THE BALSAM 



Impatiens bahamina. 



.N some of the books the plant is 

 catalogued as 'Balsamina Tior- 

 tensis, but as a rose by any 

 other name would smell as 

 sweet, the amateur gardener 

 need not be troubled about the 

 relative claims of the respec- 

 tive designations. The garden 

 balsam is a tender annual of 

 rapid growth, with an ex- 

 tremely succulent stem, ample 

 full green leafage, and showy 

 flowers of various shades of 

 white, red, rose, and crimson. 

 The generic name Impatiens is 

 explained by the behaviour of 

 the plant when the seeds are 

 ripe, for, on the slightest touch, 

 the seed-pods burst, and the 

 seeds are scattered ; and this impatience of the plant may 

 occasion to the cultivator considerable loss. But there is a 

 way out of every difficulty, and the only real difficulty is to 

 know the way. In this case it consists in removing the pods 

 when they are nearly ripe, and placing them on a cloth 



