BASKETS. Few objects contribute more to the adornment of a window, or the decoration of the diningroom, drawing-room, or glass-house, than Hanging Baskets, tastefully filled with handsome foliaged and flowering plants. Baskets are made in different forms and of various materials, such as wire, terra-cotta, wood, and cork. The Wire Baskets have a very light and elegant appearance, and are generally used. In filling Baskets, the inside should be lined with a thick layer of moss, or Selaginella Kraussiana, next to which a layer of coarse sacking must be placed, to prevent the soil from working through. Terra-cotta Baskets are very pretty, and are extensively employed in domestic rooms, but they should always have one or more holes at the bottom, to facilitate drainage. Rustic Baskets, of cork or wood, are also very suitable for floral arrangements; those composed of teak-wood are very generally used for orchids. The compost should be prepared according to the requirements of the plant or plants intended to be grown, which can be easily ascertained on reference to such plants in this work. The soil should not be allowed to get dry; in the event of this happening, however, a thorough soaking by immersion must be given. As a rule, attention should be given in the matter of watering every other day, and light syringing every morning and evening during the spring and summer months will be most beneficial. The Baskets should be examined every week, all dead or decaying leaves being removed, and any insects, which are so likely to get a foothold, destroyed. In arranging the subjects, the centre plant should be the tallest, the next outer ones shorter, and the marginal ones of a trailing or drooping habit, so that the whole may present a symmetrical, and at the same time a natural, appearance. Wickerwork Baskets are used for carrying or transferring plants, and are generally made 18in. wide by 20in. deep; they are extremely useful, and should be in every garden. Split wood and withes are largely employed in making Baskets. The Planter's Basket, described by Loudon as a flat, rectangular utensil of wickerwork or boards, partitioned into three or more parts, for the purpose of carrying with the gardener when about to plant or remove plants, is now, unfortunately, almost obsolete. One division is for the plants, another for those taken up, and a third for the tools to be made use of, and for any decayed parts of plants, stones, weeds, or other refuse which may be collected. By using this Basket, order, accuracy, and neatness are secured. The Sussex "Truck" Baskets, made of willow-wood, are very useful, being both light and durable. See also Measures.
BASSIA (named after Ferdinando Bassi, Curator of the Botanic Garden at Bologna). ORD. Sapotaceæ. Handsome lofty-growing lactescent stove trees, with axillary, solitary, or aggregate flowers, and quite entire, smooth, coriaceous leaves. They require stove heat, and a compost of peat and loam. Cuttings, taken from ripened wood, strike readily in sand, under a hand glass, in a strong moist heat.
B. butyracea (buttery). The Indian Butter Tree. fl., pedicels aggregate, and are, as well as the calyces, woolly. l. obovate, 8in. to 9in. long, and 4in. to 5in. broad, tomentose beneath. h. 30ft. to 70ft. Nepaul, 1823. (B. F. F. 35.)
B. latifolia (broad-leaved). The Mahwah Tree of Bengal. fl., corolla thick and fleshy; pedicels drooping, terminal. l. oblong or elliptic, smooth above, whitish beneath, 4in. to 8in. long, and 2in. to 4in. broad. h. 50ft. India, 1799. (B. F. S. 41.)
B. longifolia (long-leaved). fl., pedicels axillary, drooping, crowded round the ends of the branchlets. l. ovate-lanceolate, approximate at the tops of the branches, 6in. long, deciduous. h. 50ft. Malabar, 1811. (B. F. S. 42.)
BASS or BAST MATS. These are prepared, chiefly in Russia, from the inner bark of various Limes (Tilia), and are very largely used in this country by nurserymen for packing purposes. They are also extensively employed as coverings, being excellent preventatives of the effects of frost. They are beneficial as a covering for beds of early vegetables, to prevent radiation during the night. For tying purposes they are now greatly superseded by Raffia Grass. Archangel Mats are larger, and of better quality than the St. Petersburgh. Dunnage Mats are heavy, and generally used for covering, as they are much cheaper.
BASTARD ACACIA. See Robinia Pseudo-acacia.
BASTARD BALM. See Melittis.
BASTARD BOX. See Polygala chamæbuxus.
BASTARD CABBAGE-TREE. See Geoffroya.
BASTARD CHERRY. See Cerasus Pseudo-cerasus.
BASTARD CINNAMON. See Cinnamomum Cassia.