1014 



MIGNONETTE 



-MILKWORT 



material with a little rough. stuff £rom the potting bench 

 and pot the plants firmly, leaving the space of an inch 

 at the top of the pot for water. Watering shoukl be 



done 

 By this ti 

 center sim 

 of the sid^ 

 The cent.- 

 where it \v 

 will form 



uitil the plants fill the pots with 



Lilts sliciuld lie 4 inches tall, and the 

 rmw )h' [lini'hed out to induce enough 

 1 f'lnii the foundation of the plants. 

 U produce 2 or 3 side shoots below 

 1. and with 6 or 7 bottom side shoots 

 if the plant. Rub off any other side 

 shoots as they appear. After the plants have grown to 

 a height of 6 or 7 inches they must be staked and tied ; 

 a stake in the center for the center shoot and one for 

 the side shoots will be sufficient. After the plants have 

 attained a height of 10 or 12 inches, and before the flower 

 heads begin to show, pinch the center out of all the 

 shoots with the finger and thumb at the same time so as 

 to induce thi' |il;iiit til tliiwri' :UI at mie time, for if pinched 

 two or tlinc wrck-. a|i;irt tin- llMwer heads will come 

 irregularU ami liir [ilani^ will net Imiksowell. As soon 

 as the HiittiT liiads ln-giii to show the plants should have 

 a little weak liipiid manure twice a week and as they 

 develop and the roots get crowded in the pots they will 

 require more feeding. Put about a bushel of sheep ma- 

 nure in a bag and drop it in a barrel of water for two or 

 three days before using. This makes a very good liquid 

 food for the plants; also chicken manure treated the 

 same way but used in lesser quantity — about a half a 

 bushel to 50 gallons of water will be about right. If the 

 plants have been carefully watered and attention paid 

 to slaking and training, the grower will he amply re- 

 warded with nice specimen plants having from 12 to 20 

 flower spikes to a plant. 



Seed-saving. — Plants wanted for seed should be care- 

 fully selected. Only the very best plants with clean, 

 healthy foliage and large bracts or flower heads, with the 

 florets set close together, are the ideal plants for seed. 

 If the plants are growing in a house or near other plants 

 that are not so good they should he covered with mos- 

 quito netting to prevent the bees from cross-fertilizing 

 them. After the heads have set, say from 20-25 pods, 

 the center should be pinched out, for if allowed to grow 

 and set more the seed will be of an inferior quality. 

 When the seed begins to turn brown in the seed-pods the 

 pods should be picked off and laid in an airy room for a 

 day or two on paper, so that none may be lost. After the 

 pods are dry, so that the seed will rub out clean, the seed 

 should be cleaned, put in a package and placed in tin 

 boxes to keep from mice, as these pests are very fond 

 °f '*• Robert McMillen. 



MIGNONETTE VINE. See Bonssingaultia. 



MIKANIA (Prof. .T. Ct. Mikan, of Prague, or his son 

 and sui-iTssor, .1. V. Jlikau. who collected in Brazil). 

 Ci'iiifK-iH.i . This iiii-luiU-s M. seandeiis. the Climbing 

 Heiupwi-ed. a common native weed, but a pretty one. It 

 has distinct foliage, the Ivs. being somewhat heart- 

 shaped or halberd-shaped, and long-acuminate. The fls. 

 are very small, numerous, pinkish, and borne in dense 

 clusters 1-2 in. across. These clusters, as in all the spe- 

 cies, are composed of many small heads, each containing 

 4 fls., surrounded by an involucre of 4 bracts. The genus 

 contains about 60 species, mostly found in the warmer 

 parts of America. Shrubs or herbs, the latter twining, 

 rarely erect: Ivs. opposite, usually stalked: heads spi- 

 cate, racemose, corymbose or pauicled : fls. mostly white 

 or yellowish. Nearest to Eupatorium, but the latter has 

 an indeflnite number of involucral bracts instead of 4, 

 and contains erect plants. 



scSndens, Willd. CLtMBiNa Hempweed. Described 



abo 



Mo 



ind.NewEna 



34. — Very rarely offered by dealers in native plants. 



Sinderi, Hort. Hothouse climbers, with variegated 

 foliage. Int. 1899 by Sander & Co., who say the Ivs. are 

 richly embellished with dark velvet-purple patches ; 

 ■veins of mature Ivs. white. The Ivs. are about 6 in. long, 

 6 in. wide, boldly toothed. 



M. violacea. ofTered by Pitcher & Manda in 1893, is little 



MILDEW. This name i-^ given to a group of fungoup 

 diseases which attack leaves, shoots, flowers and fruits. 

 The true or powdery ^Mildews (Erysiphece) appear as 

 a thin, white, powdery coating on the surface of the 

 plants. The disease is usually aciaiiiipatiied by dis- 

 tortion and dwarflng, and often death of the affected 

 parts. In some cases, however, as in the maple Mildew, 

 the affected areas of the leaves retain their chlorophyl 

 and remain green in the autumn long after the rest of 

 the leaf is dead and yellow. The mycelium is always 



superficial, fi 

 on the aft'i-ctt 

 haustoria, \vi 

 sorb nuiriiiii 

 organs of ati 

 propagatni 1 

 in suciMssi.ii 

 diseased sur 

 fungu 



111,- spots 



Tin 



IS ,1,1 



xteudi'd areas 

 . I,y 



Vlli.-h IM-Ilitialr llir ri IK ,if til. 



iii'iit f.ir the uiyi.eliuiu. and also serve as 

 tia.-liiih'iit. During the summer Mildews are 

 li\ I .illfd spores, many of which are cut off 

 111 iriiiii erect, simple branches all over the 

 rf ace. Other spores, by means of which the 

 ses through the winter, are produced in sacs 

 inclosed within hollow spherical receptacles, called peri- 

 thecia. These appear as minute black or dark brown 

 specks over the diseased area. They are produced in the 

 autumn, and remain on the fallen leaves ; but the spores 

 within them do not ripen until the following spring, 

 when they are liberated by the decay of the perithecia. 



In the United States, considerable injury is caused by 

 the following species : The rose Mildew, ^phivrntheca 

 pdnnosa, on roses under glass; JSrtjsiplw yratnittis on 

 wheat and other grasses; the vine Mildew, Uncinuta 

 spiralis, producingthepowdery Mildew of grapes; Podo- 

 sphfFfa Osjicitulhip on apples and pears; and Sphtero- 

 thecii ('.l^/l(./l/l/. the hop Mildew. The most successful 

 mode lit ' Iiaitini; the Mildews is by dusting with sul- 

 fur or s|iia\ 1111,' with Bordeaux mixture. Either of these 

 fungicides kills the mycelium and spores of the fungus. 



The downy Mildews or false Mildews belong to the 

 Peronosporese, a group of fungi widely separated from 

 tlie true Mildews. The mycelium is parasitic within the 

 tissues of the host, only the fruiting branches appear- 

 ing at the surface (see Fig. 879). The fruiting branches 

 have a characteristic form and method of ramification 

 for each genus of the group. The spores, when they 

 lodge on new host-plants, either produce an infecting 

 thread directly, or, in most cases, the contents of the spore 

 is discharged in the form of swarm-spores, which swim 

 about for a time and finally come to rest and produce 

 the infecting mycelium. Resting spores are produced 

 sexually in this group within the tissues of the host. 



This family contains about ten genera, of which the 

 following are most commonly known : Phijtophthora 

 infestans, the potato blight; Plasmoparu riticoln, the 

 downy Mildew of grapes; Bremia Lactuca, often causing 

 great damage to lettuce in forcing-houses; Pythium De- 

 baryaniim, causing damping-off of seedling cucumbers 

 and various other seedling plants; and Cystopus can- 

 didus, the common white rust of crucifers. 5lodes of 

 combatting these diseases are set forth for each specific 

 case in the experiment station literature of the various 

 states. See, ^Iso, Diseases, hein-rich HASSELBBmo. 



MILFOIL. See Achillea. 



MILIUM (ancient Latin name of Millet, which, how- 

 ever, belongs to a different genus). Oramina. Millet 

 Grass. Contains 5-6 species distributed through tem- 

 perate Europe and Asia, one of which is also found in 

 North America, and is occasionally cult, for ornament. 

 Spikelets 1-fld., in diffuse panicles. Empty glumes 

 awnless, the flowering glume coriaceous, as in Panicum. 

 Farmer's Bulletin, No. 101, issued by the U. S. Dept. 

 of Agric. is devoted to Millets (hut not to Milium). 



eiKlsain, Linn. A smooth perennial, 3-G ft. high: Ivs. 

 broad and thin: panicle 6-9 in. long. 



A. S. Hitchcock. 



MILE PEA. Galaciia. 



MILK VETCH. Astraijaltts. 



MILKWEED. AscUpias in general; A. Cornuti in 

 particular. 



MILKWORT. Polygala. 



