MIGHONETTE. 201 



up the sides with one course of brick laid flatwise, 

 giving them a slight coating of cement to strengthen them. 



" Now we are ready to prepare our border, and this is 

 an operation in the cultivation of mignonette about 

 which a great deal might be said. I once read an article 

 written by a practical florist in a weekly paper about the 

 cultivation of flowers, in which he stated that ' most 

 flowers liked deep, rich soil ; there were some, however, 

 that thrived equally well in any soil ; ' and mignonette 

 was one of the plants he enumerated as among the latter 

 class. I have seen mignonette grown, and offered for 

 sale, under the latter conditions, but it was a very differ- 

 ent article from that grown in a well-prepared border. 

 I have seen roots that extended down by actual measure- 

 ment seventeen inches, and have no doubt that under 

 very favorable conditions they would root much deeper. 

 My advice, therefore, to those who would have fine mig- 

 nonette is to spare no pains in the preparation of the 

 bed. Enrich it thoroughly with plenty of well-rotted cow 

 manure one part in four is none too much to a depth of 

 not less than eighteen inches ; mix thoroughly and pul- 

 verize well. Of course the bed must be drained artifi- 

 cially, if the subsoil is such that the water will not pass 

 through freely. 



"Sow your seed directly in the bed, or put out your 

 plants from seed sown in pots, any time after August 15. 

 Be careful not to allow them to crowd each other too much. 

 I have at this writing, October 1, two houses, each one 

 hundred feet long and eleven feet wide, beds made 

 as before described, sown in mignonette, plants all thin- 

 ned out eight inches apart each way, and by mid-winter 

 very little of the soil in the border will be visible by reason 

 of the foliage of the plants. This distance, of course, only 

 applies to the large strong-growing varieties. The plants 

 of the common old variety might be left four by eight 

 inches, the latter being the distance between the rows. 



