BIL 



118 ] 



BIB 



or June, in sand, under a bell-fflass; loam and 

 geat. Summer temp., 50 to 70; winter, 40 to 48. 

 Ji. angustifo'lia (narrow-leaved). 2. Cream. July. 

 N.Holland. 1820. 



Daphnoi'des (Daphne-like). Yellow, purple. 



May. N. S. Wales. 1840. 



longiflo'ra (long-flowered). 20. Crimson. 



July. Van Diemen's Land. 1810. 



muta'bilis (changeable). 8. Crimson. August. 



N. S. Wales. 1795. 



ova'lis (oval-leaved). 20. Green, yellow. Van 



Diemen's Land. 1833. 



varvijto'ra (small-flowered). 12. Blue. July. 



N. Holland. 1825. 



sca'ndens (climbing). 12. Purple. August. 



N. S. Wales. 1790. 



BILLBE'RGIA. (Named after Billbcrg, a 

 Swedish botanist. ''Nat. ord., Brumelworta 

 [Bromeliaceoe]. Linn., 6-Hexandria 1- 

 Monogynia.) 



Stove plants, formerly belonging to. Bromelia. 

 Suckers and divisions; sandy loam, peat, and a 

 little rotten cow-dung. Summer temp., 6u to 

 75; winter, 55 to 60. 



23. amce'na (pleasing). 2. Yellow. June. S. 

 Amer. 1817. 



bi'color (two-coloured). |. Hose, blue. May. 



Rio Janeiro. 1829. 



cldva'ta (club-shaped). l. Blue. February. 



Trinidad. 1824. 



crue'nta (bloody). 1. Blue, red. August. 



Kio Janeiro. 1824. 



fascia'ta (banded). l. Blue, red. August. 



Rio Janeiro. 1825. 



iridifo'lia (iris-leaved). 1. Scarlet, yellow. 



March. Rio Janeiro. 1825. 



nudicau'lis (naked-stemmed). 2. Crimson. 



May. Trinidad. 1822. 



purpu'rea (purple). Eose, purple, October. 



Brazil. 



purpu'rea-ro'sea (purple and rosy). 2. Rose, 



purple. November. Brazil. 1831. 



pyramida'lis (pyramidal). 2. Crimson. Fe- ' 



bruary. Rio Janeiro. 1817. 



thyrsoi'deu, (dense-flowered). Scarlet. Novem- | 



her. Brazil * ' 



Wethere'lUWr.WethereIVs). Blue and yellow. 

 December. Bahia. 



sebri'na (zebra-streaked') . l. June. S. Amer. 



1826. 



zona'ta (zoned.-leaved'). 1$. White. March. 



Brazil. 1843. 



BINDING. A term applied to adhesive 

 soils, to describe the closeness and hard- 

 ness of their texture in hot, dry seasons. 

 (See BAKING.) This term applies, also, to 

 some gardening processes. Thus, fasten- 

 ing a graft or bud in its place, by means 

 of bast or other material, is termed bind- 

 ing in some counties. 



BINDWEED. Gonvo'lvnlus. 



BIO'PHYTUM. Oxa'lts bio' phylum. 



BlKCH. Be'tula and Carpi' nus be'titl'.t. 



BIKDS are benefactors, as well as in- 

 jurers, of the gardener. They destroy mil- 

 lions of grubs, caterpillars, and aphides, 

 which would have ravaged his crops ; 

 tut, at the'same time, some commit havoc 



upon his fruit and seeds. The wisest 

 course, consequently, is to scare them 

 from the garden at such times, or from 

 the portions of it in which they can be 

 predjudicial, but to leave them to visit it 

 unmolested whenever and wherever they 

 cannot be mischievous. Thus, in early 

 spring, a boy or two will drive them away 

 during such time as the buds of the goose- 

 berry, currant, and plum are open to 

 their attacks ; and again during the time 

 that the cherries are ripe. To keep them 

 from the fruit of late gooseberries and 

 currants, it is sufficient to interlace thickly 

 the bushes with red worsted. To keep 

 them from attacking peas and other 

 vegetables just emerging from the soil, 

 a similar display of white thread, fastened 

 to pegs about six inches from the surface, 

 is also sufficiently deterring. Nets, where 

 available, are also effectual guardians. 

 By these aids, but especially by the watch- 

 ing during certain seasons, the gardener 

 may protect himself from injury at a 

 very trifling expense, without depriving 

 himself of the services of the most sharp- 

 sighted, most unwearying, and most 

 successful of all insect-killers. 



INSECT-EATING BIRDS, WHICH DO NOT 

 EAT FRUITS OR SEEDS. 



One of the most exclusively 'insect- 

 eating birds is the golden-crested wren 

 (Rcgnlus crislatus, Ray), the smallest of 

 the birds of Europe. The species which 

 come nearest to the gold-crest, in appear- 

 ance and habits, are the wood-wren 

 (Sylvia sibilatrix) , and the willow-wren, 

 or hay-bird (S.fitis). The chiff chaff (S. 

 loqnax) also ranks with these as an insect- 

 eating bird, but is least common. The 

 nightingale (Sylvia lusciiiia) does consi- 

 derable service to the cultivator, by de- 

 vouring numbers of caterpillars and 

 grubs, as well as the moths, butterflies, 

 and beetles from which they are produced. 

 The whinchat (Saxicola rubetra), the 

 stonechat (S. rubicola), and the wheatear 

 (S. cenanthe}, may be ranked as insecti- 

 vorous birds ; the stonechat particularly. 

 The whinchat frequents cabbage-gardens 

 and turnip- fields after the breeding 

 season, and ought to be protected, be- 

 cause it not only eats insects, but small 

 shell-snails, while it never touches fruits 

 or seeds. The wheatear is equally bene- 

 ficial in clearing crops from insects, with- 

 out levying any contribution for its 

 services. 



