HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



133 



MID 



ers, which is said to be so strong that bees sel- 

 dom if ever alight on them. The tree is sacred 

 to Vishnu, and is therefore an object of super- 

 stitious regard on the part of the Hindoos, who 

 adorn their dark hair with the rich orange-col- 

 ored flowers. It has seldom been introduced into 

 the green-house, and where tried it has not 

 proved an acquisition. 



Midshipman's Butter. See Persea. 



Mignonette, livseda odnrata. This well-known 

 plant is generally treated as an annual, and 

 sown every year as such ; but it is, in fact, a 

 shrub, and if preserved carefully through the 

 winter, in two or three years its stem will be- 

 come quite woody. In this state it is called the 

 Tree Mignonette, and is supposed by many to 

 be a different species. It is a native of Bur- 

 bary, and grows wild on the sandy shore of Al- 

 giers. The name Mignonette, which is French 

 for "the little darling," is supposed to have 

 been given to it on account of its seeds having 

 been first sent to England from Paris. It is 

 rather singular, however, that it should be 

 known by a French name in England, while in 

 France and Germany it is called by its Latin 

 name of Reseda. Mignonetto should always be 

 sown in light, sandy soil, if possible ; as, when 

 grown in a rich loam, it loses its fragrance. 



^With a little management, it may be contrived 

 to have Mignonette in flower every month dur- 

 ing the year without the aid of a regular gar- 

 dener. In order that the plants may flower in 

 winter, the seed should bo sown in the open 

 border in July; or, if it bo more convenient, 

 the seeds may be sown in pots in that month, 

 placing the pots in any situation where they 

 will have abundance of light and air. In Sep- 

 tember the plants should be put in the pots in 

 which they are to flower, and only a sufficient 

 number left in each to make tho pots look full 

 without tho plants being so crowded as to occa- 

 sion them to be drawn up. This number must, 

 of course, vary according to the size of the pot; 

 but it should never exceed eight, or be less 

 than three. The pots should then be taken into 

 the house, and placed in any convenient situa- 

 tion in a room without a fire, till they have 

 formed their flower-buds, which will be the 

 latter end of October, when they should be 

 removed to a window in a room whero tho tem- 

 perature does not exceed 50 at night, when 

 they will throw out an abundance of branches, 

 and will continue flowering beautifully during 

 November, December, and January ; and, if they 

 are regularly watered every day, till the follow- 

 ing March. The seeds of tho plants which are to 

 come into flower in March to succeed them, 

 should bo sown in pots at the latter end of Au- 

 gust, and the pots may be placed in a spare bed- 

 room, or in any place safe from frost, where they 

 will have plenty of light, and can have air occa- 

 sionally. Early in November they should be 

 thinned out, so as to leave only six or eight plants 

 in a pot. When it is wished to obtain a plant of 

 Tree Mignonette, a healthy, vigorous plant of 

 Mignonetto sown in a pot in April should bo se- 

 lected, and the flower-bud i should bo taken off 

 as fast as they appear. In autumn all the lower 

 side-shoots should be cut off, so as to shape tho 

 plant into a miniature tree, and it should bo 

 transplanted into a larger pot, with fresh soil, 

 formed of turfy loam broken small. It should 

 then be removed to a green-house or warm 

 room, and by being regularly watered every 

 day, and kept tolerably warm, it will remain in 



MIL 



a growing state all the winter, and by spring its 

 stem will begin to appear woody. It should be 

 treated in the same manner the following year, 

 all the side branches being cut off as they ap- 

 pear, except those that are to form the head of 

 the tree; and by the third spring it will have 

 bark on its trunk, and be completely a shrub. 

 It may now be suffered to bloom, and its flowers 

 will continue to be produced every summer for 

 a great many years in succession. Mignonette 

 does best in a cool climate, our summers some- 

 times being too warm to grow it in perfection; 

 but for fall flowering nothing can surpass its 

 luxuriance, beauty, or fragrance. For this pur- 

 pose, sow the seed in July or early in August, 

 in a well-prepared bed of deep rich soil. It is 

 of the utmost importance that the seeds of Mig- 

 nonette, when sown in the hot months, should 

 be well firmed. Our plan is to sow in drills two 

 or three inches deep and eighteen inches apart. 

 After sowing the seed it is carefully and regu- 

 larly trodden down with the foot, and then 

 raked lengthwise of the rows to make the ground 

 level. In this way the seed will germinate in 

 the hottest or dryest weather, while it is almost 

 certain to fail if left loose. Thin the plants out 

 to six inches apart each way, and from the first 

 of September until quite cold weather there 

 will be a profusion of flowers. 



Mikania. Climbing Hempweed. Named after 

 Joseph Mikan, Professor of Botany at Prague. 

 Linn. Synrienesi/i-^qufdis. Nat. Ord. Asteracecn. 



A genus of hardy and half-hardy twining 

 plants, allied to Eupatorium. M. scandens, com- 

 mon from Long Island to Kentucky and south- 

 ward, is a perennial, with axillary clusters of 

 flesh-colored flowers. M. violacen, a tender 

 species with dark velvet-like foliage, is now 

 much used as a drooping plant for baskets, vases, 

 etc. Propagated by cuttings. 



Milla. Named after J. Mitta, a gardener to tho 

 Spanish Court. Linn. Hexandria-Monogynia. Nat. 

 Ord. Liliacea;. 



A genus with fleshy fibrous roots, frequently 

 miscallel bulb*. They ara chiefly natives of 

 Mexico, and grow freely in the open border, 

 producing white flowers, in pairs, on a slender 

 scape about one foot high. They arc increased 

 by division. Introduced in 1826. 



Milfoil. See Achillea. 



Milium. Millet Grass. 



Milk Tree. See Brosimum. 



Milkweed. See Asclepias and Euphorbia. 



Milkwort. See Polyijala. 



Milk Veitch. See Astragalus. 



Millet Grass. The common nruae of Jf//iKM. 



Miltonia. Named after the Earl tttzujittinin. Linn. 

 (fi/n<tiidri<i-M<iH<i<i[inia. Nat. Ord. Orclii- 



This small genus stands conspicuously prom- 

 inent, even in the magnificent order to whicli 

 it belongs, on account of the number and beauty 

 of its flowers. Nor are they at all difficult of 

 management, requiring only to be treated in the 

 manner recommended for Brassia, or Cattleya; 

 and when grown into a tolerably good speci- 

 men, nothing can exceed the grandeur of 3f. 

 ^H'rtnliUi.'i (a- .)/. < iiidldn, the large size- and deli- 

 cate white of the sepals and petals, contrasted 

 with the rich crimson marking of tho expansive 

 lip of the former, when seen in ana^quantity, 

 fully equal the most showy of tho order. Either 

 or both of the above should always bo included 

 in every collection of Orchids. The genus con- 

 sists of about a dozen species, all natives of Bra- 

 zil. Introduced in 1840. 



