384 
HORTICULTURAL NOTES. 
winter, or you may save the seed until the 
spring, when you may sow it on the open 
ground, on some very clean bed, free from 
weeds and the seeds of weeds, otherwise you 
are sure to lose a good many seeds and seed- 
lings, in getting rid of the weeds as they come 
up. When they are large enough, they may 
be planted out in good ground, and a fair open 
space; and all you need do afterwards, is to 
keep them very clear of weeds until they 
bloom, when you make your selection of the 
most striking sorts, and throw away all the rest. 
Munjeet, or Indian Madder. — The Mun- 
jeet grows throughout the whole course of the 
central hills of Nepal, and in a great portion 
of the upper region which is bounded by the 
snowy range. It is exported thence to the 
plains of India, by a great many routes, and 
through the Keroong Kooti, and other passes 
of the Himalaya, into the Thibet. In both 
countries, as well as in the Nepal, its use is 
confined to dyeing ; although in the latter, 
much less of it is consumed than in the others. 
In Thibet, woollens are also worn, and always 
dyed. In India, the dye is used on silk or 
cotton. In Nepal, plain cottons are the general 
wear, so that its use is confined to the dyeing 
of coarse chintzes and woollens of the Bhoteahs 
who live near the snows. The range of country 
producing the Munjeet is of immense extent, 
embracing, as it is believed, the whole of 
the central region of the Himalaya, from the 
Sutlege to the most easterly feeder of the 
Burumpooterr. The following is the method 
usually employed in dyeing with the Mun- 
jeet. Woollens take the dye better than cot- 
tons, but it is used on both, and in the plains 
on silk. The cloth is first steeped and boiled 
in a decoction of the dried and pounded leaves 
of a tree called Songay by the Bhoteahs. The 
tree is common at Darjeeling, and is, it is 
thought, a Camellia. After the use of this mor- 
dant, the cloth is dried by exposure to the sun, 
and then boiled and steeped in a decoction of the 
Munjeet, to which is generally added a portion 
of the ferruginous deposits of the chalybeate 
springs which are numerous in Sikim. The 
metallic earth is said to fix the colour and to 
give it brightness, and the quantity used is 
proportioned to the depth of shade required. 
The tints of the Munjeet dye vary from a 
light crimson to a claret purple. The deeper 
shades (purple) are produced by adding a 
decoction of Walnut-tree root to the Munjeet 
and ferruginous earth. Other stuffs are 
also used to produce different tints. — Indian 
News. 
Old Manures and New Dressings. — The 
result of many experiments on artificial ma- 
nures for the cultivation of flowers is now 
before me, and the conclusion at which I arrive, 
so far as actual experience goes, is, that there 
is nothing that will, as yet, beat cow dung well 
rotted, horse dung well rotted, and leaves of 
trees well rotted, as dressings ; and nothing to 
beat the top spit of a meadow, where the loam 
is good, as a soil. Peat mould to lighten it 
when required, and sand to promote drainage, 
are not intended to yield nourishment, but to 
temper the compost and regulate its texture. 
Guano is treacherous and uncertain. I am 
sure that the excrement of some birds which 
congregate in great numbers, and furnish a 
large portion of this, now, article of mer- 
chandise, is very different in strength to that 
of others ; and the greatest uncertainty prevails 
as to the quality, unless it be analyzed. The 
best that I can find of various flowers culti- 
tivated under- the scores of new systems, does 
not come up to the standard of the old growers, 
who were content with cow dung, leaf mould, 
and the remains of the dung from an old melon 
frame. I strongly recommend anybody who 
is trying to grow flowers for exhibition, to 
venture upon nothing stronger until they have 
tried several times on worthless plants, which 
would be no object. — T. W. 
Calamintha Sylvatica. — This recently- 
discovered British plant is also a very hand- 
some floricultural object. It is allied to the 
Mints and Sages. The flowers are pale rose- 
coloured, spotted with purple, or blood-red, 
and are produced in whorls along the stems. 
It is a plant naturally loving shade, with some 
degree of warmth and protection ; and when 
placed in a garden which is damp, and with 
only a moderate portion of sunshine, it main- 
tains its original character, and flourishes 
freely. If cultivated in a more sunny position, 
it becomes somewhat changed, the colour is 
deeper, and the proportion of inflorescence is 
increased ; but the plant loses much of its 
natural elegance, and soon passes off, probably 
the effect of increased evaporation. When, 
however, the plant is placed in a situation where 
it can have an increased amount of light, with- 
out subjecting it to a greater degree of evapora- 
tion, as in glass cultivation, its inflorescence is 
much increased, and its duration not only not 
diminished, but actually increased also, — the 
same verticillasters (whorled spikes) continu- 
ing to produce fresh flowers, again and again, 
for many weeks, — so that the number of 
flowers produced from one plant is truly im- 
mense. Planted in a pot of good mould it 
thus grows freely, is a light and elegant plant, 
having at a distance much the appearance of 
a Heath, and remains for a long time very 
ornamental, the bright rose-coloured flowers 
never fading until after they have fallen, and 
at a season — August and September — when 
flowers for the green-house are getting scarce. 
It is easily propagated by underground run- 
ners. — Dr. Salter. 
