80 THE FAEM. 



loose Strife, — Herbaceous plants witt yellow flowers, chiefly per- 

 ennials, and of which one species, L. nummularia, money-wort, is a 

 well-known evergreen trailer, which, when kept in a pot of moist soil, 

 will produce shoots of two or three feet in length, which hang down on 

 every side. L. verticillatum is an upright-growing plant, with abun- 

 dance of showy, yellow flowers, which looks very well as a border- 

 flower in a large garden. They will grow in any common garden soil. 



Lupin, — A species of pea or tare, and frequently cultivated in the 

 fields, and eaten in soup and otherwise by the Italians, and in the South 

 of France. It grows, however, upon a stiff stem, and is upright, and 

 branches out, like a tree in miniature. There is a great variety of sorts 

 as to color of flower as well as to size of plant. The yellow dwarf is 

 the best, and it smells very sweet. It is an annual." 



Magnolia. — One of the finest of the laurel tribe. It can be raised 

 from seed, or from layers. A very fine shrub indeed. There are sev- 

 eral varieties of it. It will thrive in a loamy soil, rather rich ; but it 

 will grow still better in peat, and it requires no attention but training 

 the branches, and nailing them against the wall. It produces its large 

 flowers, which are from six inches to a foot in diameter when fully .ex- 

 panded, from August to October. M. g. prcecox is a comparatively rare 

 variety, with broader leaves than M. g. exoniensis, and still larger 

 flowers, and they appear in July and sometimes in June. In purchas- 

 ing both species in the nurseries, care should be taken to select plants 

 which have been raised from layers ; as seedlings, which are now some- 

 times imported from France, are often ten or fifteen years before they 

 come into flower ; whereas the others will flower the flrst or second 

 year. 



Mountain Ash. — Pyrus aucuparia. — A well-known tree, very orna- 

 mental in shrubberies for the abundance of -red berries with which it is 

 covered every autumn. It is quite hardy, and will grow in any soil and 

 situation. 



Mignonette, — An annual that bears abundance of seed. The plant 

 and the flowers do not surpass those of the most contemptible weed ; 

 but the flower has a very sweet smell. It may, if you have a green- 

 house, be had at any time of the year. The plants may stand at four 

 or five inches asunder ; but, if they stand thicker, the bloom is inferior, 

 and does not last so long. 



Morning Star, — This is a fine shrub. It can be raised from seed, or 

 from layers. 



Myrtle. — ^The myrtle is a native of climates where it is never cold. 

 It will not endure even November all out, in Long Island. To have it, 

 therefore, it must be housed in winter. It may be raised from seed, 

 cuttings, slips or layers. The leaf of the myrtle has a fine smell ; and, 

 when the tree is in bloom, it is pretty. But, it is a gloomy looking 

 shrub. One geranium is worth a thousand myrtles. The broad-leaved 

 myrtle is the best in every respect, and especially because it is easily 

 brought to blow. 



Narcissus. — A bulbous-rooted plant, managed precisely like the hya- 

 cinth, which see. It blows early, is very beautiful, and has a dehghtful 

 smell. Nothing is easier than the propagation and management of 



