BELLIS. 



27 



BERBERIS. 



light rich soil. One of the finest spe- 

 cimens is B. octopetala, winch has 

 tuberous roots, but it is rather rare. 

 B. discolor, which has the leaves 

 beautifully veined with crimson un- 

 derneath, is the commonest species, 

 and it thrives in the greenhouse, 

 and does remarkably well in rooms, 

 throwing out numerous suckers, each 

 with a small tuberous root, which 

 only requires separating from the pa- 

 rent and potting, to become a fresh 

 plant. The only objection to its 

 culture is, that it is very apt to be 

 infested with the red spider (see 

 Acarus). When planted out in the 

 summer season, it continues to pro- 

 duce flowers for several months. In-, 

 deed, all the tuberous-rooted species 

 of this genus, if planted rather deep 

 in a dry sandy border exposed to the 

 south, and having the soil covered with 

 a little rotten tan, dung, leaves, or with 

 litter during the winter season, will 

 come up and flower freely every year; 

 as the tuberous-rooted species of Bego- 

 nia are scarcely more tender than the 

 tuberous-rooted species of Solanum, or 

 than the Dahlia. All the kinds of Be- 

 gonia being at once beautiful, singu- 

 lar, of the easiest culture and propa- 

 gation, and producing flowers wher- 

 ever there are leaves ; it is one of the 

 best families of plants for an amateur 

 to commence his exotic culture and 

 experiments. 



Belladonna. — One of the names 

 for Atropa belladonna, the deadly- 

 nightshade. 



Belladonna Lily. — See Ama- 

 ryllis. 



Bell Flower. — See Campanula. 



Bell Glass. — A glass cylinder, 

 with a globular top, used for covering 

 tender cuttings or seedlings. It dif- 

 fers from a hand-glass in being all in 

 one piece ; whereas a hand-glass con- 

 sists of several pieces fixed in a frame 

 of lead, wood, or iron. 



Bellis. — Composites. — The Daisy. 



Well-known perennials, of which B. 

 perennis, the common daisy, has 

 been in cultivation in British and con- 

 tinental gardens from time immemo- 

 rial. The most beautiful varieties are 

 the large double, the large quilled, and 

 the hen and chickens. They are all 

 admirable plants for making edgings to 

 borders, and they are well suited for 

 growing in pots, though at present 

 they are almost neglected. They 

 thrive best in loamy soil, and bear 

 transplanting even when in flower, 

 provided they are taken up with a 

 portion of soil attached. No plants 

 are better adapted for covering a bed 

 with one mass of colour. Masses of 

 any of the kinds of daisies may be 

 brought from the reserve ground and 

 laid down on a bed in the flower- 

 garden, when just coming into flower, 

 and taken back again to make room 

 for other plants, when they have gone 

 out of flower. 



Bellows for Fumigation. — A ma- 

 chine composed of the common bellows, 

 or patent blower, used for blowing fires, 

 with the addition of a tube or vessel 

 for containing tobacco, pierced with 

 holes. The tobacco is placed in this 

 vessel, and being lighted, the air is 

 blown through it, which forces out the 

 smoke so as to fill the pit, frame, or 

 house which contains the plant or 

 plants which are to be fumigated for 

 the destruction of insects. 



Belvidere, or Summer Cypress. — 

 See Kochia. 



Benthamia. — CornacecB. — A very 

 handsome evergreen shrub, with large 

 white showy flowers, which are suc- 

 ceeded by scarlet fruit having the ap- 

 pearance of a large strawberry. It is 

 somewhat tender, and north of Lon- 

 don requires a wall. It thrives best 

 in loam, and may be propagated by 

 layers, cuttings, or seeds, which it 

 produces in abundance. 



Berberis. — Berberidece — The 

 Berberry. Deciduous shrubs, natives 



