Culture of the Mignonette. I79 



I feel no doubt that much of the disappomtment and dis- 

 satisfaction experienced by buyers of new varieties of the dahlia, 

 arising from these so rarely answering the expectations formed 

 of them, is the result of the system of propagating from cuttings. 

 A good seedUng is raised: the grower is naturally anxious to 

 make the most he possibly can of it ; he therefore plunges the 

 root in heat, and strikes every cutting he can force it to throw out. 

 The young plants are consequently weak and unhealthy, rarely 

 throw out a good flower during the whole season, and are, pro- 

 bably discarded, as undeserving of further notice. My first plant 

 of Brewer's Rival King was a cutting from a root, which had 

 been much worked, and, consequently, did not show a good 

 flower during the season. The next year, I grew it from tubers, 

 and also from cuttings : the latter always produced imperfect 

 flowers, but the former beautifully perfect ones. With many 

 other varieties, I have found the same difference between plants 

 raised from cuttings and those from tubers. 



I would therefore recommend, in order to secure a good 

 and satisfactory bloom, that the roots be laid, in March, in a 

 damp warm place, such as a forcing-house, gentle hot-bed, or 

 even a cellar; and that, when the buds show themselves, each 

 root be divided into as many pieces as may be required, re- 

 taining a bud to each piece ; and that they be then planted 

 separately, in 48-sized pots. The after-treatment is the same 

 as for plants raised from cuttings. 



Brixton, Feb. 8. 1838. 



Art. V. On the Culture of the Mignonette. By James Cuthill. 



Mignonette is considered a very simple plant to grow, and 

 so it is in fashion. We generally see it during winter ; but 

 a celebrated grower of forced flowers for Covent Garden told 

 me that he never had but one really good crop of mignonette, 

 and by it he made a good sum of money. After four winters' 

 sowing, without the least failure, I consider my system esta- 

 blished ; and by it I have had, without the least variation, forced 

 mignonette in flower by Christmas, and as strong as border 

 mignonette. On the 20th of August, I sowed 100 pots of 32's, 

 filled with the following compost : half sandy loam, the other 

 half made up with leaf mould, and road sand, not sifted, but very 

 dry when used, and pressed into the pots up to the brim. When 

 the seeds are sown, a little of the compost is sifted over them. 

 The pots are then put into a pit or frame, and set very near 

 the glass. The lights are kept off at all times, except during 



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