AYE 
BAN 
increased by cuttings, planted under a 
hand-glass in a shaded situation. 
AVERRHOA (Linn.) Nat. Order 
Oxalidacece. There are only two species 
of this plant, which are described as 
handsome stove trees, and as being re¬ 
markable for producing the seed on the 
trunk itself below the leaves; the flowers 
grow in racemes, and the fruit is fleshy, 
filled with a grateful acid juice, the sub¬ 
stance not unlike the interior of a cu¬ 
cumber. 
AZALEA (Linn.) Nat. Order Eri¬ 
caceae. Azaleas are universal favorites, 
them scarlet, purple, orange, or white 
flowers, insure them a place in every 
collection. The Chinese species and their 
varieties require to be potted in light 
sandy peat soil, to be placed in the open 
air through the summer, in a situation 
sheltered from the hot-sun, to be kept 
constantly, yet moderately, moist, and 
to be allowed an airy position in the 
greenhouse through the ’winter. Of these 
the following kinds may be received as 
indispensable : Danielsiana , Indi'ca alba , 
I. Phoenicia, I. maxima Candida , I. varie- 
gata, I. purpureo-plena , I. lateritia , and 
I. coelestis. The hardy species are rich 
embellishments of the American beds in 
the spring, and form excellent subjects 
for forcing; for the latter purpose they 
should be potted at least six months 
previous to their introduction to heat. 
The varieties of A. calendulacea , A. nu- 
diflora , and A. viscosa, are the most 
beautiful. 
BABIANA (Kek.) Nat. Order Tri- 
daceoe. Beautiful dwarf, growing bulbous- 
rooted plants, from the Cape of Good 
Hope. They succeed in very sandy peat, 
and may be grown either in pots for or¬ 
namenting the greenhouse, or planted 
into a cold frame, where, if protected from 
frost in the winter, they may be allowed 
to remain altogether. B. rubrocyanea , 
B. plicata , and B. villosa are very hand¬ 
some. 
BABINGTONIA (R. Brown ) Nat. 
Ord. Myrtaceoe. Only one species known, 
B. camphorosmoe, a pretty neat-looking 
winter-flowering plant, from the Swan 
River settlement. It delights in sandy 
peat soil, and should have an any situ¬ 
ation in the greenhouse: the flowers are 
white, delicately shaded with pink, and 
are produced very copiouslv. 
BACKHOUSlA (Hooker.) Nat. O. 
Myrtaceoe. B. myrtifolia, the only species, 
is a handsome, new, greenhouse plant 
producing numerous white flowers; it 
grows best in sandy peat, and may be in¬ 
creased by cuttings. It is a native of 
New South Wales. 
BJECKIA (Linn.) Nat. Ord. Myrta¬ 
ceoe. Pretty white, free flowering, green¬ 
house plants, resembling in habit and 
requiring the same culture as the Babing- 
tonia already mentioned. Most of the 
species are natives of New Holland. 
BALSAMINA (Rivinus.) Nat. 0. 
Balsaminaceoe. The common garden 
Balsam, B. hortensis , is a well-known 
beautiful annual, requiring to be sown 
in March on an active bottom heat, and 
to be repotted several times as it pro¬ 
gresses towards maturity : the soil used 
should be at the first part of the growth 
leaf mould and loam, increasing the pro¬ 
portion of the latter at each shifting, 
with the addition of partly decomposed 
manure. A temperature of 60° to 
70° should be kept about them until 
the growth is completed, and abundance 
of ah- admitted whenever it can be done 
without prejudice to the above heat. 
Balsams may also be grown for planting 
into the borders of the flower garden; 
for this purpose they should be sown in 
heat about the end of April, and after 
being potted and gradually inured to 
the open ah’, may be transferred to the 
required spots about the end of May; 
there are several species, but all of them 
may be referred to the same treatment ; 
they are natives of the East Indies, and 
the genus is the type of a very beautiful 
order of vegetation. 
BANISTERIA (Linn.) Nat. Order 
Malpighiaceoe. A genus of interesting 
stove plants from the southern conti¬ 
nent of America : the flowers of all the 
known species are yellow, and most of 
them have remarkably handsome foliage; 
they should be grown in a mixture of 
sandy peat and loam, and may be in¬ 
creased by means of cuttings, planted 
