256 



PROPAGATION OF PLANTS, 



from Connecticut southward, the most common being known as the 

 Groundsel tree (B. halimifoha). Propagated by seed and ripe wood 

 cuttings. 



Banksia. A genus of evergreen shrubs, native of Australia, and 

 cultivated for the beauty of their foliage. There are a large number 

 of species cultivated in European gardens, where they are employed for 

 table decorations and for ornamenting rooms on festive occasions. Prop- 

 agated by well-ripened cuttings, separated carefully below a joint, and 

 then planted in sand without removing any but the lower leaves. Only 

 moderate heat is required, and 

 the air in the frames should not 

 be too confined or moist. 



Benthamia. A genus of 

 shrubs, of the order Cornacece, 

 and by botanists it is now re- 

 ferred to as the genus Oornus 

 (Dogwood). Of the two species 

 in cultivation, the B. Japonica 

 is the most hardy, but the lead- 

 ing shoots suffer, more or less, 

 every winter in my grounds. 

 Propagated by seeds and layers, 

 or by grafting on the Dogwood. 



Berberidopsis. An ever- 

 green, half -climbing shrub from 

 Chili ; closely related to the com- 

 mon Barberry. Propagated by 

 seeds, green cuttings, and layers 

 of mature shoots and branch es 



Berberis (Barberry). A 

 genus of many species, mostly 

 evergreen, erect or trailing 

 shrubs. A few species are de- 

 ciduous, like the common Euro- 

 pean Barberry (B. vulgaris), and 

 the American (B. Canadensis). 

 Increased by seeds, by cuttings of the mature wood in autumn, by layers, 

 and some of the evergreen species by cuttings of the subterranean 

 branches. The seeds of the species indigenous to cool climates should 

 be washed from the pulp, mixed with sand and buried in the ground 

 out-doors over winter, and sown in a half shady place in spring, as the 

 young plants are very sensitive to the direct rays of the sun when they 

 first appear above ground. (See Ilex). 



.Betula (Birch). A genus of about thirty species of graceful decid- 

 uous trees and shrubs. Fully one-third of the known species are found 

 in North America, and some of them extending far north ward. Flowers 



WHITE BIRCH LEAF AND CATKINS. 



