AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORTICULTURE. 



375 



Mitriostig-ma continued. 



few-flowered, branched cymes ; calyx tube ovoid ; limb 

 five-parted ; corolla narrowly campanulate, with a short 

 tube, a glabrous or villous throat, and a five-lobed 

 rotundate limb. Leaves opposite, petiolate, membrana- 

 ceous, elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate. For culture of 

 M. axillare, nee Gardenia. 



M. axillare (axillary-flowered).* fl. white, very fragrant, single, 

 axillary. Spring. I. opposite, somewhat coriaceous, elliptical, 

 lanceolate, dark green, h. 5ft. Natal. A compact spreading 

 species. See Fig. 581. (B. M. 4987, under name of Gardenia 

 citriodara.) 



MNEMOSILLA. A synonym of Hypecoum (which 

 see). 



MOCKER NUT. See Carya tomentosa. 



MODECCA (the East Indian name of one of the 

 species). ORD. Passifiorece. A genus comprising about 

 twenty-five species of stove evergreen climbing shrubs, 

 with the general habit of Bryonia; they are found in 

 Asia, Africa, and tropical Australia. Flowers unisexual ; 

 peduncles axillary, branched. Leaves entire, palmately 

 lobed, or pinnatifid. The species have no horticultural 

 value. 



MODIOLA (from modiolus, the nave of a wheel; 

 referring to the formation of the seed vessel). OED. 

 Malvaceae. A genus containing several species (which 

 are, in all probability, only varieties of one) of hardy, 

 or nearly hardy, creeping or trailing herbs. Flowers 

 on axillary, solitary, rarely twin, one-flowered, slender 

 peduncles. Leaves usually five-lobed, doubly serrate. 

 M. multifida, a North American plant, of no horticultural 

 merit, is in cultivation in botanic gardens. 

 M. geranioides (Geranium-like). A synonym of Xalvastrum 



Gilliesii. 



M (EH NT A. A synonym of Gazania (which see). 



MCEHRINOIA (named after Paul Henry Gerard 

 Moehring, a German physician, author of " Hortus Pro- 

 prius," 1736). ORD. Caryophyllece. . A small genus 

 (included, by Bentham and Hooker, under Arenaria) of 

 pretty, hardy, herbaceous perennials, allied to Arenaria, 

 but differing in the seeds, which have a strophiole at the 

 hilum. Flowers pentamerous or tetramerous. For cul- 

 ture, see Arenaria. 



M. mnscosa (mossy).* 4. white, small, axillary, solitary. Sum- 

 mer. I. linear, connate, h. 3in. to 4m. Europe, 1775. 



MOHRIA (named after Daniel Mohr, a German 

 botanist, who died in 1808). ORD. Filices. A monotypic 

 genus. The species is a sweet-scented greenhouse fern, 

 with the habit of Cheilanthes. Capsules sessile, placed 

 on the back of the leafy frond near the edge. M. cafrorum 

 and its variety require a compost of peat and sand, to 

 which should be added small lumps of sandstone. They 

 thrive in a cool greenhouse, and constitute pretty sub- 

 jects for the Wardian case, if plenty of room is allowed. 

 For general culture, see Ferns. 



ML caffrornm (Kaffir).* sti. tufted, 3in. to 4in. long, slightly scaly. 

 fronds 6in. to 18in. long, 2in. to 4in. broad, tripinnatifld ; pinnae 

 close, lanceolate-oblong, cut down to a narrowly-winged rachis 

 into oblong pinnules, which are pinnatifld and deeply toothed in 

 the barren frond, less divided in the fertile one. Cape of Good 

 Hope, &c., 1842. SYN. if. thurifragra. 



M. c. achilleaefolia (Achillea-leaved). A finely-cut variety, with 

 the fronds almost quadripinnatifid. It is not so robust as the 

 type, and is mu.'h rarer in cultivation. 

 M. thurilragra (frankincense). A synonym of M. ca/rorum. 



MOLE (Talpa Europcea). This animal is too uni- 

 versally known to call for any detailed description of 

 its appearance. Its structure is remarkable, because of 

 the numerous adaptations that it presents to fit the 

 animal for burrowing, and for rapid movement through 

 the tunnels it has made a few inches below the surface 

 of the soil. The front part of the body is much 

 stouter than the rear. The fore legs are very powerful, 

 and have the bones curiously modified to support the 



Mole continued. 



very strong muscles of the limb, which serves the 

 part of a digging instrument, and to throw the loosened 

 earth backwards. The hand, or fore paw, is made 

 broader by an additional bone along the inner side. 

 The skin is strong, and the fur is close and velvety, 

 and lies smoothly in whatever direction it is stroked. 

 The eyes are so small as to be practically useless to 

 the animals, which are, however, possessed of acute 

 hearing and smell. The teeth prove them to be 

 carnivorous, and observation proves that Moles feed 

 on insects, chiefly as larvae, and on earthworms. Occa- 

 sionally a little vegetable matter may be swallowed 

 along with this food. The home of the Mole is usually 

 situated in some well-protected place, e.g., under a 

 large stone or the root of a tree ; and there are usually 

 several passages diverging from it, into any one of 

 which the Mole may retreat for shelter when in danger. 

 The female makes a nest of dried grass, or other herbage, 

 in a specially-constructed chamber, and in it she brings 

 forth four or five naked young ones. It is probable that 

 Moles do more good than harm when they confine their 

 operations to the fields ; but in gardens they do much 

 damage in flower borders, by cutting the roots of the 

 flowers ; and their earth-heaps render lawns very un- 

 sightly. It is, therefore, necessary to remove them from 

 gardens whenever they find their way in, and this is best 

 done by the use of traps set in their burrows or runs. 

 As the animals are very wary, it is needful to take 

 special precautions against the smell of one's hands re- 

 maining about the traps. Where a molecatcher's ser- 

 vices can be obtained, it will probably be found advis- 

 able to employ them if it is necessary to rid a garden 

 of Moles. 



MOLE CRICKET (Gryllotalpa vulgaris). This in- 

 sect belongs to the family GryllidcB, of the order Ortho- 

 ptera, but is so different in its whole appearance from 

 any other of our native insects, that there can be no 

 difficulty in recognising it from the accompanying wood- 



Pio. 582. MOLE CRICKET. 



cut (Fig. 582). Its colour is smoky-brown above, and 

 yellowish-red below, with a velvety gloss on the surface. 

 The sexes are much alike, but the females have the abdomen 

 large, the sixth ring being broader than the others, while 

 in the male the sixth ring is the narrowest. They reach 

 a length of between lin. and 2in. The popular name 

 of " Mole Cricket " is derived from the resemblance in 

 form of the front pair of legs to those of a mole, the 

 legs in each being broad, flattened, very strong, and so 

 placed as to form very efficient instruments for digging 

 burrows, and for throwing the earth backwards. The 

 form of the body also in both is suited to permit easy 

 movement along the burrows. The insect prefers light, 

 ! sandy, or cultivated soils, and is, therefore, partial to 

 I gardens, and avoids stiff clays. It occurs throughout 

 ! Southern and Central Europe, and is common in many 

 ; places in the South of Britain, but does not extend to 

 I the North. It remains so hidden in its burrows that its 

 presence in a locality may hardly be suspected, even where 

 common when looked for. In digging its burrows, it cuts 

 the roots that it encounters, causing the plants to wither 

 without evident cause. The female makes a nest under- 

 ground, and in it lays from 200 to 400 eggs ; when the 

 larvae emerge, she watches over them till their first 



