B AL 



77 



B A N 



Old beds may be gathered from in 

 July, for drying, but their green leaves 

 from March and September, and those 

 planted in spring, will even atTord a 

 gathering in the autumn of the same 

 year. For drying, the stalks are cut 

 with their full clothing of leaves to the 

 very bottom, and the process completed 

 gradually in the shade. 



BALM OF GILEAD. Several plants 

 are popularly known under this name. 

 "The Balm ofGilead of commerce is the 

 dried juice of a low tree or shrub {amyris 

 ^ileadensis), which grows in several 

 ])arts of Abyssinia and Syria. This tree 

 has spreading, crooked branches; small, 

 bright-green leaves, growing in threes ; 

 and small, white flowers on separate 

 footstalks. The petals are four in num- 

 ber, and the fruit is a small, egg-shaped 

 berry, containing a smooth nut. By the 

 inhabitants of Syria and Egypt, this bal- 

 sam, as ap[)ears from the Scriptures, 

 was in great esteem from the highest 

 periods of antiquity. We are informed 

 by Josephus, the Jewish historian, that 

 the balsam of Oilead was one of the 

 trees which was given by the queen of 

 Sheba to king Solomon. The Ishmael- 

 itish merchants, who were the pur- 

 chasers of Joseph, are said to have been 

 traveling from Gilead, on the eastern 

 side of Canaan, to Egypt, and to have 

 had their camels laden with ' spicery, 

 balm and myrrh.' It was then, and is 

 still, considered one of the most valua- 

 ble medicines that the inhabitants of 

 those countries possess. The virtues, 

 however, which have been ascribed to 

 it exceed all rational bounds of credi- 

 bility. The mode in which it is obtain- 

 ed is described by Mr. Bruce. The 

 bark of the tree is cut with an axe, at 

 a time when its juices are in their 

 strongest circulation. These, as they 

 ooze through the wound, are received 

 into small earthen bottles ; and everv 

 day's produce is gathered, and poured 

 into a larger bottle, which is closely 

 corked. When the juice first issues 

 from the wound, it is of a light-yellow 

 colour, and a somewhat turbid appear- 

 ance ; but, as it settles, it becomes 

 clear, has the colour of honey, and ap- 

 pears more fixed and heavy than at first. 

 Its smell, when fresh, is exquisitely fra- 

 grant, strongly pungent, not much un- 

 like that of volatile salts; but if the 

 bottle be left uncorked, it soon loses 

 this quality. Its taste is bitter, acrid, 



aromatic and astringent. The quantity 



'] of balsam yielded by one tree never 

 exceeds 60 drops in a day. Hence its 

 scarcity is such, that the genuine bal- 

 sam is seldom exported as an article ot' 

 commerce. Even at Constantinople, 

 the centre of trade of those countries, 

 it cannot, without great difficulty, be 



I procured. In Turkey, it is in high cs- 



' teem as a medicine, an odorifor'bus un- 

 guent and a cosmetic. But its stimu- 

 lating properties upon the skin are such, 

 that the face of a person unaccustomed 

 to use it becomes red and swollen after 

 its application, and continues so for 

 some days. The Turks also take it in 

 small qantities, in water, to fortify the 

 stomacli."' — Encyc. Am. 



\ BALSAM or LADIES' SLIPPERS 

 (Impatiens trifiora). The cultivation of 

 this common yet beautiful half hardy 

 annual is so thoroughly understood, as 

 not to require remark farther than •' we 

 believe it to be true, that old seeds 

 produce finer balsams under equal cir- 

 cumstances than new seeds ; and the 

 reason is thought to be, that the plants 

 raised from old seeds are not so vigor- 

 ous as others." — Card. Citron. 



BALSAM APPLE. Momordica bal- 

 sam inea. 



BALSAMINA. Balsam. Eleven 

 species. Green-house annuals. Seeds. 

 Light rich loamy soil. 



BALSAMODENDRON zeylanicum. 

 Stove evergreen tree. Cuttings. Sandy 

 loam and peat. 



i BALSAM-TREE. Clusia. 



\ BANANA-TREE. Musa Sa- 

 pientum. 



BANE-BERRY. Acta:a. 



\ BANNISTERIA. Thirteen species. 



i Chiefly stove evergreen twining plants. 

 Cuttings. Loam and sandy peat. 



BANK'S {slopi?ig), says Mr. Barnes, 

 " Are of great advantage in bringing 

 forth vegetation of all kinds at an early 

 season in a healthy state, and in the 

 greatest abundance. Another great ad- 

 vantage is their forming a boundary and 

 shelter to the valleys, borders, or slips 

 between them, dividing the quarters 

 into any desired portions, for the suc- 

 cession of all vegetable crops, salads, 

 &c. By cropping both sides, the season 

 of thedifl'erent articles is prolonged, and 

 through their being placed in such a 

 healthy situation,! find I can always 

 secure abundance of salads, lettuce, 



; endive, radishes, cauliflower, and cab- 



