TO THE FLOWER GARDEN. 189 



MELALEUCxl. [Mjrtaceae.] Showy evergreen green- 

 house shrubs, remarkable for the beauty of their anther- 

 threads, which form the conspicuous part of their blossoms. 

 They are propagated by cuttings of the firm young shoots in 

 sand under a bell-glass, and should be grown in a mixture 

 of loam, peat, and sand, at first using small pots, and shifting 

 them on iuto larger ones as they grow. The shoots must be 

 kept freely topped while the plants are youug, to produce a 

 bushy compact growth. Metrosideros, Calothamnus, and Cal- 

 listemon are genera closely related to this. 



MELASTOMA. [MelastomaceEe.] Fine evergreen shrubs, 

 mostly vigorous in habit, generally stove plants, but in some 

 cases requiring the extra heat of a hothouse only for a few 

 months in the spring. They may therefore be grown in a 

 frame, and transferred to the greenhouse after its usual 

 occupants are placed elsewhere, in the same way as tender 

 annuals are generally accommodated. They strike freely 

 from cuttings, and only require to be shifted on into larger 

 pots as they get full of roots. Cuttings taken very early in 

 spring might be bloomed during summer. In winter they 

 require a dryish atmosphere, something warmer than a green- 

 house. The soil should be equal parts of good loam and peat 

 earth, with plenty of sand. j\I. corymhosa and M. Malaha- 

 thrica, flower rose ; and 3/. gigantea, pink. 



MELIA. Bread Tree. [Meliaceae.] A genus of hand- 

 some shrubby plants, of which some will succeed in a green- 

 house or against a wall in the open garden. Soil, loam and 

 peat. Increased by seeds, or by cuttings of the ripened 

 shoots under glass. 



MELIANTHUS. Honey Flower. [Zygophyllacege.] 

 Greenhouse or half-hardy evergreens, with striking foliage. 

 Rich light loamy soil. Increased by suckers or by cut- 

 tings of the young shoots. These plants succeed against 

 wall in the climate of London — spring up from the roots 

 annually. 



MELICHRUS. [Epacridace£e.] Greenhouse evergreen 

 shrubs. Soil, sandy peat. Increased by cuttings as Epacris. 



MELISSA. Balm. [Lamiaceae.] Hardy herbaceous 

 perennials. Common soil. Increased by division. 



MELITTIS. Bastard Balm. [Lamiaceae.] Hardy herba- 



