1839] 



F A R JNl E R S ' REGISTER 



559 



The misnonetle is a native oC Egypt, and was 

 iiitroJuceLJ into Britain about the year 1754; Im' it 

 has become so generally diffused, both lliere and 

 in France, thai it has become in a degree natu- 

 ralized. It is not long yince, that we read, in some 

 Ibreif^n periodical, an account ol' its growing upon 

 the walls ol" an old ruined chateau, in the neigh- 

 borhood ol" Paris, springing out from every crevice 

 where the seed could obtain a lodging place, and 

 literally covering the walls with ifs odorous blos- 

 soms. In the Pans Marche aux Flears thousands 

 of pots o!" it are annually sold, and the window ol 

 the peasant, as well as the saloon of the opulent, 

 is decorated through the season with pots of this 

 favorite plant. 



The mignonette is of remarkably simple growth 

 in the open ground, and when once the seeds are 

 planted, it will retain possession ofthe soil, spring- 

 ing up ("rora self-sown seeds, and flowering earfy 

 and abundantly every season. Successive sowings 

 in May and July will afford a constant supply of 

 neat and compact plaats, filled with flowers. In 

 rich moist soil, the plants grow luxuriantly and 

 spread out widely, but have a very scanty display 

 of flowers: it is in a dry and rather hard soil that 

 they show themselves to the best advantage; for 

 in such a situation ihey bloom early, and, without 

 spreading out tlieir recumbent branches too far, are, 

 at the same lime, overloaded with blossoms. Tliose 

 cultivators, therefore, wlio would have the plants 

 in the greatest perlijction. should select the driest 

 spot in the garden, and sow the seeds thickly. 

 But it is for the production of good plants for flow- 

 ering in the winter, that we commenced these re- 

 marks. 



To bloom the mignonette in good perfec'ioi; from 

 the decay of the out-door plants in the autumn, un- 

 til the return of the flowers in the spring, it is ne- 

 cessary that tliere should be two successive sow- 

 ings, viz. one in August, lt)r bloomingabout Clirist- 

 mas, anil another in September, lor blooming from 

 February till May. 



Select lor the purpose as many No. 2 pots as 

 there are plants wanted; fill lliem with a compost 

 mixed in about the following proportions, viz. one 

 half good light loam, one quarter leaf mould, and 

 one quarter coarse sand. First give the pots a 

 good drainage, lor the health of the plants depends 

 much on this; then fill them up to within hall an 

 inch of the rim, giving tlie pot a slight rap to 

 settle the surface, sow the seed thickly, and cover 

 it with about an eighth of an inch of tiie same 

 compost. A frame (an old cucumber bed will an- 

 swer,) should then be ready to receive the pots; set 

 them so that they will not be far from the glass, 

 and give a gentle watering; put on thesaslies, and 

 shade with a mat in the middle of the day, if the 

 sun is two powerful, until tlie plants are well up. 

 Give water cautiously and in small quantities, 

 as the plants will damp ofl if they are kept too 

 wet. Thin out the plants, leaving only three or 

 lour in a pot. 



In the month of November or December, accor- 

 ding to the mildness of the reason, the plants 

 should be removed to the green-house or parlor: 

 in the former place they shouKl be placed on a shelf 

 within two feet ofthe glass, and if nearer they will 

 thrive better. Water should be given sparmuly, 

 and when the plants iret up an inch or two, the 

 tops of each should be pincheil out in order to make 

 them branch well. Tliey will now grow slowly, 



and early in January will come into bloom. In 

 the parlor they should be set as near the window 

 sash as possible, and in the moot airy part of the 

 room. 



When the plants have done blooming in the 

 spring, they may be lurntd out into the border, 

 where they will fhrowout new l)ranches, and make 

 good plants lor bloom all the summer. We tried 

 this method last spring, and at this moment the 

 plants are now belbre us, flowering as profusely as 

 seedlings of this year. When ihey are turned out, 

 they sliouM Ijb cut down nearly to the soil. 



The only requisites to be oliserved, in pot cul- 

 ture, are a good drainage, light soil, and careful 

 watcriuir. 



From tlie Genesee farmer. 



Mr. Tucker — In the Monlbly Genesee Farmer 

 for Auirust, I find an article on the subject of bees, 

 from Doctor Henry Spencer, of" Starkey, whose 

 physioloirical and scientific attainments, justly 

 entitle any remarks on the above subject, from his 

 pen, to f"avor and reirard; still, he has to some ex- 

 tent, as 1 conceive, fallen into the same error which 

 he endeavors to correct in others. His remark 

 that we should not attempt to give advice toothers, 

 where only one or two isolated cases have afford- 

 ed us opportunities for observation, is very just. 



He condemns the large hive recommended by L. 

 N. of Windsor, Ohio, on the ground, as he al- 

 leLjes, of having made numerous experiments of 

 the kind himselt", all of \v'hich proved failures. 



If he will examine personally the bee-houses in 

 use among the farmers oi Chenango, Broome, and 

 Cortland counties, which are no other than large 

 bee-hives, or houses built of brick, wood, or stone, 

 from SIX to twelve feet square — in the upper part 

 of which, a swarm of bees is placed on rods, cros- 

 sing each other in'various directions — and witness 

 their progress in the multiplication of numbers, and 

 of consequence a proportionate increase of honey, 

 his prejudice against large hives will probably be 

 diminished. I am well aware, as are those who 

 use the large hives, that the bees do not increase 

 in number^;, nor in ihe accumulation of lioney, as 

 fiist alter two or three years, as they would if" treat- 

 ed in the usual way with a multiplicity of small 

 hives or boxes; but it is a great lax upon the time 

 of the farmer to be compelled to leave his work 

 during the swarming season, (which to hirn is 

 usually a very important one,) and perhaps a hand 

 or two besides, sometimes several times a day, to 

 secure the new swarms as they come out. Where- 

 as, in the large hives or bee-houses, the bees 

 continue to labor for years, as the writer of this 

 has had the pleasure of witnessing, without any 

 trouble to tiie owner — who goes at any season of 

 the year and selects such quality of honey as he 

 chooses; and when done in the season of flowers, 

 which is the time usually selected, the bees im- 

 mediately set to work, with renewed industry to 

 supply the loss. And it is found that by frequent- 

 ly removmir i)ortions of the honey, the bees work 

 as industriously as they do in smaller hives. The 

 bees are not permitted to go out and in through 

 holes or notdies cut for that purpose, as is usually 

 ihe case with small hives; but lubes are inserted 

 into the ends or sides of the building near its top, 



