i88i.] MIGNONETTE- CULTURE. 159 



the pit until the nights commence being cold — towards the end of 

 September or October. Some cultivators place the plants outside dur- 

 ing summer, but I have been more successful by keeping them in the 

 frame. When outside, they are frequently exposed to such extremes 

 — either saturated with rain, or at other times too dry ; and the hot 

 dry air playing about them is prejudicial to their proper development. 

 The plants, when removed from the cold frame, must be placed in a 

 light airy position in a house where frost can be excluded. The pick- 

 ing off the flowers must be discontinued, according to the time the 

 plants are wanted to bloom, and be allowed time so as to develop them 

 under cool treatment. When brought into bloom in heat, the flowers 

 are not nearly so fragrant; and when the atmosphere is rather close in 

 winter, the Mignonette soon grows weakly, and the flowers produced 

 are small A temperature of 45° is ample until the flowers are formed, 

 when a little more heat could be given, if circumstances compel them 

 to be pushed forward faster to maintain the supply. A succession can 

 be maintained for a long time by trained plants, if care is exercised in 

 removing the flowers from some plants later than others. Those that 

 produce their flowers early should, when flowering is over, be taken 

 care of, and again tied closely down, when they will produce flowers 

 again during February. It is a good plan to make a second sowing 

 about the end of May or early in June for training on umbrella trellises, 

 which is allowed to come forward gradually, and housed during winter 

 in a cool vinery, or any light, suitable place. These plants, under real 

 cool treatment, will cover their trellises by the month of February, and 

 produce magnificent spikes of flower after that date. This second sow- 

 ing for trained plants is scarcely necessary if plants only are required 

 for conservatory decoration and cutting. But when trained plants are 

 required for room decoration, many of them are considerably injured, 

 and never recover sufficiently to be worth keeping for their second supply 

 of flowers, consequently a second sowing has to be resorted to to main- 

 tain the supply of trained plants. The supply here has to be main- 

 tained from the beginning of November until the first of May, and for 

 cutting only after that date until it can be gathered outside. Quan- 

 tities are grown in 6-inch pots, and the first sowing is made about the 

 middle of July, and treated as described for trained plants, — only six or 

 seven plants are allowed to remain in each pot and never stopped. 

 The seed is sown in the 6-inch pot. The variety is Miles's Hybrid 

 Spiral, which commences to flower in November, and continues for 

 some time. When the first flowers are removed, the plants are kept, 

 and soon produce many more from the side shoots, which, although not 

 quite so fine, are useful for cutting. These are succeeded by other 

 batches sown about the middle of August, again early in September, and 

 towards the end of the month. These supply flowers as long as they 

 are required. As mentioned above, the common garden variety is used 

 for the last two sowings. The last sowing is kept through the winter 



