

 place one or two seeds in small pots, so as to avoid the 

 first shift, and a good plan it is. During the time the 

 plants are under glass, they should be kept as near the 

 light as possible, and bo frequently turned around, so that 

 they do not draw to one side ; and careful training must 

 be given to those that are required in fine form. Dis- 

 budding is also necessary to such as are wanted at their 

 best, removing all bloom from the main stem and base of 

 branches until the plants are of sufficient size, and then 

 the buds at the tops will bloom almost simultaneously. 

 The buds that will be formed afterwards will cause a con- 

 tinuance of blossom for a long time, in fact, for some 

 months, if the plants are liberally supplied with liquid 

 manure. If it is desired for them to flower out of doors, 

 the plants should be transferred, about May, to a frame 

 where the heat is not above SOdeg., and be kept in a steady 

 growing state, air being admitted on all suitable occasions, 

 cold winds and heavy rains avoided, and water supplied 

 when needed ; never allow them to get dry. They require 

 training and disbudding the same as those grown in the 



Balsam — continued, 

 greenhouse. About June, the plants should be fully ex- 

 posed during the day ; and, when danger of frost is over, 

 the lights may be kept off altogether. These should bloom 

 at the end of July. In all oases, plenty of drainage must be 

 allowed, as the amount of water required is very great. 

 Insects must be sharply looked after, as well as slugs 

 and snails. There are several sections, such as Camellia- 

 flowered (see Fig 201), Eose-flowered, &c., each containing 

 variously striped, spotted, and entire coloured blooms, and 

 it is best to pay an extra figure to secure a good strain. 



BALSAM APPLE. See Momordica Balsamiuea. 



BALSAMINA. See Impatiens. 



Fig. 202. Bambusa arundinacea. 



BALSAMINE2:. A tribe of plants belonging to the 

 order Geraniacem. Sepals and petals aU coloui'ed, consisting 

 of six segments, " two outer ones small, flat, and oblique ; 

 the next large, hood-shaped, ending below in a conical spur ; 

 the fourth opposite to it, small, very broad, concave ; the 

 two innermost very oblique, and more or less divided into 

 two unequal lobes." The best known genus is Impatiens. 



BALSAMOBENDRON' (from halsanwn — an old 

 Greek word used by Theophrastus — balm or balsam, and 

 dendron, a tree). Ord. Burseracece. Greenhouse or stove 

 balsamiferous trees. Flowers small, green, axillary, often 

 unisexual ; calyx four-toothed, permanent ; petals four, 

 linear-oblong, induplicately valvate in [estivation ; sta- 

 mens eight, inserted under the annular disk, having 

 elevated warts between them. Berry, or drupe, ovate, 



