M E S 



M I C 



for dwarf, have the first shoots from the graft It belongs t« the class and order Monadel- 

 or bud headed down short in spring, if necessa- phia Pdyandna, and ranks ,n the natural 

 rv in order to force out a proper supply of hot- order of Guttijera. 



lom branches, which must be trained as other The characters are : that the calyx .8 a four- 

 dwarf fruit-trees, either for standard-dwarfs or leaved pen 

 espaliers. When for half or full standards, and 

 wrought low in the stock, the first shoot of 

 each should be trained for a stem, topping 

 afterwards at the proper height to 

 lateral shoots to form the head , 



"form the 

 in the stock, 



out 



when wrought high 



shoots may either be shortened or sunered to 

 grow, as may seem most proper, according to 

 the natural disposition of the leading shoot, in 

 respect to its furnishing lateral branches. Af- 

 ter this training for the first year or two, to 

 give the trees their first proper formation, there 

 ?u~,,i,i nnt Un 5iw further creneral shortening; of 



the first 



should not be any further general shortening 

 thebranches, practising it only occasionally to 

 particular shoots, to procure more wood, when 

 necessary, to fill vacancies, to reduce any irregu- 

 lar growth, or to cut off dead parts. 



In other respects the branches should be 

 principally left at full length, and the stand- 

 ards left to assume nearly their own natural 

 way of branching. See Pruning and Train- 

 ing. 



They are all hardy, succeeding in any com- 

 mon soil and situation. 



The first sort and varieties are cultivated as 



leaflets ovate, concave, 

 blunt, permanent ; the two outer smaller ones 

 opposite : the corolla has four petals, retuse, 

 waved : the stamina are numerous filaments, 

 force capillary, the length of the corolla, connate at 

 but the base into a pitcher: anthers ovate: the 

 pistillum is a roundish germ : style cylindric : 

 stigma thickish, concave : the pericarpium is a 

 roundish nut, acuminate, with four longitudinal 

 raised sutures : the seed single and roundish. 



The species is M. ferrea, Ferreous Indian 

 Mesua. 



In its native situation it is a tree with oppo- 

 site lanceolate leaves, five times as long as the 

 internodes, quite entire, the upper surface 

 smooth and green, the under glaucous and 

 smooth; on very short petioles : the flower in 

 each axil of the leaves sessile : the petal very 

 large and rounded : the germ within the calyx : 

 the style thick, the length of the stamens: 

 the stigma capitate. According to Rheede, it is 

 a very large tree, spreading like the lime, with 

 flowers the size and shape of the wild rose or 

 sweet brier, being much cultivated in Malabar 

 for the beauty of the flowers, which come out 



and bearing smooth 



there in July and August : 

 lit-trees, principally as standards, but some- green fruit in six years from the nut. It is a 

 times as espaliers for variety ; and are often native of the East Indies. _ 



introduced into the shrubbery plantations. All Culture.— This plant may be increased by 



the 



in 



the other species are proper for ornament seeds, layers, and cuttings, 

 in shrubbery or other plantations, where they The seeds should be sown m the spring, 

 effect a fine variety, by their different foliage pots of light earth, plunging them in a bark hot- 

 and flowers, as well as their fruit in autumn and bed in the stove. When the plants have at- 

 winttr, which remains long on the branches, tabled some growth, they should be planted in 

 They should be disposed— the deciduous kinds separate pots and replunged in the bark -bed, 

 principally in assemblage with others of that where they must be kept. 



sort, « d the ever-green kind also chiefly with 



those of their own sort, arranging each sort ac- 

 cording to iia height of growth ; but the last 



sort, being agreeably ornamental, both as an 



ever-green and in its numerous clusters of fine 



red berries in winter, should have a conspi- 

 cuous situation. From its being of a rather 



slender growth, it is however ,commonly 



trained against walls or the fronts of houses, for 



the support of its flexible branches, as well as to 



exhibit its berries more ornamentally. It may 



however be trained as a standard shrub, like 



the other sorts, in the open shrubbery ; in 



which case it should be generally trained with 



short single sterns, and permitted to branch out 



upwards into spreading heads. 



MESUA, a genus containing a plant of the 



exotic shrubby kind, for the hot-house. 



The layers should be made from the young 

 branches, and be laid down in the autuumoreariy 

 spring, being taken off when well rooted, and 

 planted in separate pots, haying the same ma- 

 nagement as the others. 



The cuttings should be taken from the young 

 branches and be planted in the summer, in pots 

 of light mould, and plunged in the bark-bed. 

 When they have stricken root, they should be 

 removed into separate pots, and be managed as 

 the others. 



They afford variety among other stove plants. 



MICHAUX1A, a genus containing a plant 

 of the herbaceous, flowering, exotic kind. 



It belongs to the class and order Odandria 

 Monogynia, and ranks in the natural order 

 of Campanacece. 



The characters are : that the calyx is a one- 



