BLA 



[135] 



BLE' 



BLACK THORN. Pru'nus spino'sa. 

 BLACK VARNISH TREE. Melanor- 

 rhce'a. 



BLACK- WATTLE. Cattico'ma. serrati- 



BLADDER-BLIGHT. See Peach blister- 

 ing of leaf. 



BLADDER- KETMIA. Hibiscus trio num. 



BLADDER-NUT. Staphyle'a. 



BLADDER SENNA. Colu'tea. 



BLADDER CATCHFLY. Silc'ne infldta. 



BI^E'RIA. (Named after Dr. Blair , a 

 physician. Nat. ord., Heathworts \_Eri- 

 cacccc]. Linn., 1-Tctrandria, \-Monogy- 

 ni(t). 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. 

 $. artintkfta (jointed). 2. Pink. May. 1795. 



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



1795. 



dnmo'sa (bushy). 2. 1806. 



cricoi'des (heath-like). 2. Purple. Sep- 

 tember. 177-i. 

 fascicula'ta (bundled). 2. 1812. 



purpufrea (pm-ple-flowered). 2. Purple. 



May. 1791. 



BLA'KEA. (Named after Martin Slake, 

 an active promoter of useful knowledge. 

 Nat. ord., Melastomads [Melastomaceae]. 

 Linn., \\-Dodecandria, \-Monogynia. 

 Allied 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. 



2i. quinquene' rvia (five-nerved). 10. White. 

 June. Trinidad. 1820. 



trine? rvia (three-nerved). 8. White. June. 



Jamaica. 1789. 



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 and carbonic acid 

 gas, a power they do not possess when 

 light is absent. The effect of blanch- 

 ing 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, 

 geraniums and other plants become pale 

 and weak, from being confined under 

 vines in a greenhouse, where the rela- 

 tive heat and light are disproportioned. 



BLANDFO'RDIA. (Named after George, 

 Marquis of Blandford. Nat. Ord., Lily- 

 worts [LUiaceee], Linn., 6-Hexandrta, 

 \-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. Backhousii (Backhouse's). Van Diemen's 

 Land. 



Cunningha'mii (Cunningham's). Red yel- 



low. New Holland. 



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



July. New South Wales. 1812. 



intermedia (intermediate). Yellow. Sep- 



tember. New Holland. 1844. 



margina'ta (rough-edged-leavcd). 2. Cop- 



per. July. Australia. 1842. 



no'bilis (noble). 2. Orange. July. New 



South 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'niutn 

 myrti'llus. 



BLE'CHNUM. (From blcchnon, a Greek 

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

 podiacesDJ. Linn., 1-Cryptogamia, 1- 

 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. serrulatum is 

 hardy. 



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

 July. AVest Indies, 



