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1576. B. s-suffruticósa.
B. B. 5. 3 suffruticosa Mill. Dict. No, 3. B. hiimìlis
Dod. Pempt. 782.; B. s. nàna N. Du Ham.
Í. p. 83.; antl our j%. 1376. ; Buis naìn, Buis
à Bordares, Buis d’Artois, Buis de Hollande,
petit Buis, Fr. ; zwerch Buchsbaum, Ger. —
Dwarf. Leaves small, obovate. This is the
kind usually cultivated for edgings in European
gardens,
a B. s. 4 myrtifdlia Lam. Encyc. — Dwarf. Leaves
small, oblong, narrowish. A pretty little plant ;
generally quite low, but, under favourable circumstances,
growing to a considerable size.
In a wild state, the box seldom exceeds the height of 12 or 15 feet in Britain
; but in Turkey and Asia Minor trees of it have been found as high as
25 ft. The thickness of the trunk is very considerable in proportion to its
height, and, in full-grown trees, varies from 6 in. to 8 in, in diameter. The tree
will bear the knife patiently, and is therefore, and from the closeness of its
habit of growth, well adapted for clipped hedges, and all kinds of verdant architecture
and statuary. It grows slowly, rarely making shoots of more than
6 or 8 inches annually. But the tree is of great longevity ; and so hardy,
that it is almost the only evergreen, exclusive of the Coniferae, that will stand
in the open air, without protection, in the gardens of Paris, Berlin, and Vienna.
The wood of tbe box is remarkably heavy ; weighing, when newly cut,
80 lb. 7 oz. per cubic foot, and, when perfectly dry, 681b. 12 oz. and 7 gr. It
is the only European wood that will sink in water : it is yellow, very hard,
and susceptible of a fine polish. The wood was formerly much used in England
in cabinet-making and inlaying, as it still is in France ; and, also, in both
countries, for musical and mathematical instruments, combs, and various articles
of turnery. The principal use of the boxwood, however, at present, is for
wood-engraving; ancl for this purpose it is an important article of commerce.
The different kinds of box tree are propagated by seeds, cuttings, and layers.
When the seeds are to be sown, they should be gathered the moment the capsules
appear ready to open, and sown immediately in light rich earth, well
drained. Cuttings of from 4 in. to 6 in. in length should be put in, in autumn,
in a sandy soil, and a shaded situation, and in a year they will be fit to transplant
into nursery lines. Layers may be made either in the spring or autumn,
and either of the young or old wood. The dwarf box used for edgings is
propagated by being taken up, divided, and
replanted. Box edgings are best planted
early in spring, because the frost in winter
is apt to destroy those leaves which have
been cut in trimming the plants. Box
edgings and hedges may be clipped at almost
any season, exc'ept midwinter. Some
;ardeners prefer trimming box edgings in /
une, just when the plants have nearly
completed their year’s shoots ; because they
will afterwards make shoots o f | in. or 1 in.
in length, or, at all events, protrude a few leaves, and thus, in a week or two,
conceal all appearance of the use of the shears. When this practice is
followed, it is necessary to go over the edgings or hedges in July, in order to
cut neatly off with the knife any shoots that may have been protruded too far ;
taking care not to cut the leaves.
t 2. B. balea 'ric a Willd. The Balearic Box.
Idenification. Willd. Arb., 50., Sp. PI., 4. p. 337. ; ? Lam. Encyc., 1. p. 505.
B. s. var. gigantèaN. Du Ham. 1. j . 82. ; Minorca B o x ; Buis de Minorquc, Buis de
ga,
Ju
1377. D. sempervìrens.
Mahon, Fr. ; Balearischer Buchsbaum, Ger. ; Bossolo gentile, Ital.
Engravings. N. Du Ham., pl. 23. f. 1. ; and our figs. 1378. and 1379.
free. Chnr., f r . Disk of leaf oblong ; footstalk glabrous. Ambers arrow-
shaped, linear. (Wil/d.) An evergreen tree; in England a large shrub.
Minorca, Sardinia, Corsica, and Turkey, on rocky surfaces. Height 80 ft.
In England 15 ft. to 20 ft. Introduced in 1780. Flowers yellowish green ;
July. Fruit greenish ; ripe in October.
A very handsome spedes, with leaves three times as
large as those of £ . sempervìrens, and a straight smooth
trunk. The leaves, when the plant is fully exposed to the
air, are of a much paler green than those of the common
box; but, when they are in the shade, they are of an
intensely deep green. The wood is of a brighter yellow
than that of the common
box, and, being of a coarser
grain, it is inferior to it for
engraving on. It is imported
from Constantinople
in large quantities.
The plant is propagated
by cuttings, which, if placed
in sandy soil under glass,
or in heat, generally strike
1.378. B. Iwleárica. 1379. B. baleárica
root in about two months after being taken off. Cuttings will also succeed, if
treated like those of the common box.
O rder LXV. ARTOCAHLPEÆ.
O r d . C h a r . Floiuers unisexual, disposed in heads or catkins; perianth
usually divided, but sometimes tubular and entire. Stamens solitary or
several. Ovarium free, 1—2-celled. orthotropous. S ty le ]. Stigma
bifid. Fruit a sorosis. Seeds solitary. Albumen thin. Radicle superior.
{G. Don.)
Leaves simple, alternate, stipulate or exstipulate, deciduous ; lobed, serrated
ov entire. Flowers^ axillary, obscure.—Trees, deciduous, chiefly of
the middle size ; natives of Europe, Asia, and North America. The genera
in British gardens are thus contradistinguished :—
Afo'RUS Tonrn. Flowers monoecious. Calyx 4-sepaled. Stamens 4. Fruit
a sorosis.
B r o u s s o n e 't7 .) 4 L’Hérit. Flowers dioecious. Calyx 4-partcd. Stamens 4.
Stigmas tapering. Fruit a sorosis.
M a c l u 'r . 4 Nutt. Flowers dioecious. Calyx 4-j)arted. Stamens 4. Fruit
a sorosis.
Fi'cus Tourn. Flowers polygamous. Calyx 5-cleft. Stamens 3. Stigmas
2. Fruit a sycon.
Bo'rv>4 Willd. Flowers dioecious. Calyx 4-cleft. Stamens 2—3. Stigmas
capitate. Fruit pulpy.
G enus I.
AfO'RDS Tourn. T h e M u l b e u r y T r e e . Lin. Syst. Monoe'cia Tetrandria.
Identification. Tourn. ; Willd. Sp. PL, 4. p. 308.
Synonymes. Milrier, Fr. ; Maulbeere, Ger. ; Moro, Ital.
uerivalion. ^ Several derivations have been given for the word 3/ôrus ; some suppose it to be taken
from the Greek word morea, or moron, signifying a m ulberry or blackberry ; others derive it from
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