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THE LADIES’ FLOWER-GARDEN 
Indies; which have long been great favourites in our greenhouses, and which we shall mention here, as they will 
also grow in the open air. 
1.—BALSA MINA IIORTENSIS, Desp. THE COMMON OR GARDEN BALSAM. 
Synonyme. —Impatiens balsamina, Lin. 
Specific Character. —Pedicels aggregate ; leaves lanceolate, serrated, lower ones opposite; spur shorter than the flower.—(G. Don.) 
Description, &c. —The common Balsam is so well known that it needs very little description; and its 
varieties are so numerous and so uncertain as to defy enumeration. The colours of these varieties are, white, 
rose-coloured, red, and purple ; and these colours are occasionally mixed in stripes, spots, and other variegations. 
The varieties are also single, semi-double, and double. The species is a native of the East Indies, China, and 
Japan, and it was introduced before 1596, as it is mentioned by Gerard. The plants are generally kept in pots 
in greenhouses, but they will grow luxuriantly if planted out in a warm border in the open air. The seeds, 
which may be procured in any seed-shop, should be sown on a moderate hotbed in February or March ; and as soon 
as the plants are two or three inches high, they should be carefully transplanted into small pots, taking care to 
shade them for some time after transplanting. The pots should be plunged in the hotbed, but they should be 
allowed plenty of air, in the middle of the day when the weather is favourable. In about a fortnight or less, 
they should be removed into rather larger pots, without breaking the ball of earth round the roots ; and after¬ 
wards as they grow, they should be transplanted into larger and larger pots, taking care that each pot is well 
drained by broken potsherds being put in the bottom, and that the plants are supplied with abundance of 
water. If the roots are kept warm, by the pots being plunged in the hotbed, and are supplied with abundance 
of water, which is prevented from stagnating round them by the pots being well drained, while the plants 
themselves are supplied with abundance of air, when the weather will permit, the growth of the plants will 
be luxuriant, and the flowers astonishingly fine. As soon as the flower-buds are formed, the plants should be 
placed in the greenhouse ; or planted out, without breaking the ball of earth, in a warm border in the open 
ground. In the latter case, the plants should be shaded for a day or two after planting, and supplied abundantly 
with water. The seeds may be sown in a warm rich border in the open air; but in this case the plants do not 
flower till very late in the autumn, and the flowers are very seldom fine. 
2. — BALSAMINA COCCINEA, Dec. THE SCARLET BALSAM. 
Synonyme. —Impatiens coccinea, Sims. Specific Character.— Pedicels aggregate. Leaves oblong-oval, ser- 
Engraving.— Bot. Mag. t. 1256. rated. Spur incurved, about equal in length to the flower.—(G. Don.) 
Description, Sec. — A splendid plant, with bright scarlet flowers remarkable for the great length of their spurs. 
The flowers are large, and are produced in great abundance ; they are sometimes streaked with white, but this is 
rather a variation than a permanent variety. The plant is a native of the East Indies, and was introduced in 1808, 
but we do not know where seeds are now to be procured. B. cornuta, the Horned Balsam, a native of Ceylon, and 
Cochin-China, introduced in 1826, closely resembles B. coccinea in the shape of its flowers, but their colours are 
dark purple or pure white. The leaves of B. cornuta are of a dusky green and sweet-scented, and a decoction 
of them is said to be used in Cochin-China as a wash for the hair. 
