B I G 



B I G 



Swartz prodr. 91. " Climbing ; lower leaves ternate ; up- 

 per bijugous, cinhofe ; fruit echinate." A' rambling fhrub 

 climbing to the tops of trees by its very long and numerous 

 branches. A native of the Well Indies, Carthagera, and 

 Guiana. z^.Vi. pcntandrii. Lour. Cochiiich. 379. "Leaves 

 bipinnatc ; ilamens five, with tvro anthers in each ; calyx 

 flilli-coloured, five-toothed." A middle-fized tree, with 

 afcending branches. A native of Cochinchina, near river?. 

 Loureiro has another fpecies under the name of B, longijjima, 

 which is a native of Cochinchina, by rivers, and which is 

 not the B. longtjftma of Jacquin (N^ 22.) ; agreeing, ac- 

 cording to Loureiro, with tl.e " ligni;m cquinum" of Rum- 

 phius (vol. iii. p. 73. t. 46.), or H. fp^ithacea of the younger 

 LinnoEus, in the length and form o{ the corolla, but not in 

 the fpathaceous calyx and pinr.ate leaves. But Retzius ob- 

 fervcs, that Rumphius's plant is not the fame with Lin- 

 naeus's, and it is veiy different from the " Nur-Pongelion" 

 of the Hortus Malabaricn=, Loureiro alfo remarks, that 

 the three Afiatic Ipecies which he has dtfcnbed can by no 

 means be adapted to the generic character formed by Lin- 

 r.ius from the American fpecies, except in the fruit ; and 

 even that is not always two-celled in the Afiatic 'fpecies. 

 25. B. all'iacea. Swartz prodr. 91. Aubl. guian.659. 14. 

 Barr. galU xquin. 23. " Leaves conjugate j leaflets el- 

 liptic, entire, coriaceous ; peduncles five-flowered, axillary; 

 calyxes entire." This plant has a (Irong fmell of garlic, 

 whence its trivial title, and its French name '■ Liane a 

 I'Ail." A native of the Weft Indian idands. and the forefts 

 of Cayenne and Guiana. 26. B. cajfinn'iiies. Vahl. Symb. 2. 

 68. Lamarck. Encycl. " Leaves fimplc, elliptic, coriace- 

 ous; raceme terminating." A native of Rio Janeiro, having 

 the appearance of an " Echites." 27. B. bijuga. Vahl. 

 Symb. 2. 69. " Leaves abruptly pinnate, bijugous ; leaf- 

 lets elHptic, quite entire," A native of Madagafcar 



The Bignnnias are trees or fhrubs, inhabitants of the hot 

 climates, of the Eafl and Weft Indies, and eminently 

 beautiful. The leaves are oppofite ; in feme fpecies, un- 

 equally pinnate or ternate ; in others, conjugate, with a 

 two-leaved petiole between the leaflets, frequently furnidied 

 with a tendril for climbing. Flowers in panicles, large and 

 handfome, of various colours, red, blue, yellow, or white. 

 The calyx ftiould be obfervcd, whether it be fimple or double ; 

 the corolla, whether it be regular or irregular ; the ftament, 

 whether they be fertile or barren ; the fruit, whether it be 

 bony or capfular, in form of a filique, or ovate. There 

 are many fpecies, particularly from Brafil, not yet fuffi- 

 ciently known to admit of arrangement ui.der this genus. 

 B. fempervirens does not belong to this genus, fays Mr. 

 Martyn, but to that of lifianlhus. 



Propagation and culture. Thefe are exotic trees or flirubs, 

 and may be raifed from feeds fown on a moderate hot-bed 

 in the fpring. They fhould be loon inured to the open air, 

 to prevent their being drawn up weak. They may be alfo 

 increafed by cuttings, and fome of them by layers. The 

 feeds of the common Catalpa tree are annually brought over 

 from South Carolina. The leedling plants fliould be placed 

 abroad in the beginning of June, in a flicltercd fituation, 

 till autumn, and then placed under a fummi r frame, to guard 

 them from the winter froft ; cxpofing then: in mild weather 

 to the open air. In the following fpring they ihould be 

 taken out of the pots, and planted in a nurfery-bed, in a 

 warm fituation, where they may remain two year=, and then 

 planted where they are to remain. This tree may be alio 

 propagated by cuttings, which, in the fpring, Ihould be 

 planted in pots', and plunged into a moderate hot-bed, iliad- 

 iiig them from the inid-day fun, and occafioually, but fpar- 

 inglv, refreftilng them with water. In about fi.'i weeks, 



Vol. n. 



when they have taken root, and made (hoots above, the^; 

 fhould have plenty of air, and accuftomed to bear being cx- 

 pofed to the open air ; and afterwards treated like the leed- 

 ling plant?. The catalpa delights in a rich moift foil, where, 

 in a few years, it will produce flowei-s. The plants of the 

 third fpecies, not beanng cold, when young, fhould ht 

 fliellered in winter, planted againft a warm wail, and p-o- 

 tefted from froft by co\erings of mats, and by tan covering 

 the foil about their roots. The fourth and fifth fpecie* 

 will live in the open air, when planted againft a wall 

 with a fouth afptct, and (heltered in a VC17 fevere froft. The 

 fixth, feventli, eighth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth forts, are 

 tender, and will not thrive in this country out of the bark- 

 ftovf. If the ninth fpecies be planted in the full ground 

 againft a wall, the roots fliould be covered in the autun-.n 

 with fome old tanners' bark, to keep out the froft in winter ; 

 and in very fevere froll they (hould be covered with mats. 

 The twelfth fort will take root from cuttings planted during 

 fummer in pots, or plunged into a baik-bed : it has flowered 

 fevci-nl years in the Clalfea garden, in Auguft. The four- 

 teenth fort is fo hardy as to thrive in the open air ; but the 

 trailing branches ftiould be fupported ; and at they fpread 

 much and rife to a great height, they will ferve to cover un- 

 fightly buildings ; and alio trained againft the ftems of trees, 

 they make a fine appearance when in flower. It is propa- 

 gated by feeds, but the young plants thus obtained will not 

 flower in lefs than feven or eight years ; and therefore thofe 

 propagated by cuttings or layers are moft efteemed, becaufc 

 they will flower in two or three years after planting. The 

 neceflar)- culture for thefe plants, after they are eftablilhed, 

 is to cut away all the fmall weak ftioots of the former year 

 in winter, and (torten the ftrong ones to the length of about 

 two feet ; and thus young fiioots will be obtained for 

 flowering in the following fummer. Thefe plants are of long 

 duration : fome of them remain vigorous after 60 years, and 

 produce plenty of flowers every feafon. The fifteenth 

 fpecies is propagated by feeds fnwn on a hot-bed, and by 

 tranfplanting the plants into fepa:-ate fmall pots, filled with 

 light frtfti caith, and plunged into a frefti hot-bed ; by re- 

 moving them in autumn into the bark-ftove, giving tliciu 

 but httle water during winter, and in fummer refrefliing 

 them with it fparingly ; and they fliould remain conttantly 

 in the bark-ftove, and be treated like other tender plants 

 from the hot countries. The third year from feed they will 

 flower ; but they do not produce feeds in England. The 

 other forts have not been cultivated in England. Martyn. 



BIGORNO, in Geography, a town of Corfica. 



BIGORRE, a country of France, in the province of 

 Guyenne before the revolution, but now forming a part of 

 the department of the Upper Pyrenees. Its capital was 

 Tarbce. It is bounded on the Y. E. by Armagnac and the 

 country of the four vallies, Nebouzan and Aftarac ; on 

 the fouth, by the Pyrenec? ; and by Beam, on the weft. 

 It has been fometimcs divided into the country of Ruftan, 

 the Plain, and the VaUie* ; and cftimated at 16 leagues m 

 length from north to fouth ; and in its greateft breadth at 

 7 league?. From its general fituation, this country might 

 be expefted to enjoy the fame mild climate that is experi- 

 enced in the neighbouring provinces, under the fame lati- 

 tude ; but from local circumttanecs the cafe is very different. 

 The Pyrenees intercept the warmth of the more fouthera 

 country of Spain ; while, from its elevated fituation, it ig 

 expofed to the chilling blafts of the north. On this account, 

 Bigorre is deprived of many fruits and vegetable.', fuch as 

 the orange and olive ; howc\cr, the laurel, fig-tree, and 

 myrtle, are not injured by the climate. The air of the 

 mojntains is cold and chilling, but that of Uie plains and 

 Z 7. vallies 



