MILDEW. 



202 



by the third spring it will have 

 bark on its tnink, and be com- 

 pletely a shrub. It may now be 

 suffered to flower, and its blossoms, 

 which viiU. be delightfully fragrant, 

 will continue to be produced every 

 summer, for a great many years in 

 succession. 



Many persons save theh- own seed 

 of the common Mignonette ; but it 

 is hardly worth while to do so, as it 

 is generally both good and cheap in 

 the seed-shops. 



Mildew. — Rose-trees and many 

 other plants are very apt to be 

 affected in autumn -wdth a white or 

 brownish appearance on the leaves, 

 which is sometimes called the blight, 

 but more properly rust or mUdew. 

 The cause of this appearance was 

 long unknown ; and some supposed 

 it to be produced by unhealthy wind, 

 and others that it was the work of 

 insects : it is now, however, satis- 

 factorily proved to be a parasitic 

 plant or Fungus growing on the 

 leaves, as Lichens and other Fungi 

 grow on the bark. 



The parasitic Fungi, known by 

 the general name of mildew, are of 

 three kinds ; viz. those that grow 

 on the surface of the leaf, those 

 which form under the epidermis or 

 outer skin, and those that attack 

 the root. The first kind may some- 

 times be removed by abundant 

 watering ; which not only gives 

 vigour to the plant, but actually 

 tends to loosen the hold the Fungus 

 has taken of the leaves ; but the 

 second kind can only be stopped 

 in its career by the removal and 

 burning of all the infected leaves ; 

 and the third generally occasions^" 

 the death of the plant. The dif- 

 ferent kinds of Uredo (from uro, to 

 bum or scorch), which look as 

 though the under side of the leaves 

 were covered over with a brown 

 powder, and the different kinds of 



u5)cidium which rise like pimples 

 over the leaves, and burst when 

 ripe, are the mostdestinictive. The 

 smut which attacks the cora crops 

 belongs to the first of these genera, 

 and the Berbeny mildew to the 

 last. The root mildew generally 

 attacks bulbs ; and when the 

 Crocus is cultivated for saffron, 

 sometimes the entire crop is thus 

 destroyed. ]\Iany remedies for mildew 

 have been recommended, but none 

 can be depended upon ; and the 

 best means of preventing its ap- 

 pearance seems to be keeping the 

 plants in a state of vigorouf growth ; 

 as it is found only on such plants as 

 do not appear to have had sufficient 

 strength to resist its attacks. 



Milfoil. — See Achille'a. 



MiLKVETCH. — See Astra'galtjs. 



Milkwort.— See Poly'gala. 



Mi'lla. — Asphodelece. — A Mex- 

 ican plant, vnih flowers of the most 

 brilliant and purest white, which 

 continue expanded day and night, 

 till they fade, instead of closing at 

 night, as is usual with plants of the 

 same famUy. They will grow in 

 any common soil, and only require a 

 slight protection from frost, such as 

 covering -ndth dead leaves, &c., 

 during winter. 



Milto'nia . — Orchidacece. — A 

 very beautiful epiphyte from Brazil, 

 with its flowers on erect seems, like 

 those of the Cattleya which this plant 

 somewhat resembles. Though an 

 epiphyte, it is generally grown in 

 England in a pot, in loam, mixed 

 with sand and nibbish, and it 

 requires the same treatment as 

 other orchidaceous epiphytal plants 

 Avhich will bear being grown in pots. 



Mimosa. — Leguminosce. — To this 

 genus belongs the Sensitive Plant, of 

 which there are three species, the 

 leaves of all of which shrink at the 

 touch ; M. pudlca is the Sensitive 

 Plant most cultivated in hothouses, 



