288 



RESEDACEjE. I. RESEDA. 



both fresh and dried. In various authors the plant has the 

 names of Dyers' -need, Yellow-need, Weld, Woud, JVoold, and 

 Wild Woad. The seeds are usually sown after barley is taken 

 off the ground in autumn, or it is very commonly sown with bar- 

 ley in the spring, but the first mode is the best, because the 

 plants make some progress the first year, and in the following 

 season they will be twice the size of those sown in spring. 

 After the ground has been well ploughed and harrowed the seeds 

 should be sown broad-cast, of which one gallon is sufficient for 

 an acre. Unless the ground is very poor it will not require any 

 dung. The best crops, however, will be the result of drilling 

 and cultivating the crop alone. The drills may be a foot apart, 

 and the plants 6 inches distance, in the rows. The plants should 

 be kept clear of weeds by hoeing. When seeds are required a 

 small portion should be left standing for this purpose, and the 

 plants should be pulled as the seeds ripen. The whole crop 

 may be cleared off before the time of sowing wheat, which is the 

 best crop to follow Dyers'-noold. The crop is taken by pulling 

 the entire plant ; some pull it when in flower, others pull it ear- 

 lier, but the last appears to be the best. In the execution of the 

 work, the plants are drawn up by the roots in small handfuls, and 

 set up to dry, after being tied with one of the stalks ; sometimes, 

 however, they become sufficiently dry without being set up, by 

 turning. These, after they have been completely dried, are tied 

 up into bundles and sold by the name of Weld-cord. The de- 

 mand for it is sometimes very little, while at others it is so great 

 as to raise the price to a high degree. The herb is sometimes 

 gathered green and treated like Woad or Indigo, but in general 

 the dried herb is used by the dyers in a state of decoction. The 

 chief disease of Weld is the mildew, to which it is very liable 

 when young, and this is one reason that it is often sown with 

 other crops. 



Dyers'- Weed. Fl. Jun. Aug. Britain. PI. 1 to 3 feet. 



9 R. CRISPA'TA (Link. enum. 2. p. 8.) leaves lanceolate, en- 

 tire, waved, with 2-glands at the base. . H. Native of 

 Spain. R. lanceolata, Lag. Flowers yellow, similar to those of 

 R. Luteola. 



CurledAeaved Dyers'- Weed. Fl. Ju. Aug. Clt. 1 820. PI. 1 ft. 



10 R. VIRE'SCENS (Horn. hort. hafn. 2. p. 501.) leaves li- 

 near-lanceolate, smooth, quite entire; capsules 4-toothed. Q. 

 H. Native of Spain. Flowers greenish-yellow, in long slender 

 spikes. 



Greenish Dyers'- Weed. Fl. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1820. PI. 1 foot. 



11 R. CHINE'NSIS (Lour. fl. cochin, p. 299.) leaves broad- 

 lanceolate, quite entire, smooth, calyx 5-parted ; capsules 3- 

 toothed. . H. Native of the south of China, in the suburbs 

 of Canton. Flowers yellow, in spikes. This species and the 

 following is very like the R. Luteola, and like it affords a yellow 

 dye. 



Chinese Dyers'-Weed. Fl. Ju. Jul. Clt. 1819. PI. 1 foot. 



12 R. COCHIN-CHINE'NSIS (Lour. fl. cochin, p. 299.) leaves 

 broad-lanceolate, 5-nerved, quite entire ; calyx 5-parted ; cap- 

 sules 3-toothed. 0. H. Native of Cochin-china. Flowers 

 trigynous, yellowish, in spikes. Petals jagged. Plant slender. 



Cochin-china Dyers'-Weed. Fl. Ju. Jul. PI. 1 foot. 



$. 2. Leaves entire and trifid on the same plant. Segments of 

 the petals inserted on the back of the clams. Torus much dilated 

 on one side. 



13 R. MEDITERRA'NEA (Lin. syst. 448.) leaves lanceolate, 

 entire, and trifid ; calyx 6-parted, larger than the petals. 0. H. 

 Native of the north of Africa, Palestine, &c. Jacq. icon. rar. t. 

 475. Lindl. coll. t. 22. R. tetragyna, Forsk. descr. 90. Flowers 

 with white petals, the 2 superior ones are 3-parted, the two la- 

 teral ones 2-parted ; the two lowest ones linear. Capsules 3- 



horned. Both leaves and stems are scabrous ; the uppermost 

 cauline leaves trifid. 



Mediterranean Mignonette. Fl. June, Oct. Clt. 1791. PI. 

 1 foot. 



14 R. ODORA'TA (Lin. spec. 646.) leaves lanceolate, bluntish, 

 entire or trifid ; calyx 6-parted, equal in length to the petals, 

 which are finely cleft into many club-shaped divisions ; the two 

 lowest simple; capsules 3-toothed. . H. Native of the 

 north of Africa, Egypt, &c. Mill. fig. t. 217. Curt. bot. mag. 

 t. 29. Plant diffuse, with a few hairs on the stems. Flowers 

 with yellowish- white petals and saffron anthers, disposed in loose 

 racemes. The two upper petals and the two lateral ones are finely 

 fringed, the two lower ones are very narrow. The luxury of the 

 pleasure garden, says Curtis, is greatly heightened by the de- 

 lightful odour which this plant diffuses ; and as it grows more 

 readily in pots, its fragrance can be conveyed into the house. 



Var. ft, frutescens (Ker. bot. reg. 227.) this plant does not 

 appear to differ from the common Mignonette, unless that the 

 stems are shrubby, but it is known that if the common Migno- 

 nette were kept as a green-house plant, and trained up in the 

 same way, it would also become shrubby. 



The Mignonette is a well known and universal favorite. 

 The flowers are highly odoriferous, and there are very few to 

 whom this odour is offensive. The plant in pots is in great 

 demand in London for rooms and placing in balconies, and forms 

 for these purposes an extensive article of culture among florists 

 and market-gardeners. The seeds are either sown in pots, or 

 transplanted into pots, 4 or 6 plants to a pot 4 inches in diame- 

 ter. " To obtain plants for flowering from December to Febru- 

 ary, a sowing should be made in July, in the open ground, and 

 the plants potted in September. The crop for March, April, and 

 May, should be sown in pots not later than the 25th of August ; 

 the plants from this sowing will not suffer from exposure to rain 

 whilst they are young ; they must, however, be protected from 

 early frosts, like the winter-crop ; they are to be thinned in 

 November, leaving not more than 8 or 1 plants in a pot ; and 

 at the same time the pots should be sunk 3 or 4 inches in some 

 old tan or coal-ashes, and should be covered with a frame, which 

 it is best to place fronting the west, for then the lights may be 

 left open in the evening, to catch the sun whenever it sets clear. 

 The third, or spring-crop, should be sown in pots, not later than 

 the 25th of February. These must be placed in a frame, on 

 a gentle heat ; and as the heat declines, the pots must be let 

 down three or four inches into the dung-bed, which will keep 

 the roots moist, and prevent their leaves turning brown, from 

 the heat of the sun in April and May. The plants thus ob- 

 tained will be in perfection by the end of May, and be ready to 

 succeed those raised by the autumnal sowing." (Rishon. hort. 

 trans. 2. p. 375.) 



The Tree-Mignonette should be propagated from seeds sown 

 in spring ; it may also be increased by cuttings, which strike root 

 readily. The young plants should be potted singly into small 

 pots, and brought forward by heat on a gentle hot-bed, but they 

 will grow well without artificial heat. As they advance they 

 should be tied to a stick, taking care to prevent the growth of 

 smaller side shoots by pinching them off, but allowing the leaves 

 of the main stem to remain on for a time. When they have at- 

 tained the height of ten inches, or more, according to the fancy 

 of the cultivator, the shoots must be suffered to extend them- 

 selves from the top, but must be occasionally stopped at the 

 ends, to force them to form a bushy head, which by the autumn 

 will be eight or nine inches in diameter, and covered with 

 bloom. Whilst the plants are attaining the proper size, they 

 should be shifted progressively into larger pots, and may be ulti- 

 mately left in those of about six inches in diameter at the top. 

 (Sabine, hort. trans. 3. p. 181 ) 



