MOWING. 



188 



MUTISIA. 



hardy, and will grow in any soil and 

 situation. 



MouseThorn. See Ruscus. 



Moutan. — The tree Peony. See 

 PoeoNiA. 



Mountain Ebony See Bau- 



HINIA. 



Mouset \iL.~Myosurus minimus. 



Mouse. — Mice are sometimes trou- 

 blesome in gardens in country places, 

 particularly where there are many 

 bulbs planted, as they eat the solid 

 bulbs or corms. To prevent their 

 ravages chopped furze is sometimes 

 buried with the bulbs, or the clipping 

 of those hedges or rose briars is laid 

 over the bed. 



Moving Plant. — Hedysarum gy- 

 rans. — See Hedysarum. 



Mowing is an operation performed 

 with the scythe, and in ornamental 

 gardening it is used for the purpose of 

 keeping the grass quite short and 

 smooth. It is the most laborious 

 operation which falls to the lot of the 

 working gardener, and in large places 

 there are generally a set of labourers 

 who are not gardeners, who are kept 

 on purpose for it. A substitute for 

 mowing with the scythe has lately 

 been introduced in the form of a mow- 

 ing machiue, which requires far less 

 skill and exertion than the scythe, 

 and answers perfectly where the sur- 

 face of the soil to be mowed is per- 

 fectly smooth and firm, the grass of 

 even quality, and the machine only 

 used in dry weather. It is particu- 

 larly adapted for amateurs, affording 

 an excellent exercise to the arms and 

 every part of the body ; but it is 

 proper to observe that many gardeners 

 are prejudiced against it. Where a 

 lawn is varied by numerous small 

 beds or single trees or bushes, the 

 scythe is required, in addition to the 

 machine, for mowing up close to the 

 branches or stems of the plants ; but 

 where an amateur mows his own lawn 

 with a machine, a better instrument 



than the scythe for the purpose men- 

 tioned, is a pair of common hedge 

 shears, with which the grass may be 

 clipped as short as it can be mown. 

 When a lawn is newly formed, and 

 the soil is rich, it will require to be 

 mown every eight or ten days for the 

 first or second summers ; but after- 

 wards, when the soil becomes ex- 

 hausted, and the grass grows with less 

 vigour, once a fortnight for the three 

 summer months will suffice, and once 

 every three weeks or a month for the 

 autumn. 



Mulching is seldom used in flower 

 gardens, though it may be applied 

 advantageously to Camellias and Mag- 

 nolias, and any other half-tender 

 shrubs. It consists in laying a quan- 

 tity of straw or litter round the stem 

 of the plant, so as to cover the whole 

 of the roots during winter, and either 

 removing it, or forking it into the 

 ground in spring. 



Mullein. See Verbascum. 



Musa. — MusacecB. — ThePlantain, 

 or Banana. Stove plants, grown 

 generally for their fruit, but very 

 ornamental in their large leaves and 

 curious flowers. Most of the species 

 require a great deal of room, as they 

 will neither flower nor fruit till they 

 attain a large size. They should be 

 grown in a rich loam kept moist, and 

 they are increased by suckers. The 

 new kind, Musa Cavendishii, flowers 

 when of a much smaller size than any 

 of the other kinds. 



Muscari. — Asphodelece. — The 

 GrapeHyacinth. Bulbous-rooted plants 

 that only require planting in any 

 common garden soil ; where they 

 may remain several years, flowering 

 every year in succession, without any 

 care being necessary in taking them 

 up, &c. 



Mutisia. — Composites. — Curious 

 plants, with tendrils at the extremity 

 of the leaves. They are natives of 

 Brazil, and require a stove in Eng- 



