246 



NEW ENGLAND FAE]VIER. 



May 



ing a soil of peat, sand and loam. Keep it 

 moist but not too wet. Give liquid manure 

 occasionally. 



MiGxoXETTE. — This is a French name, 

 meaning little darling ; but the French them- 

 selves call the plant by its botanical name. Re- 

 seda. It is a native of Egypt and Barbary. 

 In France, as well as in England, it is culti- 

 vated in boxes for the window seats and bal- 

 conies ; but with us it is usually confined to 

 the garden. It is, however, well worthy of 

 house-culture, and may be added to winter 

 flowers by setting apart a few plants from the 

 garden, cutting off their flower buds when 

 they appear, and transplanting them in the au- 

 tumn to pots filled with sandy loam ; still it is 

 better lo plant the seed in a pot especially for 

 winter. This should be done in September, — 

 just scatter the seed on the top of the loam, 

 and then sift more of the soil upon it, — and 

 keep it in a shady place till it is an inch high ; 

 then give it sun and more water. In October 

 bring it to the kitchen, where it will be warm 

 night and day. Let it have the full sunshine, 

 and when flower buds appear carry it to the 

 floAver-stand. 



One plant may be made to grow into a tall 

 shrub, by taking off the buds as fast as they 

 appear through the first season, and then trim- 

 ming away the branches so as to form it like a 

 tree. It should be taken in with house-plants, 

 and kept warm and well- watered, through the 

 winter. The second summer it should receive 

 the same treatment again, but by the third 

 summer it will have acquired woody back, and 

 in all respects be a complete shrub. Then it 

 may be allowed to bloom, and for many years 

 it will bear, every summer, an abundance of 

 very fragrant flowers. No doubt by skilful 

 management the plant might be made to do the 

 same for winter. 



INIixiuiXTS. — The name is derived from the 

 Greek, and signifies an ape. The flower-seeds 

 resemble a monkey''s face, hence the plant is 

 sometimes called monkey-flower. It is a 

 showy plant, of easy culture, brought from 

 South America — some species from Mexico. 

 One, M. luteus, is a culinary plant in Peru. 

 It is raised from cuttings, in a soil of peat and 

 loam, which should be watered proiiisely — 

 enough to keep the saucer full. But the pot 

 should be deeply drained with pebbles, and 

 the water should be emptied from the saucer 

 every day. 



Money Plant. — This plant belongs to the 

 Loose-strife family ; and they were so named 

 by the ancients because they erroneously sup- 

 posed that their flowers quieted restive oxen 

 by being placed upon the yoke. This species 

 is of trailing habit and looks pretty at a win- 

 dow. Fill a small pot — a conch-shell is more 

 tasteful — with rich garden soil and set the slips 

 securely. Keep it in the shade till they begin 

 to grow, giving it jjlenty of Avater. Then 

 hang it in the sunshine and it will soon be 

 studded with bright yellow blossoms ; but it 

 will not bloom away from the sun, and it will 

 die unless kept constantly damp. It is a na- 

 tive of England — growing abundantly in the 

 meadows. 



The Myrtle derives its name from a Greek 

 word meaning perfume. It is a native of Afri- 

 ca and Asia, as also of southern Europe. 

 "The myrtle groves of the south," have fur- 

 nished the poets with many a theme. The an- 

 cients paid great attention to odorous shrubs, 

 hence the myrtle became an object of high re- 

 gard among them, and in the rich climate of 

 Greece, which strengthens the perfume of 

 plants it grew to great perfection. Virgil tell 

 us that myrtle-wood was used for making im- 

 plements of war on account of its hardness ; 

 and the Portuguese now consider it the hardest 

 wood that grows. In the estimation of the 

 Arabs it stands very high also. They say that 

 Adam fell down from Paradise with three 

 things: the myrtle — which is the chief of sweet- 

 scented things in the world ; an car of wheat — 

 which is the chief of all kinds of food in the 

 world ; and pressed dates — which are the chief 

 of the fruits of the world. 



The ancient Romans dedlcat.ed the myrtle 

 to Venus, the goddess of beauty ; they steeped 

 its leaves in their wine to improve its flavor, 

 and to add to its invigorating properties ; they 

 used the berries in medicine ; and they wove 

 garlands of it for the head of their chief mag- 

 istrates, and for the brows of the dead. This 

 last practice was adopted by the eai ly Chris- 

 tians ; and though it was finally prohibited, on 

 account of its heathen origin, the myrtle, as a 

 religious decoration has never been entirely 

 set aside. In the Madeira Islands, where myr- 

 tle trees are very abundant, the churches are 

 adorned at festivals with its leaves and 

 branches ; and they are also borne in proces- 

 sions in Catholic countries. In Australia the 



