BLA 



[ 121 ] 



BLE 



the surface of the soil with gas-lime two 

 or three mornings after the turnip-seed 

 has been sown. This is so offensive to 

 the insect as to drive it away just at the 

 time the young plants are appearing 

 above ground. The Coliaye Gardener, 

 ii., 93. 



BLACK GRUB. Athalia spinarnm. 



BLACK JACK OAK. Que'rcus ni'grx. 



BLACK PINE. Pl'nus Justri'aca. 



BLACK SALTWORT. Glaux mari'tima. 



BLACK THORN. Pru'nus spino'sa. 



BLACK VARNISH-TREE. Melanorrhce'a. 



BLACK WATTLE. Callico'maserralifo'lia. 



BLADDER BLIGHT. See PEACH Blister- 

 ing of Leaf. 



BLADDER KETMIA. Hibi'scus trio* num. 



BLADDER NUT. Staphyfe'a. 



BLADDER SENNA. Colu'tea. 



BLADDER CATCHFLY. Sile'ne infla'ta. 



BLJE'RIA. (Named after Dr. Blair, a 

 physician. Nat. ord., Heathworts [Eri- 

 caceae]. Linn., k-Tetrandria l-Monogy- 

 nia.) 



Greenhouse evergreen shrubs, from the Cape 

 of Good Hope. Cuttings of young wood in 

 sand, under a bell-glass; sandy peat. Summer 

 temp., 50 to 65; winter, 35 to 45, with plenty 

 of air. 

 B. articula'ta (jointed). 2 Pink. May. 1TP5. 



cilia'ris (hair-fringed). 2. White. June. 1795. 



dumo'sa (bushy). 2. 1806. 



ericoi'des (heath-like). 2. Purple. Septem- 



ber. 1774. 



fascicula'ta (bundled). 2. 1812. 



purpu'rcu (purple-flowered). 2. Purple, if ay. 



1791. 



BLA'KEA. (Named after Martin Blake, 

 an active promoter of useful knowledge. 

 Nat. ord., Melastomads [Melastomacece]. 

 Linn., \\-Dodecandria \-Monoyynia. Al- 

 lied to Miconia.) 



Stove evergreen shrubs. Cuttings from shoots, 

 rather firm ; plant in sandy peat, in bottom-heat, 

 under a glass ; peat and loam. Summer temp., 

 60 to 85 ; winter, 50 to 55. 

 J?. quinquene'rvia (five-nerved). 10. White. 

 June. Trinidad. 1820. 



trine'rmtt (three-nerved). 8. White. June. 



Jamaica. 178Q. 



BLANCHING, or ETIOLATION, is effected 

 by making plants grow in the dark; and 

 the more completely the light is ex- 

 cluded, the more entire is the absence of 

 colour from the leaves and stems of the 

 plants. The colouring matter of these 

 is entirely dependent upon their power 

 to decompose water arid carbonic acid 

 gas a power they do not possess when 

 light is absent. The effect of blanching 

 is to render the parts more delicately 

 flavoured, more pleasing to the eye, and 



more crisp properties very desirable in 

 sea-kale, celery, rhubarb, endive, let- 

 tuces, &c. Wherever it can be accom- 

 plished, blanching-pots should be em- 

 ployed, in preference to covering the 

 plants with earth or other materials. 

 The flavour is better, and decay is less 

 liable to be induced. Lettuces and 

 cabbages are usually whitened by tying 

 the leaves over the heart, or centre-bud. 

 In some instances, blanching is unde- 

 signed and a positive evil, as when gera- 

 niums and other plants become pale and 

 weak, from being confined under vines in 

 a greenhouse, where the relative heat 

 and light are disproportioned. 



BLANDFO'RDIA. (Named after George, 

 Marquis of Blandford. Nat. ord., Lily- 

 \ worts [Liliacese]. Linn., Q-Hexandria 1- 

 Monogynia. Allied to Hemerocallis.) 



Beautiful greenhouse bulbs, requiring the 

 same treatment as Ixias. Seeds and offsets. 

 Winter temp., 35 to 45. Loam and peat. 

 B. Backhou'sii (Backhouse's). Van Diemen'a 

 Land. 



Cunningha'mii (Cunningham's). Red, yellow. 



N. Holland. 



flafmmea (flame-flowered). Flame. Aus- 



tralia. 1836. 



grandiflo'ra (large-flowered). 2. Crimson. 



July. N. S. Wales. 1812. 



intermedia (intermediate). Yellow. Septem. 



her. N. Holland. 1844. 



margina'ta (rough-edged-leaved). 2. Copper. 



July. Australia. 1842. 



no'bilis (noble). 2. Orange. July. N. S v 



Wales. 1803. 



BLAST, or BLIGHT, is the popular name 

 for any withering of plants of which 

 neither the scientific title nor the causes 

 are known to the observer. The mildew 

 of corn ; the honey-dew on fruit-trees ; 

 the withering occasioned by violent cold 

 winds in early spring ; and the ravages 

 of the hawthorn caterpillar, are all 

 spoken of by the uninformed under the 

 above titles. 



BLEABERRY, or BILBERRY. Vacci'nium 

 myrti'llus. 



BLE'CHNUM. (From bltchnon, a Greek 

 name for a Fern. Nat. ord., Ferns [Poly- 

 podiacesej. Linn., 24^-Cri/ptogamia i- 

 Filices.) 



Spores or seed, and divisions at the root ; peat 

 and loam. The Cape of Good Hope and New 

 Holland species will thrive in the greenhouse; 

 the South American and Indian require the stove, 

 though none of them will find fault with its heat. 

 Summer temp., 60 to 90; winter, 55 to 60. 

 B. serrula'tum is hardy. 



B. angustifo'lium (narrow-leaved). 1. Brown. 

 July. W. Ind. 



austra'le (southern). 2. Brown. June. Cape 



of Good Hope. 16Q1. 



