BOM 



[ 140] 



BON 



BOMBA'X. Silk Cotton Tree. (From 

 bonibfiz, cotton; in reference to the woolly 

 hairs -which envelope the seed, like those 

 of the cotton plant. Nat. ord., Stercu- 

 liads [Sterculiaceoj]. Linn,, IQ-Mona- 

 delphia, ^>- Poly an Aria). Trees more 

 remarkable for their prodigious size than 

 for their use or beauty. Stove trees. 

 Cuttings of rather young shoots, but 

 firm at the base, placed in sandy peat, 

 under a' bell-glass, and in bottom heat ; 

 peat and loam. Summer temp., 60 to 

 85 ; winter, 50 to 60. 

 B. Cei'ba (Ceiba). 100. White. South Ame- 

 rica. 1692. 



globo'sum (globe-form). 60. Guiana. 1824. 



malaba'ricum (Malabar). 60 Scarlet. 



Malabar. 



scptena'tum (seven-leaved). 50. White. 



Carthagena. 1699. 



BONAPA'RTEA. Named after Napoleon 

 Bonaparte. Nat. ord., Bromelworts 

 [Bromeliacese]. Linn., 6-ffexandria, 1- 

 Monogynia. Allied to Guzmannia). 

 Remarkable for the gracefulness of their 

 long rush-like leaves. They are well 

 adapted for growing in vases, out of 

 doors, in aummer. Stove plants. Seeds 

 in a hotbed ; cuttings in sand, under a 

 glass, in heat; well drained. Summer 

 temp. 60 to 70 ; winter, 55 to 60. 

 B. gra'cilis (slender). 2. Mexico. 1828. 

 ju'ncea (rush-leaved). IL Blue. Peru. 

 1800. 



BONA'TEA. (Named after M. Bonat, 

 a distinguished Italian botanist. Nat. 

 ord., Orchids [Orchidaceae]. Linn., 20- 

 Gynandria, \-Monogynia. Allied to 

 Gymnadenia). Stove orchid. Division 

 of the roots, or semi-bulbous tubers ; 

 peat and loam. Summer temp., 60 to 

 85 ; winter, 50 to 55. 

 B. specio'sa (showy). 2. Green white. May. 

 Cape of Good Hope. 1820. 



BONES are beneficial as a manure, 

 because their chief constituent (phos- 

 phate of lime) is also a constituent of 

 all plants; and the gelatine which is 

 also in bones is of itself a source of food 

 to them. The bones of the ox, sheep, 

 horse and pig, being those usually em- 

 ployed, their analyses are here given : 



in very small pieces or powder ; and ten 

 pounds, at the time of inserting the seed, 

 is enough for thirty square yards, if sown 

 broad-cast; and a much smaller quan- 

 tity is sufficient if sprinkled along the 

 drills in which the seed is sown. There 

 is no doubt that bone dust may be em- 

 ployed with advantage in all gardens 

 and to all garden crops, but it has been 

 experimented on most extensively with 

 the turnip and potato, and with unfail- 

 ing benefit. Mixed with sulphur, and 

 drilled in with the turnip seed, it has 

 been found to preserve the young plants 

 from the fly. Mr. Knight found it 

 beneficial when applied largely to stone- 

 fruit, at the time of planting; and it is 

 quite as good for the vine. To lawns, 

 the dust has been applied with great ad- 

 vantage when the grass was becoming 

 thin. As a manure for the shrubbery, 

 parterre, and greenhouse, it is also most 

 valuable; and crushed as well as ground, 

 is employed generally to mix with tho 

 soil of potted plants. Mr. Maund finds 

 it promotes the luxuriance and beauty 

 of his flowers. One pound of bone dust 

 mixed with twelve ounces of sulphuric 

 acid (oil of vitriol), and twelve ounces 

 of water, if left to act upon each other 

 for a day, form super-phosphate of 

 lime, a wineglassful of which has been 

 found beneficial to pelargoniums. Ap- 

 plied as a top-dressing, mixed with half 

 its weight of charcoal dust, it is a good 

 manure for onions, and may be applied 

 at the rate of nine pounds to the square 

 rod. There is little doubt of this super- 

 phosphate being good for all our kitchen- 

 garden crops, being more prompt in its 

 effects upon a crop than simple bone 

 dust, because it is soluble in'water, and 

 therefore more readily presented to the 

 roots in a state for them to imbibe. Bones 

 broken into small pieces are generally 

 used as drainage for Pelargoniums and 

 other potted plants. 



BONNA'YA. (Named after the Ger- 

 man botanist, Bonnay. Nat. ord., Fig- 

 worts [Scrophulariaceao]. Linn., 2 Dian- 

 dria, l-monogynia. Related to TOKENIA). 

 Stove plants. Seeds for annuals ; divi- 

 sions, and cuttings of creepers and trail- 

 ers ; rich sandy loam. 



B. brachyca'rpa (short-seed-podded). Violet. 

 June. East Indies. 1829. Annual. 



