110 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
TREE MIGNONETTE. 
OMMON Mignonette is so well known that it is super- 
fluous to say a word about it. It is to the culture of 
it a3 standards for the winter decoration of the con- 
servatory that I would now direct attention. 
I generally sow in four-inch pots, about the end of 
March or beginning of April, according to the number of standards 
required. The soil I use is maiden loam and leaf-mould in equal 
quantities, with a little well-rotted manure and sand added. I drain 
and fill the pots in the usual way, but do not press the soil too 
firmly ; I smooth the surface, and put a pinch of seed in the centre 
of each pot. I cover thinly with fine sifted soil ; water gently ; and 
remove the pots to the stove ; or, if that is not available, to a hot- 
bed, and the plants soon make their appearance. As soon as they 
have grown a little, I pull all out hut three of the strongest near the 
centre of the pot. After all danger of their damping-off has in a 
great measure passed, I remove the two weakest, and tie the other 
to a neat stake. I repot as the plants require it, and remove the 
lateral buds as soon as they make their appearance in the axils of 
the leaves, at the same time preserving the leaves on the stem care- 
fully. The flower will soon make its appearance on the top of the 
stem ; I remove it at once, and allow the highest lateral bud to grow 
to form the next leader to be tied to the stake as soon as possible ; I 
remove the lateral buds as before, and so on till the stem is the 
desired height. 
When the stem is the height required, I cut off the top, and 
allow four or five of the highest lateral buds to grow. As soon as 
they have pushed a little I pinch them, leaving only two buds on 
each ; I allow them to start a little, and then remove the plants to a 
cool greenhouse, where they get plenty of air ; I continue to pinch 
regularly as the plants grow, till the heads are the desired size 
(which will be about the end of September or middle of October), 
when they will require their final shift, using eight or nine-inch pots, 
according to the size of the plants. I procure some iron wire for 
supports, or neat wooden stakes. After being inserted into the pots 
they must stand two or three inches above the head of the plant, to 
allow all the laterals forming the head to be suspended from them 
with small pieces of bast. If they are not tied up carefully they 
will, as they grow, droop down and break, as Mignonette is a plant 
of straggling habit. 
Treated in the above way, Mignonette will flower freely till the 
time when there is plenty to be had out-of-doors, when the plants 
may be thrown away. I prefer growing from seed every season. 
The little extra trouble required is amply compensated by the neat, 
compact form of the heads of the young plants. 
Amateurs will soon find that there is a great difference iu the 
habit of individual plants of Mignonette when growdng for standards. 
Some of the heads will assume a neat, compact form, with fine broad 
foliage, while others will be of an opposite character. Seed should 
