206 



MOVIXG PLANT. 



distinct, and the colours clear and 

 well contrasted. 



Moth. — Moths are distinguished 

 from butterflies by flying at night 

 instead of during the day ; and by 

 their antennce, which are pointed, 

 and sometimes feathery, instead of 

 terminating in a knob like those of 

 the butterflies. Moths are more 

 diflacult to entrap in their perfect 

 state than butterflies, as they are 

 rarely seen by day ; but a diligent 

 search should be made for their eggs, 

 and their caterpillars should be de- 

 stroyed as soon as they are hatched 

 if possible, while they are quite 

 small. 



Mould. — Thoroughly decomposed 

 leaves or putrescent manure, mixed 

 with sand or other light soil, is 

 called mould, which is chiefly distin- 

 guished from soils by its containing 

 but a small portion of earthy matter; 

 hence we have leaf-mould, composed 

 chiefly of rotten leaves ; dung-movild, 

 of dung reduced to a dry powdery 

 matter ; and heath-mould, consis- 

 ting of the black vegetable soil 

 found on the surface of heaths, and 

 always more or less mixed with 

 sand. The two first kinds of mould 

 are used for gi-owing plants which in 

 cultivation are considerably removed 

 from a state of nature, such as 

 Pelargoniums, China Roses, Fuchsias, 

 Balsams, Petunias, and a great 

 many others ; and the heath-mould 

 is used in the culture of Heaths 

 and of Ericace^, and more or less in 

 most New Holland and Cape shrubs 

 and bulbs. In general, all plants 

 whatever, from the Oak to the Moss, 

 will grow in heath-mould alone, and 

 therefore it is a particularly useful 

 soil in which to raise seedlings ; 

 and in this respect it differs mate- 

 rially from leaf- mould and dung- 

 mould, in which they will not grow. 

 Garden-mould is composed of de- 

 cayed vegetables and manure mixed 



with the finer part of the soil, 

 thoroughly pulverised by repeated 

 digging, raking, and hoeing. 



Mountain Ash. — Pyrus aucic- 

 parla. — A well known tree, very 

 ornamental in shrubberies for the 

 abundance of red berries with which 

 it is covered every autumn. It is 

 quite hardy, and will grow in any 

 soil and situation. 



Mouse. — Mice are sometimes 

 troublesome in gardens in country 

 places, particularly where there are 

 many bulbs planted, as they eat the 

 solid bulbs or corms. To prevent 

 their ravages chopped furze is some- 

 times buried with the bulbs, or the 

 clippings of thorn hedges or rose 

 briars are laid over the bed . 



MouTAN. — The Tree Peony is 

 generally called the ]\routan, or 

 Botan, in China ; and several new 

 and splendid kinds have been intro- 

 duced by Mr. Fortune since the year 

 1846. Some of these kinds are a 

 pure white, others scarlet, others 

 salmon colour, and others purple of 

 various shades. One was reported 

 to be yellow, but it proves to be 

 only straw colour of a very faint 

 tint. All the kinds are very orna- 

 mental ; and some of them in their 

 native country, Japan, acquire a 

 woody stem eight or ten feet high 

 in a single season. 



Moving Plant. — Desmodiuni 

 gyrans, a native of the East Indies, 

 which requires a stove in Great 

 Britain. It has pea flowers not 

 remarkable for their beauty, and 

 it derives its name of Moving Plant 

 from the singular motion of its 

 leaves, which, when the sun is 

 shining full upon them, begin to 

 turn and quiver in a most extra- 

 ordinary manner. Sometimes only 

 one or two leaves will move slowly 

 up and down, as though each turned 

 on a pivot, but at other times the 

 whole tree appears in a violent state 



