Bivonæa. Cruciferæ.
Increased by seeds, which should be sown in spring where the plants are intended to remain. They should be thinned out to insure full growth.
Propagated by seeds sown when ripe, in bottom heat, or by cuttings put in sand under a hand-glass, in heat; the latter is the better method.
Blackberry (Rubus villosus and vars.). Rosaceæ.
New varieties are obtained from seeds, which may be sown as soon as they are cleaned from the ripe fruit, or which may be stratified until the next spring. If the soil is in prime condition, fall sowing is preferable.
Varieties are multiplied by suckers and by root-cuttings. The suckers spring up freely about the old plants, especially if the roots are broken by the cultivator; but they have few fibrous roots and are inferior. The best plants are obtained from root-cuttings. Roots from one-fourth to three-eighths inch in diameter are selected for this purpose. The roots are dug in the fall, cut into pieces an inch or two long, and stored until early spring. They may be buried in boxes of sand after the manner of stratified seeds, or stored in a cool cellar; callusing proceeds most rapidly in a cellar. The pieces are planted horizontally an inch or two deep, in loose, rich soil. It is best to put them in a frame and give them slight bottom heat, although they will grow if planted in the open in April or May, but the plants will make much less growth the first season. Some varieties do not strike quickly without bottom heat. When the variety is scarce, shorter and slenderer pieces of root may be used, but these demand bottom heat. The heat in the frames is usually supplied by manure, or the heat of the sun under the glass may be sufficient. In these frames the cuttings can be started in the north late in March, or some six or eight weeks before the plants can be set out-doors without protection. When the weather has become somewhat settled, the plants may be planted out, and by fall they will be two to three feet high.
Black Boy. See [Xanthorrh]œa.
Bladder-nut Tree. See [Staphylea].
Bladder-pod or -seed. See [Vesicaria].