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BLADDER KETMIA. 
frequent long retentions into an enlargement of 
size, and possesses an average capacity in adults 
of about a pint and a half_—The bladder, like 
| other hollow viscera, consists of three layers, 
united to one another by cellular tissue : the 
outer layer is serous, and serves as a covering ; 
the middle layer is muscular, and serves for the 
expulsive process in evacuation; and the inner 
layer is mucous, and contains a number of secre- 
tive glands to counteract or avert the acrid power 
of the urine. ‘The wider region of the bladder is 
uppermost, and communicates with the kidneys 
by an exquisite contrivance, which allows the 
urine to percolate, and yet, in all healthy condi- 
tions of the system, is impassable by the blood ; 
and the narrow region or neck has a fixed at- 
tachment to the urethra or conducting canal of 
evacuation, and is provided with a sphincter or 
circular muscle which remains closed during the 
period of retention, and relaxes to admit of eva- 
cuation. For notices of the diseases of the blad- 
der in the live stock of the farm, see the articles 
InrLAMMATION, Stonn, Rupture, Inverston, and 
PROTRUSION. 
BLADDER KETMIA, — botanically Hibiscus 
trionum. A curious ornamental hardy annual 
plant, of the mallow tribe. It is also popularly 
called Venice mallow and the Flower of an Hour. 
It grows wild in Italy, and was introduced thence 
to Great Britain about the close of the 16th 
century. Its stem is branching, about two feet 
high, and beset with numerous soft spines which 
elude the notice of a careless observer; its leaves 
are three-lobed, and cut almost to the midrib; 
its flowers stand on pretty long footstalks at the 
joints of the stem,—they have an inflated calyx, 
a many-leaved involucrum, and an expanded 
corolla,—they are yellowish-brown in colour,— 
and, though each flower continues but a few 
hours open, a succession of them maintains a 
bloom from June till September; and its cap- 
sules are blunt, and have five many-seeded cells, 
filled with small, smooth, kidney-shaped seeds. 
The curious flowering habits of this plant give 
it the same kind of interest to an enlightened 
observer of the works of God, which is possessed 
by the singularly gorgeous bulbous plant, Zigridia 
pavonia. The seeds of it may be sown in either 
autumn or spring; and the young plants require 
little care, and will scarcely bear to be trans- 
planted.—A co-species of the common bladder 
ketmia, Hibiscus vesicarius, bears popularly the 
name of African bladder ketmia, and very consi- 
derably resembles the preceding species, but is 
hairier, more erect, and more purplish in the 
stem, narrower and far less deeply cut in the 
leaf, and larger and more deeply coloured in the 
flower. This species also is an annual; and it 
was introduced from Africa to Britain in the 
early part of last century. 
BLADDER-NUT,—botanically Staphylea. A 
small genus of ornamental shrubs, of the staff- 
tree tribe. The common or pinnate-leaved blad- 
like those of the common species, appear like 
BLADDER-SENNA. 
der-nut, Staphylea pinnata, grows wild in the 
woods of several parts of England and of a large 
portion of Kurope, and is cultivated in gardens 
and shrubberies for the sake of its singular and 
very handsome appearance. Several shrubby 
stems arise from each root, and usually attain 
a height of from six to ten feet; the twigs are 
very pithy, and, when broken, emit a strong 
fragrance ; the bark of the older branches is 
brown, of the younger a much lighter colour, 
and of both exceedingly smooth; the buds, in 
early winter, are large and turgid, as if ready to 
burst into shoots, and occasion the shrub, in its 
leafless season, to present a charming appearance 
of health, energy, and verdure; the leaves are 
lightish green, pinnated, consisting of five folioles, 
and resembling the pinnate leaves of some sorts 
of ash-tree; the folioles are oblong, pointed, 
tolerably large, arranged in two pairs and an 
odd one, and standing on rather long footstalks ; 
the flowers have a whitish colour, are produced in 
long pendulous bunches from the wings of the 
leaves, and bloom from April till June; and the 
fruit or nuts look like comparatively large in- 
flated bladders, and have a very singular and 
striking appearance in autumn. The nuts have 
a smooth exterior, and are used in Roman Cath- 
olic countries for the making of rosaries; and 
the seeds or kernels are eaten in some countries 
as food by poor persons, but, though at first 
sweetish, they have a nauseous gout and a | 
squeamish or even emetic effect. 
The three-leaved bladder-nut, Staphylea trifolia, 
is a native of North America, particularly of Vir- 
ginia, and was introduced thence to Great Bri- 
tain in 1640. It is as hardy as the common 
bladder-nut, and grows to about the same height; _ 
its older branches seem asif sprinkled with grey- 
ish spots; its younger branches have a yellowish 
and perfectly smooth bark; its buds swell early 
in winter, but are not so large or turgid as those 
of the common species ; its leaves consist each of | 
three folioles, and grow by threes on a footstalk; 
its folioles are light green, pretty large, oval, 
pointed, and serrated; its flower buds appear in 
early spring, and sometimes so early as January, 
yet do not unfold till May; its flowers have a 
white colour, are produced in long pendulous 
bunches from the sides of the branches, and | 
bloom in May and June; and its fruit or nuts, 
large inflated bladders.— Both of these species 
may be propagated from either seeds, layers, or 
cuttings——A hothouse species, growing usually 
to the height of 30 feet, and called the western 
bladder-nut, Staphylea occidentalis, was intro- 
duced to Great Britain from Jamaica in 1824. 
Two or three other species are known, but have 
not yet been introduced to Britain. 
BLADDER-SENNA,—botanically Colutea. A 
small genus of hardy, deciduous, ornamental 
shrubs, of the pea tribe. The common species, 
Colutea arborescens, is a native of the south of 
