MOWIKG, 



20: 



MUSCARI. 



of agitation, every leaf trembling as 

 thougli it were shaken by some in- 

 visible hand. 



Mowing is an operation performed 

 witli the scythe, and in ornamental 

 gardening it is used for the purpose 

 of keeping the grass quite short and 

 smooth. It is the most laborious 

 operation which falls to the lot of 

 the working gardener, and in large 

 places there are generally a set of 

 labourers, who are not gardeners, 

 who are kept on purpose for it. 

 A substitute for mowing with the 

 scythe has lately been introduced in 

 the form of a mowing machine, 

 which requires far less skill and 

 exertion than the scythe, and an- 

 swers very well where the surface 

 of the soil to be mowed is perfectly 

 smooth and firm, the grass of even 

 quality, and the machine only used 

 in dry weather. It is particularly 

 adapted for amateurs, affording an 

 excellent exercise to the arms and 

 every part of the body : but it is 

 proper to observe that many gar- 

 deners are prejudiced against it. 

 ^Yhere a lawn is varied by numerous 

 small beds or single trees or bushes, 

 the scythe is required, in addition to 

 the machine, for mowing up close 

 to the branches or stems of the 

 plants ; but where an amateur mows 

 his own lawn with a machine, a 

 better instrument than the scythe 

 for the purpose mentioned, is a pair 

 of common hedge-shears, with which 

 the gi-ass may be clipped as short 

 as it can be mown. When a lawn 

 is newly formed, and the soil is rich, 

 it will require to be mown every 

 eight or ten days for the first and 

 second summers ; but afterwards, 

 when the soil becomes exhausted, 

 and the grass grows with less vigour, 

 once a fortnight for the three sum- 

 mer months will suffice, and once 

 every three weeks or a month for 

 the autumn. 



Mucu^NA. — Leguminbsce. — Cow 

 Itch. — M. pruriens is a stove plant i 

 with large drooping racemes of very 

 beautiful dark-purple pea-flowers. 

 The legumes or seed pods are 

 covered with long brittle hairs, 

 which cause an intolerable itching 

 if applied to the skin. The species 

 is a native of the West Indies, but 

 other kinds are found in the East 

 Indies, where the pods are skinned 

 and eaten, cooked like kidney beans. 

 The seeds, which are large, round, 

 and flat, with a scar running all 

 round them, are sometimes called 

 asses'' eyes. 



Mulching is seldom used in 

 flower-gardens, though it may be 

 applied advantageously to Camellias 

 and Magnolias, and any other half 

 tender shrubs. It consists in laying 

 a quantity of straw, or litter round 

 the stem of the plant, so as to cover 

 the whole of the roots during winter, 

 and either removing it or forking it 

 into the ground in spring. 



Mullein. — See Verba'scum. 



Mu'sA. — Musacece. — The Plan- 

 tain, or Banana. — Stove plants, 

 groAvn generally for their fruit, but 

 very ornamental from their large 

 leaves and curious flowers. Most 

 of the species require a great deal 

 of room, as they will neither flower 

 nor fruit till they attain a large size. 

 They should be gro"«Ti in a rich loam 

 kept moist, and they are increased 

 by suckers. The new kind, Musa 

 Carendishii, flowers when of a much 

 smaller size than any of the other 

 kinds. 



MusCA^Ri. — Asphodelece. — The 

 Grape Hyacinth. — Bulbous-rooted 

 plants, that only require planting 

 in any common garden-soil, where 

 they may remain several years, 

 flowering every year in succession, 

 without any care being necessary in 

 taking them up, &c. The Starch 

 Hyacinth [M. racemostcm) takes its 



