153 



Wfyz Erfatfurg al 23fltang. 



[boje 



high, throwing up numerous straight 

 shoots, which are about as thick as the 

 little finger and. covered with short soft 

 hairs. Its leaves grow upon long hairy 

 footstalks, and are broadly heart-shaped, 

 about six inches long by four broad, ter- 

 minating in a long slender point, and 



BShmeria nivea. 



having their edges cut like a saw. They 

 are of a deep green colour on the upper 

 side, but covered on the under side with a 

 dense coating of white down, which gives 

 them an appearance, like that of frosted 

 silver. The beautiful fabric known 'in 

 England as Grass-cloth, and rivalling 

 the best French cambric in softness and 

 fineness of texture, is manufactured from 

 the fibre obtained from the inner bark of 

 this shrub, which is a native of China and 

 Sumatra, and has long been cultivated in 

 those countries and also in India, where it 

 has recently been recognised as identical 

 with the Bheea of Assam. The Chinese 

 bestow an immense amount of care and 

 labour upon its cultivation and the prepa- 

 ration of its fibre ; they obtain three 

 crops of the stems annually, the second 

 being considered the best. To obtain the 

 fibre the bark is stripped off in two long 

 pieces and carefully scraped with a knife, 

 so as to get rid of all useless matter, after 

 which it is softened and separated into fine 

 filaments, either by steeping it in hot 

 water or holding it over steam. The fibre 

 is of different degrees of fineness accord- 

 ing to the age of the plant, and the part of 

 the bark from which it is taken : the inner 

 bark of young quickly grown stems yield- 

 ing the beautifully fine delicate fibre from 

 which the best fabrics are manufactured, 

 while the outer portion affords a coarse 

 fibre only fit for making ropes, canvass, 

 &c. Experiments made with the view of 

 testing the strength of this fibre have 

 proved it to possess nearly double the tena- 

 city of Russian hemp. 

 B. Puya, which is a native of Nepal, very 



closely resembles the preceding both in its 

 botanical characters and general appear- 

 ance. It is, however, rather taller, growing 

 as high as six or eight feet, and its leaves 

 are of a different form, being broadly 

 lance-shaped, and terminating in a sharp 

 point ; but they have serrated edges, and 

 are silvery on the under side as in the 

 last. This plant is called Pooah or Puya in 

 Sikkim and Nepal, and its fibre has long 

 been in use among the natives ; but they 

 have hitherto employed clay or mud in its 

 preparation, which greatly deteriorates its 

 value. When properly prepared it is very 

 strong, and makes good cordage and sail- 

 cloth. Of the other species of this genus 

 we may mention that the inner bark of 

 B. albida is used in the Sandwich Islands 

 for making cloth; and B.caudata is em- 

 ployed medicinally in Brazil. [A. S.] 



BOIS A v BALAIS. (Fr.) Betula alba. 

 — A v LARDOIRE Evonyrmis europceus. 



— BOUTON. Cephalanthus occidental is. 



— CUIR. Birca palustris. — DARC. 

 Madura aurantiaca. — DE CHINE. Mur- 

 raya exotica. — DE CHYPRE. C'ordia 

 Gerascanthus. — DE COCHON. Htdiciaia 

 balsamifera. — DE COLOPHANE. Bursera 

 paniculata. — D'HUILE. Ervthroxylon 

 hypericifolium. — DE LOSTEAU. Antir- 

 hcea verticillata. — DE LETTRES. Bro- 

 simum Aubletii. — DE MAI. Cratagus 

 Oxyacantha. — DE P ALEXANDRE. The 

 Rosewood of the cabinet-makers, obtained 

 from some Brazilian species oiTrioptolomea. 



— DE PERDRIX. Heisteria coccinea. — 

 DE SAINTE LTTCIE. Primus Mahaleb. 



— DE ROSE. Licaria guianensis. — 

 GENTIL or JOLI. Daphne Mezereum. — 

 ROUGE. Guarea grandifolia. — TAN. 

 Byrsonima spicata. 



BOISDUVALIA. A small genus of 

 North American onagrads, separated by 

 Spach from (Enothera, from which it differs 

 chiefly in the four stamens, which are 

 opposite the petals, being shorter than the 

 alternate ones, and in the rosy or pinkish 

 colour of the corolla ; the flowers of the 

 true Oenotheras being eitherwhite or yellow. 

 Only two species are known, B. densi- 

 flora and B. concinna, both of annual dura- 

 tion. The former is an erect woolly 

 slitrhtly-branched plant, with linear -lanceo- 

 late pointed toothed leaves, and is remark- 

 able for having the axillary buds of the 

 main stem, which usually produce but a 

 single flower, developed into a short 

 branch bearing a small corymb of flowers ; 

 it has little beauty to recommend it. B. 

 concinna is of trailing habit, with small 

 ovate lanceolate leaves and pretty pink 

 flowers in terminal leafy spikes. [W. T.] 



BOISSIELLE. (Fr.) Bossicea Scolopendra. 



BOJERIA. A genus of one species 

 (B. speciosa) belonging to the composite 

 family, and found in Madagascar. It is a 

 shrub about ten feet high, the stems 

 towards the apex covered with dense 

 rusty hairs. The leaves are alternate, 

 entire, ovate or lanceolate in form, and 



