milt'onia. 



184 



MI MULUS. 



in its career by the removal and 

 burning of all the infected leaves ; 

 and the third generally occasions the 

 death of the plant. The different 

 kinds of Uredo (from uro, to burn or 

 scorch), -which looks as though the 

 under side of the leaves were covered 

 over -with a brown powder ; and the 

 different kinds of iEcidium which 

 rise like pimples over the leaves, 

 and burst when ripe, are the most 

 destructive. The smut which attacks 

 the corn crops belongs to the first of 

 these genera, and the barberry mil- 

 dew to the last. The root mildew 

 generally attacks bulbs ; and when 

 the crocus is cultivated for saffron, 

 sometimes the entire crop is thus de- 

 stroyed. Many remedies for mildew 

 have been recommended, but none 

 can be depended on ; and the best 

 means of preventing its appearance, 

 seems to be keeping the plants in a 

 state of vigorous growth ; as it is ge- 

 nerally found only on such plants as 

 do not appear to have had sufficient 

 strength to resist its attacks. 

 Milfoil. — See Achille n a. 

 Milkvetch. — See Astra'galus. 

 Milkwort. — See Poly^galaj 

 Mi'lla. — Asphodelece. — A Mexi- 

 can plant, with flowers of the most 

 brilliant and purest white, which 

 continue expanded day and night, 

 till they fade ; instead of closing at 

 night, as is usual with plants of the 

 same family. They will grow in any 

 common soil, and only require a 

 slight protection from frost, such as 

 covering with dead leaves &c. during 

 winter. 



Milt v onia. — Orchidacece. — A 

 very beautiful epiphyte from Brazil, 

 with its flowers on erect stems, like 

 those of the Cattleya, which this 

 plant somewhat resembles. Though 

 an epiphyte, it is generally grown in 

 England, in a pot, in loam mixed with 

 sand and rubbish, and it requires the 

 same treatment as other orchideous 



epiphytal plants, which will bear 

 being grown in pots. 



Mim\>sa. — Leguminosce — To 

 this genus belongs the Sensitive plant, 

 of which there may be said to be 

 three species, the leaves of all of 

 which shrink to the touch, viz., M. 

 sensittva, a native of Brazil, growing 

 about one foot high, with pale ball- 

 like pink flowers, M. pudica, a na- 

 tive of Brazil, growing about one 

 foot high with white flowers, and M. 

 casta, a native of the East Indies, 

 growing about two feet high, with 

 pale yellow flowers. M. pudica is 

 the sensitive plant most culti- 

 vated in green-houses ; though M.- 

 sensiliva is also very generally cul- 

 tivated; the former however is a 

 shrub, and the latter an annual or 

 biennial. Both may be raised on a 

 hotbed in spring, with the tender 

 annuals ; and either kept in pots 

 throughout the summer, or turned 

 out into the open border about the 

 end of May. Many species formerly 

 included under the genus Mimosa, 

 are now removed to Acacia ; the 

 principal distinction between the ge- 

 nera, being that Mimosa has a jointed 

 seed-pod, which Acacia has not. 

 Several other genera have also been 

 formed out of Mimosa. Some of 

 the kinds are stove plants; others 

 thrive in a green-house ; and M. 

 marginata Dec, the M. prostrata 

 of the nurseries, is sufficiently hardy 

 to stand ordinary winters against a 

 conservative wall. They should be 

 all grown in a mixture of loam and 

 peat ; and they are propagated by 

 seeds or cuttings. 



Mi'mulus. — Scrophularinece. — 

 The Monkey-flower. The first Mi- 

 mulus introduced into Britain was 

 M. Hngens in the time of Miller ; 

 and M.glutinbsus, a shrubby species 

 with orange flowers, was the second. 

 Since then numerous species have 

 have been introduced from North 



