BALCONY GARDEN. 



23 



BALSAMINA. 



roots ; and as they hybridize freely, 

 and ripen seed abundantly, innumer- 

 able varieties may be raised. They 

 also bear both forcing and retarding 

 extremely well. Several attempts 

 have been made to naturalise them in 

 this country ; particularly at High 

 Clerc, near Newbury, the seat of Lord 

 Carnarvon. The kinds called the 

 Ghent Azaleas, are hybrids aud va- 



rieties raised in Belgium. Professor 

 Don and some other botanists consi- 

 der nearly all the Azaleas to belong 

 to the Rhododendrons, and they have 

 left only one miserable little trailing 

 plant, a native of Scotland, Azalea 

 procumbens, in the once splendid 

 genus Azalea of Linnaeus. 



Azarole tree. — See Crataegus. 



Azederach. — See Melia. 



B. 



Babiana. — Iridacece. — A genus 

 of Cape plants, with solid bulbs or 

 corms, which are eaten by the Hot- 

 tentots ; and which, when roasted, 

 are said to resemble chestnuts. The 

 species have all showy flowers. For 

 their culture see Bulbs. 



Baeria. — Composites. — A hardy 

 annual, with yellow flowers. 



Balcony Garden. — The most suit- 

 able plants for balconies are those of 

 low growth ; and as, from their ex- 

 posed situation, they are liable to 

 great and sudden changes, with re- 

 gard to temperature, winds, and 

 moisture, they ought to be naturally 

 tolerably hardy. To prevent the soil 

 in the pots from becoming over dried, 

 from the pot being constantly exposed 

 to the wind, one pot ought to be 

 placed within another, with a little 

 sand or moss between, and this sand 

 or moss ought to be kept constantly 

 moist. The pots may be set in 

 saucers, provided a little gravel be 

 placed in the bottom of each saucer, 

 so as to allow the free escape of water 

 from the hole in the bottom of the 

 pot ; for if this water stagnates in the 

 pot, it soon swells the soil so as to 

 close up the hole in the bottom, and 

 to prevent the free escape of water ; 

 in which case the soil in the pot is 

 sure to become sodden. When there 

 is no gravel in the saucers, the plants 

 Bhould be well and frequently wa- 

 tered ; but the water that runs 



through the earth in the pot into the 

 saucers, should be poured out imme- 

 diately and thrown away. A very 

 good mode of growing plants in bal- 

 conies is, to set the pots in wooden 

 boxes or troughs, painted stone co- 

 lour, with a little gravel at the bot- 

 tom, for the pots to stand on, and 

 with the interstices filled in with 

 moss, which may also cover the rims 

 and surface of the pots. Mignonette 

 and trailing plants are best grown 

 entirely in wooden boxes, without the 

 intervention of pots. 



Ba'cch aris . — Co mpositce. —Plough- 

 man's Spikenard. Shrubs generally 

 with white flowers, and natives of 

 America, growing in any common 

 garden soil. 



Balm. See Dracoce'phalum. 



Balsam. See Balsamina. 



Balsamina. — BalsaminacecB. — 

 Tender and half hardy annuals, with 

 splendid flowers, mostly natives of the 

 East Indies. The common balsam 

 ( B. hortensis) is a well-known green- 

 house plant of great beauty. To grow 

 it in perfection, the seeds should be 

 sown on a hot-bed, and when the 

 plants come up they should be trans- 

 planted into very small pots, which 

 should be plunged into the hot-bed, 

 and well supplied with water. In 

 about a week, the plants should be 

 transferred to larger pots ; and this 

 operation should be repeated ten or 

 twelve times, always removing the 



