BALSAMS 



95 



BANISTER I A 



BALSAMS. By this name are usually known the 

 varieties of the common annual, Impa'titns Balsami'na, 

 by some needlessly separated, with a few others, into a 

 separate genus, and called Balsami'na korte'nsis. 



Culture. The chief object in cultivating these is their 

 fine, large, double flowers ; and, to secure this object, 

 seed should be saved only from the finest plants ; and, 

 if the seed is several years old, the plants will be less 

 luxuriant, and the blooms will be more double. 



To have them very fine, the seed should be sown in a 

 sweet hotbed, in the middle of March ; the plants pricked 

 out into small pots when three inches in height, using 

 light, rich soil, shifting them again, and successively, 

 never allowing them to be pot-bound, and plunging the 

 pots into a medium temperature of 75, until some time 

 after their last shifting into eight, twelve, or sixteen- 

 inch pots, according as you aim at moderate-sized or 

 very large specimens. Allow, all the time, a current of 

 air, less or more, according to the weather, to keep the 

 plants bushy, and using richer materials every time of 

 potting, until the last soil used may consist of nearly as 

 much very rotten, but sweet dung (cow-dung is best), 

 as turfv, sandy loam. 



Successions may be sown in April and May, and treated 

 in a similar manner, either for pots, or to be turned into 

 beds, where they frequently do well until the middle of 

 October. 



When you cannot accommodate any but the best 

 flowers in the greenhouse, adopt the following method : 

 After pricking out into three or four-inch pots, and 

 plunging them in the bed, allow the pots to get full of 

 roots, keep them drier and cooler, and give plenty of 

 air, which will soon cause flowers to appear ; then select 

 plants with best flowers, rub every flower-bud off them, 

 fresh pot, disentangling the roots a little as you proceed, 

 and grow them on as advised above ; and what you lose 

 in time you will make up in selectness. 



BALSAM-TREE. Clu'sia. 



BALTLMORA. (Nat. ord. Composite.) A stout 

 plant of little value for cultivation, raised from seeds 

 and grown in good loam. 



B. re' eta. i. Yellow. July. Mexico. Syn. Fouge- 

 rouxia recta. 



BAMBU'SA, Bamboo Cane. (From bambos, its 

 Indian name. Nat. ord. Grasses [Graminea3]. Linn. 

 6-Hexandria, i-Monogynia.) 



The very young shoots of the Bamboo are eaten in 

 India as asparagus. All hardy shrubs except where 

 described as stove. Suckers, in spring or autumn ; rich 

 loam. Summer temp., 60 to 85 ; winter, 55 to 65. 



Since the publication of the earlier editions of this work 

 much more attention has been paid to the culture of the 

 Bamboos, and they are much appreciated as pot plants ; 

 the best varieties for this purpose being Arundinaria 

 falcata (also known as Bambusa), Phyllostachys aurea 

 (also known as Bambusa), Bambusa vulgaris, B. v. striata, 

 and Arundinaria Simoni, of which there is a pretty 

 variegated variety. It is remarkable that after once 

 flowering and prdducing seed the old plants die away. 

 It is many years ago when a fine specimen of Arundinaria 

 flowered at Syon House, and then died off. A large 

 batch of seedlings were raised at the R.H.S. gardens, 

 Chiswick, from the seed of that unique specimen. Many 

 other instances have occurred since. 



All the Bamboos may be increased by divisions and 

 should be grown in good loamy soil, requiring but little 

 manure, but plenty of water. Bamboo gardens are now 

 a great feature in many large gardens. It was at Kew 

 where a large collection was planted, that first created 

 the idea of Bamboo gardens. They may be grown in 

 almost any sheltered position, but succeed best on the 

 banks of a running stream, or near a pond or lake, sur- 

 rounded by trees to protect them from gales of wind in 

 winter, when the foliage will keep green till the young 

 leaves develop in May and June. 



B. angustifo'lia (Card., 1894, xlvi. 547). Syn. B. Vil- 



morini. Japan. 



ansta'ta (awned). See ARUNDINARIA ARISTATA. 

 ,, arundina'cta (reed like). 40. Apetal. E. Ind. 1730. 



Stove. 



,, spino'sa (spiny). 1820. 

 au'rea. See PHYLLOSTACHYS ADREA. 



B. Castillo'ni (Rev. Hort, 1886, p. 513, f. 122). See 



PHYLLOSTACHYS QUILIOI CASTILLONIS. 

 ,. chrysa'ntha (G. C., 1894, xv. 368). See ARUNDINARIA 



CHRYSANTHA. 



di'sticha (Gard., 1894. xlvi. 547)- 



,, Fortu'nei (Fl. Ser., t. 1535). See ARUNDINARIA 

 FORTUNEI. 



,, glau'ca (milky-green). See B. NANA OF ROXBURGH. 



,, gra'cilis. See ARUNDINARIA FALCATA. 



Heno'nis (G. C., 1894, xv. 368). See PHYLLOSTACHYS 

 HENONIS. 



,, heterocy'da. See PHYLLOSTACHYS MITIS HETEROCYCLA. 



,, japo'nica. See ARUNDINARIA JAPONICA. 



,. Laydekc'ri (G. C., 1894, xv. 368). See ARUNDINARIA 

 LAYDEKERI. 



,, marmo'rea (Gard., 1894, xlvi. 547). See ARUNDI- 

 NARIA KOKANTSIK. 



Maximowi'czii. See ARUNDINARIA SIMONI. 



vitta'ta. See ARUNDINARIA SIMONI VARIEGATA. 



,, Meta'ke. See ARUNDINARIA JAPONICA. 



mftis. See PHYLLOSTACHYS MITIS. 



Naga'shima (Gard., 1894, xlvi. 547). Dwarf bamboo. 



Japan. 



,, na'na of gardens. See BAMBUSA DISTICHA. 

 ,, na'na of Roxburgh. Japan. Stove. 

 ni'gra (black). See PHYLLOSTACHYS NIGRA. 

 ,, pube'scens (downy). See DENDROCALAMUS STRICTUS. 

 ,, pu'mila (G. C., 1894, xv. 368). See ARUNDINARIA 



PUMILA. 

 pygmce'a (G. C., 1894, xv. 368). See ARUNDINARIA 



PYGMjEA. 



,, Quilio'i. See PHYLLOSTACHYS QUILIOI. 



,, Ragamo'skii. See B. TESSELLATA. 



.. senane'nsis (G., 1894, xlvi. 546). Apparently iden- 

 tical with Arundinaria Veitchii. Japan. 



,, Simo'nii. See ARUNDINARIA SIMONI. 



,, spino'sa (spiny). 20. ApetaL E. Ind. 1820. 

 Stove. See B. ARUNDINACEA SPINOSA. 



stria'ta (B. M., t. 6079). See B. VULGARIS. 



stri'cia (upright). See DENDROCALAMUS STRICTUS. 



,, sulphu'rea. See PHYLLOSTACHYS SULPHUREA. 



tessdla'ta. Syn. B. Ragamowski. China and Japan. 



varifga'ta. See ARUNDINARIA FORTUNEI. 



., Vei'tchii (R. H., 1888, 90). See ARUNDINARIA 

 VEITCHII. 



,, verticilla'ta(wboTl- flowered). See GIGANTOCHLOA VER- 



TICILLATA. 



viola'scens. See PHYLLOSTACHYS VIOLASCENS. 



vfridi-glauce'sctns. See PHYLLOSTACHYS VIRIDI- 



GLAUCESCENS. 



vi'ridi-stria'ta. See ARUNDINARIA SIMONI. 



vulga'ris (common). Stove. India. 



,, constrictino' da (narrow- join ted). Stove. 



stria'ta (B. M., t. 6079). Stove. 



Weisene'ri. Japan. 1887. 



BANANA, or PLANTAIN. Mu'sa. 



When the earlier editions of this work were published, 

 Bananas were hardly known as edible fruit, now they 

 are seen in the streets every day. It is from foreign im- 

 ports that our supplies are chiefly derived. Those from 

 Jamaica are the largest, and most showy. The variety- 

 is known as grosse Michael. The flavour is not so good 

 as the smaller fruit which we get from the Canary 

 Islands. Good varieties are also received from the 

 West Indian Islands ; these include the " Claret," which 

 has a dark skin and is one of the best flavoured. The 

 Fig-Banana is also a good flavoured variety, but not 

 large enough for general commercial purposes. Of 

 varieties grown in England M. Cavendishi is the best, 

 being dwarf and fruiting freely, and, when ripened before 

 being gathered, the flavour is superior to those imported. 

 For culture, see MUSA. 



BANDEIR2E A. (A commemorative name. Nat. ord. 

 Leguminosae. Allied to Bauhinia.) 



Greenhouse evergreen shrub. Cuttings in sand under 

 a bell-glass. Sandy peat and fibrous loam. 



B. simplicifp'lia (simple-leaved). Purple or red. June. 

 S. Africa. 1816. 



BANE-BERRY. Actafa. 



BANISTERIA. (Named after the Rev. J. Banister, 

 a zealous botanist. Nat. ord. Malpighiads [Malpighia- 

 ceae]. Linn. lo-Decandria, 



