Ain. to 
324 
THE DICTIONARY OF 
GARDENING, 
MAN ORCHIS. This is a name usually assigned in 
books to Aceras anthropophora, which is also called Green 
Man, or Green Man Orchis. 
MANTISIA (from mantis, an insect, to which the 
flowers have been compared). ORD. Scitaminew. — A 
small genus (two species) of stove herbaceous perennials, 
natives of the Hast Indies. Flowers pale violet, with a 
yellow lip; thyrse loose; scape leafless. Leaves usually 
narrow, with a long twisted point. M. saltatoria is 
the species usually seen in our stoves. It thrives in 
a compost of sandy peat and fibry loam; thorough 
drainage is most essential. Propagated by divisions, made 
just as growth commences. 
M. saltatoria (dancing).* Dancing, or Opera Girls. fl., petal 
3 large, the rest of the flower popie laciniæ dissimilar, 
he upper one rounded in a kind of blunt spur, two- lower 
somewhat ear-shaped ; bracts large, petal-like. July. l. broad- 
lanceolate, much elongated at the point, with petioles en- 
ely sheathing the stem. k. lft. East Indies, 1 . M. 
.) 
(from manus, the hand; in allusion to 
the divisions of the corolla). Syn. Nemia. ORD. Scrophu- 
larinew. A genus comprising about twenty-five species 
of glabrous or pubescent greenhouse herbs, or rarely 
sub-shrubs, confined to South Africa. Flowers racemose ; 
racemes sometimes simple and naked, or minutely brac- 
teate, sometimes compound, composed of many-flowered 
peduncles; corolla-tube elongated, somewhat erect at top. 
Leaves often at the base of the stem, approximate or 
rosulate ; stem ones few, opposite, or upper alternate; 
floral ones small, often bract-like. For culture, see 
M. rubra (red).“ fl. golden-yellow, zin. > 
sein e Ape to, e e e een 
5 wed a 
at the base, villous. h. lft. to ait. 1180. sonal ia — 
M. tomentosa (tomentose). É orange ; raceme many-flowered, 
. 
branched, villous. A iff, 1744, Perennial, (B. M. 32) 
MANURES. The use of Manures is to supply nutri- 
tive matter for encouraging and sustaining plant growth; 
any substance, therefore, added to the soil which has 
the power, either directly or indirectly, of increasing its 
fertility, may be considered as a Manure. It may con- 
tribute directly, by supplying what is requisite, or indi- 
rectly, by its action on other substances that might be 
already present, but not in a suitable state for being 
absorbed. Growth in plants cannot take place without 
the main constituent parts of which they are composed 
being extracted from the earth; and as the production 
of crops annually necessitates the withdrawal of an 
enormous supply of certain elements from the soil, it 
is evident that, were they not restored by some means, 
exhaustion would, sooner or later, take place. Manures 
contain, in a concentrated form, the elements requisite 
for the sustenance of plants, some being much stronger 
than others, according to the proportion of powerful 
constituents, combined either in a natural or an artificial 
vegetable 
in eria rm of gas or air. The great object, there- 
antirely consumed in forming its soft and 
organised parts.” Substances of animal or vegetable 
origin must, therefore, undergo a process of decompo- 
Manures—continued. 
sition before they can become absorbed for the nourish- 
ment of plants. This may partly take place before 
they are applied to the soil, or, in some cases, it may 
be entirely effected afterwards. It is not intended here 
to describe the nature of different changes which take 
place chemically, in consequence of the exposure of 
various substances to the air, or from their being placed 
in contact with each other. Changes must and do take 
place naturally; for practical purposes, it matters not. so 
much how they are caused, as how far they succeed in 
accomplishing their intended purpose in promoting fer- 
tility in the soil to which they are applied. All Manures 
may be, and usually are, divided into two classes. Those 
composed of vegetable or animal substances of any de- 
scription are termed Organic; and others, which are of 
mineral origin, are termed Inorganic. 
A few of the different kinds most in use are briefly 
enumerated below. An excellent plan of applying strong 
Manures is to mix a proportion with, in many cases, 
several times its bulk of soil or garden refuse, and so 
form a fertilising compost, which may be applied to 
almost any garden crop with excellent results. Com- 
posts thus prepared become useful in two ways: the 
powerful properties of the Manure, when intermixed 
with soil, become partially absorbed by the latter, and 
are rendered less harmful; and the decomposition of all 
the vegetable matter is also at the same time hastened. 
I. Organic Manures. 
Blood. This is extremely powerful as a Manure. It 
is rich in nitrogen; but the chemical composition varies 
somewhat, according to the different animals from which 
it is obtained. Blood is most safely applied to land 
after being dried, or when mixed with earthy substances 
to form a compost. 
Bones. Both for field and garden crops, as well as for 
fruit and other trees, grown in pots or in borders, bones 
are extensively employed as Manure. When used in 
merely a crushed state, their decomposition is usually 
slow, consequently, the fertilising properties are lasting. 
If reduced to a powder, and applied, the results are 
observable in a much shorter time. Bones may be dis- 
solved by throwing them into a compact heap, moistening, 
and then covering them with earth. In this condition, 
they soon ferment and crumble, and when thus reduced 
they may be applied to the land. Crushed bones may 
be advantageously used with nearly an equal amount 
of ashes, or with one-third their weight of gypsum. 
Bone Manure is specially beneficial to crops of Turnips. 
Farmyard Manure. By this term reference is made 
to Manure collected from various sources on a farm. 
The excrements of different animals possess special 
fertilising properties, and may be kept separate for 
particular purposes. For ordinary uses, Farmyard 
Manures are best mixed together, as then a larger 
number of different constituents are included in the 
whole, and are consequently available as plant food. 
The liquid, as well as the solid, portions, should be 
retained for affording moisture, to cause a slight fer- 
mentation, and also for its own enriching properties. 
Violent heating by fermentation should not be allowed, 
but partial decomposition of such Manure before adding 
it to the soil will render the parts more soluble, and in 
a better state for being readily absorbed. The value 
of good Farmyard Manure to all crops, and the method 
of applying it to land is so well known, that no farther 
erence is necessary. 
Fish. Fish are sometimes used as Manure. Their 
Oposition is very rapid, and the quantity applied 
to land must be limited, on account of its strength. 
Fish are more safely used as Manure if mixed in a 
compost of soil and refuse, so that the powerful fer- 
tilising properties may be evenly distributed throughout. 
