278 HORTICULTURIST'S RULE-BOOK. 



pulpy and juicy throughout, as the grape, currant, tomato. 

 The word is commonly employed to denote any soft fruit 

 or fruit-like part which is borne upon a woody or perennial 

 plant. The raspberry and blackberry are collections of 

 little fruits. 



Biennial. Persisting two years. As a rule, biennial plants do 

 not blossom until the second year. 



Bigeneric half-breed. The product of a cross between vari- 

 eties of species belonging to different genera. 



Bigeneric hybrid. A hybrid between species of different 

 genera; bigener. 



Blight. The dying without apparent cause of the tenderer 

 parts of plants, especially of the leaves, flowers, and young 

 fruit ; as pear-blight. 



Botany. The science of plants. 



Bottle-grafting. A modification of whip-grafting, by which 

 a heel of the scion is conducted into a bottle of water to 

 supply temporary nourishment. 



Bottom heat. Heat applied underneath plants by artificial 

 means. 



Bract. A much-reduced leaf. Bracts are usually present 

 about the inflorescence. 



Break. A radical departure from the type. Ordinarily used 

 in the sense of sport, but in its larger meaning it refers to 

 the permanent appearance of apparently new or very pro- 

 nounced characters in a species. 



Bud. A bud which is inserted in a plant with the intention 

 that it shall grow. 



Budding. The operation and practice of inserting a bud in 

 a plant with the intention that it shall grow. 



Bud- variety. A strange variety or form appearing, without 

 obvious cause, upon a plant or in cuttings or layers; a 

 sport. A bud-variety springs from a bud, in distinction 

 to those which spring from a seed. 



Bulb. A large, more or less permanent leaf-bud, usually occu- 

 pying the base of the stem, and emitting roots from its 

 lower portion. Bulbs are of two leading sorts: scaly, 



