918 



THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



sashes should be covered with mats. The crop for the spring 

 supply should be sown not later than the 25th of February, 

 and will come into perfection by the middle or end of May. 

 This sowing should be placed on a gentle heat, which should 

 be kept up by renewing the linings as the heat declines. 



There is a variety called the tree-mignionette, which is much 

 sought after, and is propagated from seeds sown in spring, 

 and also by cuttings, which strike root without much dif- 

 ficulty. When sufficiently rooted, if from cuttings, or if from 

 seeds and strong enough, they should be potted into small 

 pots, and forwarded with a little heat. As the plants ad- 

 vance, they should be trained to a single stem, displacing 

 all lateral shoots as they appear, but taking care not to 

 injure the leaves upon the stem which draw nourishment to 

 the plant. When this stem has attained a height which is 

 deemed sufficient, the lateral shoots are then allowed to grow 

 from it, near the top, and as they extend themselves, they 

 should be frequently stopped by pinching their points off, so 

 as to form a bushy head. By autumn, the plants will have 

 attained the shape of a tree in miniature, and will be covered 

 with bloom. As the plants increase in size, they should be 

 once or twice shifted into larger pots ; however, leaving them, 

 when full grown, in pots of the size called small thirty-two's. 

 By a similar mode of treatment, plants of the common mig- 

 nionette will attain the same habit ; and if kept in training, by 

 continually pinching the shoots and keeping the plants rather 

 dry, they may be kept for several years. We have more than 

 once had plants of mignionette in this way four years old, 

 and have been assured by a botanical friend that he has had 

 a plant, similarly treated, remain in perfect health seven 

 years. 



