104 



The Dictionary of Gardening, 



Seans — continued. 

 not being otherwise cropped. In ciry seaBons anfl on 

 lif^lit fioilK, there is an advanttigo attaelicd to tliis metliod, 

 namely, that tliose on sticks are lialile to injury from 

 drought, while the foliage of those pinched back keeps 

 the soil moist underneath. 



Fig. 213. Kiinnek or Climbing Kidney Bean 

 (Phaseolus multiflokus). 



Runner Beans may also be planted to cover arches or 

 fences, and in various places of a like description. See 

 Fig. 213. 



Sorts. Common Scarlet Runner, Champion, Painted 

 Lady, and Giant White. The first two are those gene- 

 rally grown. 



BEAN-TREE. See Ceratonia Siliqua. 



BEARBERKT, and BEAR'S GRAPE. See 

 Arctostaphylos TTva-ursi. 



BEARD-TONGUE. See Fentstemon. 



BEAR'S BREECH. See Acanthus. 



BEAR'S FOOT. See Helleborus foetidus. 



BEATONIA. See Tigridia. 



BEAXJCARNEA (a commemorative name). Ord. 

 LiliiireiT. A small genus of curious greenhouse plants, 

 natives of Mexico. Leaves narrow, gracefully depending. 

 Stems slender, and woody, with a peculiar swollen, some- 

 what napiform base. Mr. B. S. Williams recommends 

 that these plants be potted in rich fibrous loam and sand, 

 with ample drainage, and, during the growing season, 

 liberally supplied with water. Propagated by cuttings, 

 when obtainable ; but chiefly by seeds, which have to be 

 imported from their native country. Beancarneas are 

 principally grown for the beauty of their foliage, and are 

 grotesque, graceful, and extremely curious in habit and 

 form. 

 B. glauca (arey).* I. pendent, Klaiu-ous, 2ft. to 3ft. lung. Stem 



sk-iiiUr, thf .■iwollen base bucoiiiiiig wiiody with a.se. 

 B. g. latifolla (luiciiMeaved) ilitfers trcnu the type only in its 



stiMitir anil nii'ic rolmst stem and broader leaves. 

 B. longlfolla (l"iii;-l«Lved).* I. 6tt. to 10ft. long, narrow, pen- 

 dent, dark srui:". fonnhiu: a beautiful vase-like centre. A. 10ft. 



Mexico, 1868. Very distinct. (G. C. 1877, vii., 193.) 



Beaucarnea— continued. 



B. recurvata (recurved-leaved).* I. very lonp:, linear, gracefully 

 pendiilinis, hripht green. Mexico, about 1845. This is an excellent 

 subject for open-air culture during the summer, as well as for the 

 conservatory. SVN. Pmcenictitia tuberculata. (G. C. 1870, 1145.) 



B, r. rubra (red). I. red at base. 



B. stricta (upright). I. 3ft. or more lon^, less than lin. broad, 

 very glaucous. Stem stout. Mexico, 1870. 



BEATJFORTIA (commemorative of Mary, Duchess of 

 Beaufort, a botanical ])atroness). Including Sehizopleura. 

 (>KD. Myrtaeea^. Elegant free flowering greenhouse Aus- 

 tralian shrubs. Flowers scarlet ; calyx with a turbinate 

 tube ; stamens in bundles opposite the petals. Leaves 

 sessile, opposite or scattered. Beaufortias require a com- 

 post of peat, leaf soil, and loam, lightened, if necessary, 

 by the addition of sand. Cuttings of half-ripened shoots 

 root freely in sandy soil, under a glass, with very little heat. 



B. decussata (decussate). Jl. scarlet ; bundles of stamens on 

 very long claws ; filaments radiating. May. I. opposite, decus- 

 sate, ovate, or nval, manv. nerved, h. 3ft. to 10ft. New Holland, 

 1803. (li. M. 1733.) 



B. purpurea (purple).* Jl. purplish-red, in dense globular heads. 

 /. three to five-nerved, erect or spreading, ovate-lanceolate to lan- 

 ceolate-linear. New Holland. 



B. sparsa (few-leaved), fl. bright scarlet. I. many-nerved, 

 scattered, ovate-elliptical, obtuse. West Australia. Syn. B. 

 si'lcndens. (P. F. O. xiii., 145.) 



B. splendens (splendid). Synonymous with B. sparsa. 



BEAUBIONTIA (in honour of Mrs. Beaumont, for- 

 merly of Bretton Hall, Yorkshire). Okd. Apocynacem. A 

 very ornamental stove twiner, remarkable for its handsome 

 flowers. It succeeds best when planted out in the borders 

 of a temperate house, in rich lumpy loam and peat. Pro- 

 pagated by cuttings, placed in sand, with bottom heat. 



B. grandiflora (large-flowered).* Jl., corolla large, white, greenish 

 outside near the base, and dark throat, witll a short tube, and a 

 large cainpanulate five-lobed limb; corymbs axillary and terminal, 

 many-flowered. June. I. opposite, broad, oblong-ovate, with a 

 little point, tapering towards the base, smooth and shining above, 

 Init rather downy beneath ; voung leaves and branches rusty. 

 Chitt:igong and Sylhet, 1820. (JB. M. 3213.) 



BED. A term usually applied to pieces of ground laid 

 out in gardens for sowing Email seeds, or for the isolation 

 and better protection of small collections of plants in the 

 reserve ground. The oblong is the best shape for this pur- 

 pose, about 4ft. or 5ft. wide, somewhat raised, and having a 

 narrow path on each side, so that the workman may attend 

 to the plants or seeds without having to tread on the bed. 

 Any one part of a flower-garden design, cut out in grass, or 

 otherwise formed, is also generally termed a Bed. When 

 required to be planted for eii'ect, as in this case, the Bed 

 should be proportionate in size to the plants that are to be 

 put in it, always planting the highest in the centre and 

 gradually sloping, with other sizes, to the edges, which 

 should be the lowest. Circular Beds are best with one 

 centre plant ; and oblong or other shapes should have the 

 height of the centre plants carried nearly the whole length, 

 not, however, placing them in too formal a manner. 



BEDSING-IN. A method of seed-sowing, now almost 

 obsolete, and chiefly employed in nurseries. " In this 

 method, the ground being dug and formed by alleys into 

 Beds, 4ft. or 5ft. wide, each alley being a spade's width 

 or more between Bed and Bed, and the earth being drawn 

 off the top of the Bed ivith a rake or spade, Jin. or lin. 

 deep into the alleys, the seed is then sown all over the 

 surface of the Bed ; which being done, the earth in the 

 alleys is immediately cast over the Bed, again covering the 

 seeds the same depth, and the surface is raked smooth " 

 (Johnson). In the case of small seeds, a very light covering 

 is needed, and that only of very fine soil. 



BEDDIITG-OUT. The temporary placing out of doors 

 of grecnliouso and otlicr toniler plants during the summer 

 months. It is considered by some to be the showiest, 

 most expensive, and most unnatural of any style. The 

 geometrical arrangement of gaudy colours is not at all 

 times satisfactory, and under the mo.st favourable con- 



