574 MuriLENBEckiA. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. MuscARi. 



the one exception being, perhaps, the 

 American Red Mulberry (M. rubra), 

 a native of the northern United States. 

 MUHLENBECKIA. These graceful 

 free-growing evergreen trailers are 

 useful as coverings for trellis-work or 

 rocks or stumps. The kinds in culti- 

 vation are natives of New Zealand ; 

 the best known, M. complexa, is a 

 very rapid grower, with long wiry and 

 entangled branches, small leaves, and 

 rather inconspicuous white waxy 

 flowers. M. adpressa is larger and 

 has heart-shaped leaves, and long 

 racemes of whitish flowers. M. varia 



and placed on shelves in houses with 

 a temperature of not less than 45. 

 Here they are laid on their sides, 

 their leaves being kept close together, 

 I and remain throughout the winter, 

 with only a mat thrown over the roots. 

 In February the roots are examined, 

 ! planted in trenches, and subjected to 

 i an increased temperature, when new 

 ! roots soon form and begin to grow 

 afresh. In June, after being gradually 

 i hardened, the leaves are tied up, the 

 plants are lifted with as good balls 

 as possible, and placed in their sum- 

 mer quarters. M. Ensete is the kind 



Musa Ensete. 



is a small kind, with fiddle-shaped 

 leaves, and is very distinct from either 

 of the above. 



Mulgedium (Blue Thistle}. 

 TUCA. 



See LAC- 



HI U S A (Banana). - These fine 

 tropical plants are seen in our parks 

 during summer, and less frequently in 

 private gardens. In the London parks, 

 Musas, especially the smaller ones, are 

 often plunged in the ground in their 

 pots during the summer, but the larger 

 ones are planted out. When they are 

 lifted in autumn, those in pots are 

 stored in houses, but the larger ones 

 are lifted with small balls of earth 



generally used in the open air, and 



in form is one of the noblest plants. 



Any one with a warm house may grow 



it, and when planted out in June, in 



| deep, warm, rich soil, and a sheltered 



j position, it will grow well during 



summer ; such, at least, is our experi- 



i ence in London and the home counties, 



but such tender plants must ever have 



a limited use in our country. M. 



Basjoo, a graceful Japanese species 



j that has some pretensions to hardi- 



! ness, has been tried as a plant for the 



open, but it is not hardy enough for 



our winters except in the south. 



MUSGARI (Grape Hyacinth). A 

 very pretty little family, mostly from 



