BAMBUSA. 



24 



BARK. 



plants to pots only a little larger than 

 those they were taken from. As soon 

 as the flower buds begin to form, the 

 plants should not be shifted anymore, 

 and the pots which contain them must 

 no longer be placed in the hot-bed, 

 but the plants must be gradually ex- 

 posed to the open air. Many gar- 

 deners never plunge the pots after the 

 plants are three or four inches high, 

 and remove them from the hot-bed to 

 the green-house as soon as possible. 

 Repeated shif tings are, however, es- 

 sential to produce fine large flowers 

 and handsome plants. As balsams, 

 from their succulent nature, require a 

 great deal of moisture, the saucers in 

 which the pots stand may be kept 

 constantly full of water ; but this 

 water should be changed every day. 

 Balsams generally ripen seeds, even 

 from the double flowers, and thus nu- 

 merous varieties are raised. The 

 seeds should, however, be used as 

 fresh as possible ; as it is found that 

 when the seeds of the balsam are kept 

 for more than a year, the plants pro- 

 duced by them are smaller, and all 

 their flowers inferior, both in size and 

 colour. The more choice varieties 

 may be preserved by cuttings, which 

 root readily in sand kept moist be- 

 low, but dry at top, and covered with 

 a bell-glass. The seed-pods of Bal- 

 samina, and those of Impaliens, or 

 Touch-me-not, open with a jerk when 

 touched, so as to throw the seeds to a 

 distance. 



Bamboo. — See Bambusa. 

 Bambusa. — GraminecB. — A rapid 

 growing stove-plant, which has a no- 

 ble appearance where there is abund- 

 ance of room. There are some spe- 

 cies so hardy as to stand the open air 

 in the island of Jersey ; and one of 

 these, B. nigra, will thrive in a 

 green-house, or against a conservatory 

 wall, in the climate of London. The 

 Bamboos should be grown in loamy 

 soil, and they are increased by offsets. 



Banana. — See Musa. 

 Baneberry. — See Act<ea. 

 Banksi a . — Proteacece. — Evergreen 

 New Holland shrubs, some of which 

 have showy flowers, but which are 

 generally more remarkable for the 

 beauty of their leaves, which are cu- 

 riously notched and cut. All the 

 species grow well in a mixture of 

 sandy peat and loam, with the pots 

 well drained ; and cuttings of the 

 young wood root with some difficulty 

 in sand under a bell-glass, in a very 

 slight bottom heat. 



Banyan Tree. — See Ficus. 



Baptisia. — LeguminoscB. — Her- 

 baceous pea-flowered plants, from 

 North America, of vigorous growth 

 and of rather elegant appearance, of 

 which one species, B. australis, well 

 deserves a place in collections. They 

 may be grown in the open air in com- 

 mon soil, and may be propagated by 

 division of the root. 



Barbadoes Cherry. — See Mal- 

 pighia. 



Barbadoes Gooseberry. — See Pe- 



RESKIA. 



Barb a Jovis. — A species of An- 

 thyllis. 



Barbarea. — Cruciferce. — Peren- 

 nial plants, of which one species, B. 

 vulgaris Jibre-pleno, the double yel- 

 low rocket, is of easy culture and pro- 

 pagation, either by cuttings or divi- 

 sion of the root, in common soil. 



Barbery. See Berberis. 



Bark. — The refuse bark which has 

 been used for tanning leather, and 

 which produces considerable heat by 

 its fermentation. When obtained from 

 the tannery it is generally soaked in 

 water, and then spread out in an open 

 shed, and turned over several times ; 

 after this, it is laid in a ridge or heap, 

 and when it has begun to heat, it is 

 again turned over once or twice, when 

 it is fit to be put into the bark-bed. 

 In this bed or pit it continues to fer- 

 ment, and gives out heat for several 



