334 



BASKET PLANTS 



BAUHINIA 



iides. 



2. PLANTS OF UPKIUHT lI.i.BIT. 

 o. Low-growing. 



1. Flowering Plants. 



*Torettia. *Pansy, Cuphea platycentra, C. hyssopifolia, 

 *Primula obconica. Dwarf Alyssum, Bellis perennis, 

 Linura or Reinwardtia trigynum, Phlox Dnimmondii. 

 Dutch bulbs. 



2. Foliage Plants. 



*Peperomia. *Begonia Rex, *Farfugium grande. Alter- 

 nanthera. **Maidenhair Fern, Geraniums {especially 

 Mme. .Salleroi) , *Isolepis gracilis (droops with age) . 

 b. Tallee Growing, 

 1, Flowerina. 



2, Foliage. 



*Dusty Miller, *Crotons, *Palnis, **Fems, *Fancy Cala- 

 diums, Ooleus, Achyranthes, **Aspidistra, *Cyperus alter- 



*DraciBna indi' 



*D. terminalis. Coccoloba 



platyclada 



Some of the above plauts make large subjects when 

 growing iu the open ground. Of such, only young or 

 smaller plants are available for use in hanging baskets. 

 Ordinarily, several different sorts of plants are used for 

 filling a basket. In some cases, however, a pretty 

 basket is made by using but one kind of plant. A hang- 

 ing basket filled with sword fern, for instance, makes 

 a handsome object. 



Baskets of a variety of patterns are obtainable from 

 florists and other dealers. The baskets most extensively 

 used, perhaps, are made of strong wire, woven into hem- 

 ispherical or other forms. These are sometimes plain, 

 and again of ornamental character. The better form has 

 a flat bottom, or a stand, formed of wire, to support the 

 basket in an upright position when it is not pendent. 

 Another style is farmed of rustic work. Here the vessel 

 or plant basin is covered about the sides with rough 

 bark or knotted roots. For this purpose the roots of the 

 laurel are much used. Above the basket there is an arch 

 or handle by which it is suspended. Again, earthen- 

 ware vessels, to be suspended by wires, are offered for 

 sale in a variety of shapes. Some of these are moulded 

 and painted in imitation of logs, and are known as " stick " 

 and "log baskets." Such baskets are often without pro- 

 vision for drainage. When this is the case, holes should 

 be drilled at the lowest point in the bottom. A special 

 form of basket is much used for orchids. It is made of 

 square cedar slats in raft- or log-fashion. Fern-fiber and 

 broken bits of brick, flower-pots or charcoal, are used 

 for filling them. 



The soil used in hanging baskets is simply good, 

 common florists' potting soil. This usually contains 

 about 25 per cent of humus, and a small amount of 

 sharp sand to make it porous. Prior to filling, wire 

 baskets must be lined with moss. This is merely com- 

 mon woodland moss from rotting logs, or rich, damp soil. 

 In filling baskets, a few drooping or climbing plants are 

 disposed around the sides ; then one or more upright- 

 growing or half-erect plants, according to the size of the 

 plants and basket, are planted in the center. Immediate 

 effects require plants which have already made consid- 

 erable growth. Florists usually carry a stock of suitable 

 plants. In case seedlings or cuttings are grown for the 

 purpose, it is usually best to start them in seed-pans or 

 cutting-boxes, and transfer them later to the basket. 



.\ I take in arranging baskets is crowding, 



"r- : n. lull. Fewer plants will appear more 



nr.u-. tiil, LI'-/ 111 will be more vigorous, and the basket 

 will rel:iin its grace and beauty for a longer time. Exer- 

 cise vigilance and care in watering. After the roots 

 have well filled the basket, watering is best done by 

 dipping the basket in a tub or barrel of water, and al- 

 lowing it to remain until it is well saturated. Dipping 

 the basket in weak liquid manure once or twice a month 

 will greatly promote vigor when the plants have been 

 long in the basket. These remarks also apply in a 

 general way to vases and rustic stands. 



Ernest Walker. 



BASSWOOD. See Tilia. 



BAST, The soft part of the flbro-vascular bundles in 

 plants, abundant in the inner bark. It increases in 

 thickness simultaneously with the wood, but much less 

 rapidly. The fibrous elements in the bast of Basswood 

 have been used in making cordage ; also in making 

 strong paper. -w. W. Rowlee. 



BATATAS. See Ipomcea. 



BATEMANNIA (in honor of James Bateman, the dis- 



liiijn! 1m i ' Hi 'tor and cultivator, and author of ira- 

 |. f ' 11 Orchids). Orchidicem, tribe Vdntleoe. 



I It : leaf-blades coriaceous: fls. large, 



- .; 111. 11. Ill iMi. single or iu pairs. Cult. like Cattleya. 

 Duiriif,' 111. _..iinL.' piTind they should be well supplied 

 with witti-i- :in.| ki lit fniiii strong sunlight. 



C6Ueyi, I.iii'll. I'ltnU ;inil sepals purplish or umber- 

 brown. sIkiiImil' !" \' iliwish green at the base. Deme- 



MeleiRiis, :: 



/>■. Iliirlii, Emir. & Kiiililj. f.,with 1-fld. peduncles, =Zygo- 

 P'''-'l'""- Oakes Ames. 



BAUHlNIA (after John and Caspar Bauhin, sixteenth 

 century herbalists ; the twin leaflets suggesting two 

 brothers). I/egitmindsce, but there is nothing to sug- 

 gest the legume famUy to the northern horticulturist ex- 

 cept the pod. Mountain Ebony. A genus of over 200 

 species, allied to Cercis. Tropical trees, shrubs, or vines, 

 with showy fls. ranging from white to purple, and Ivs. 

 which may be entire or 2-Iobed, in some cases the Ifts. 

 being entirely free ; the petiole is prolonged into a 

 short but characteristic awn between the Ifts. : petals 5. 

 The number and fertility of the stamens are important 

 characters in determining the subgenera. They are 

 much cult, in S. Pla. and S. Calif, in sandy soils. Prop, 

 by seeds ; rarely by cuttings of half -ripened wood. 



B. variiti)ilii and B. purpurea are two of the com- 



111 -I iiii'l Inn Ml -^ 1 1 Kill trees of India, and, although 



111 I I I '.111 northern greenhou.ses, have 



r:i>. ' : I iMiitly. Ji.variegata is much 



nih . Ill I imI I I. :i imI . .\ I m 1 1 cnvered with blossoms, resem*- 

 lilcs n Ki-iuin.' I'clarronium. The astringent bark is 

 used in tanning and dyeing, and the Ivs. and fl.-huds as 

 a vegetable, the latter being pickled. "The reason for 

 these plants being so little grown in our hothouses," 

 says J. D. Hooker, "is, no doubt, that they must attain 

 some siz€ before they flower, and that they require a 

 dry season to ripen their wood, the giving of which, 

 without killing the plant by drought, is the standing 

 crux of all establishments." Great numbors of species 

 of Bauliiiii;i .MM 1;I,m|,- Ii, !„. iiiini-iuMMil In. in time to 



the 



trop- 



ics. In tliM , ;ii.|\\. 1 .. I Mi-s, themost 



reliable s|iMMM iml. i- m-Li.-.h-. /;, , ,, :-i:,i. B. cori/m- 

 bosa, and Ji. .\auii, ....... I'Im-m .mii Uv planted outside 



here in summer, ami kijit over winter as oleanders are. 



A. Lrs.iVri.h.l II. .t t; Ihe middle. 



B. i';.s. usuallif colored. 



variegita, Linn. Tree, &-20 ft. : Ivs. 3-4 in. across, 



orbicular, D-11 nerved, lobes rounded ; petiole 1-2 in. 



long : fls. about 7, in a short raceme, 4 in. across ; calyx 



