MOT 



[ 550 ] 



MUL 



MOTHERWORT. Leono'tis. 



MOTHS of most kinds are the parents 

 ef caterpillars preying upon some plant 

 under the gardener's care, and should be 

 destroyed whenever discovered. 



MOTTLED UMBRE-MOTH. Geome'tra, 



MOULDINESS is the common term ap- 

 plied to that crop of fungi which appears 

 on moist, putrescent vegetable matters. 

 These fungi are Mucores> and are effectu- 

 ally destroyed whenever common salt 

 or sulphur can he applied. 



MOUNTAIN ASH. Py'rus aucupa'ria. 



MOUNTAIN EBONY. Bauhi'nin. 



MOUSE-EAR. Siera'cium stoloni'fenim. 



MOUSE THORN. Centan'reamyaca'ntha. 



MOWING is, next to digging, the most 

 laborious of the gardener's employments, 

 and requires much praeticej as well as 

 an extremely sharp scythe, before he 

 can attain to the art of shaving the lawn 

 or grass-plot smoothly and equally. A 

 mowing machine has been invented by 

 Mr. Budding and others* and is repre- 

 sented in this outline. It cuts, collects, 

 and rolls the grass at the same time, and 

 is better than the scythe for mossy lawns. 



Mowing is most easily performed whilst 

 the blades of grass are wet, as they then 

 cling to the scythe, and are consequently 

 erect against its cutting edge. The 

 operation, therefore, should be performed 

 early in the morning, before the dew has 

 evaporated, or whilst the grass is wet 

 from rain or artificial watering. See 

 SCYTHE. 



MUCU'NA. Cow-itch. (The Brazilian 

 name. Nat. ord., Leynminoug Plants 

 [Fabacese]. Linn., IT-'Diadslpkia 4-Zte- 

 candria. Allied to Erythrina.) 



The hairs on the seed*pods of M. pru'riens is 

 the Cow-itch. Stove climbers, with purple flowers, 

 which open in July. Cuttings of half-ripened 

 shoots in sandy soil, under glass, in heat ; rich, 

 sandy loam. Winter temp., 55; summer, 60 

 to 85. 

 M. alti'ssima (tallest). 50. Martinico. 1779. 



n'tro-purpu'rea (dark purple). 10. . Ind. 1820. 



pru'riens (common-stinging). 12. E, Ind. 



MUDAR PLANT. Calo'tropis giga'ntea. 



MUDDING, or PUDDLING, is clipping the 

 roots of trees, shrubs, and seedlings in a 

 thin mud or puddle, and retaining them 

 there until again planted, whenever they 

 are removed. It is one of the best aids 

 to success, and should be universally 

 adopted ; for it is a rule without exception, 

 that the less the roots of a plant are 

 injured,, and the moister they are kept 

 during its removal, the less does it suffer 

 by the transplanting. The best of all 

 muds for the purpose is formed of three 

 pounds of garden-soil, one ounce of salt, 

 eight ounces of soot, and one gallon of 

 water. 



MULBERRY. Mo'rus. 



MULCHING is placing mnlch, or long, 

 moist stable-litter, upon the surface of 

 the soil over the roots of newly-planted 

 trees and shrubs. The best mode is to 

 form a trench about six inches deep, to 

 put in the mulch, and cover it with the 

 earth. This prevents the mulch being 

 dried or scattered by the winds, and is 

 more neat than exposing it on the sur- 

 face. Mulching keeps the moisture froaa 

 evaporating, and prevents frost pene- 

 trating to the roots, straw being one of 

 .the worst conductors of heat. When 

 rapid growth is desirable, the mulch 

 should be kept on the surface, and re- 

 moved at times in bright sunshine, that 

 the soil may be heated ; for, if deeply 

 mulched, the leaves may be enjoying the 

 climate of India, and the roots be nearly 

 as cold as if in Siberia. 



MULE, or HYBRID, is a plant raised 

 from seed generated by parents of dis- 

 tinct species, and consequently unfertile. 

 See HYBRIDIZING. 



MULGE'DIUM. (Derivation not known. 

 Nat. ord., Composites [Asteracese]. Linn., 

 IQ-Syngencsia 2-8uperftua. Allied to Hie- 

 racium.) 



A hardy herbaceous and a good rock-plant. 

 Seeds and divisions in spring; dry, sandy soil. 

 Jtf. macrorlii'xum (large-rooted). |. Blue. Sep- 

 tember. Cashmere. 1844. 



MULLEIN. Verba's'cum. 



MU'LLERA. (Named after 0. F. Muller, 

 a Danish botanist. Nat. ord., Leyumi- 

 nous Plants [Fabacese]. Linn., 16-Mona- 

 delphiad-Decandria. Allied to Dalbergia.) 



Stove evergreen shrub. Cuttings of half-ripened 

 shoots in sand, under a glass, in heat ; peat and 

 loam. Winter temn,, 50 to 55; summer, 60 

 to 85. 



M. monilifo'rmis (necklace-formed-/>o<Wed). 6. 

 Yellow. Guiana. 1792, 



