March 19, 1335. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
283 
Egypt, and was introduced in 1752, and the tree Mignonette, 
It. odorata frutescens, was introduced about the same time, and 
it is to this variety the following cultural remarks principally 
apply; but for the information of those who are desirous of 
having the delicious perfume of the Mignonette without too 
much space being occupied, it may be stated that seed sown in 
5 or G-inch pots, and covered with half an inch of soil, the plants 
afterwards to be thinned to three or four in a pot, will give very 
satisfactory results. If wanted in flower in autumn the seed 
should be sown at the beginning of June; if not before winter 
or the following spring, the months of August and September 
will be soon enough. If the plants are grown in a hotbed until 
winter sets in they will be all the stronger and better. The chief 
elements of success are perfect drainage, rich but porous soil, 
full exposure to light, and regular, but not extreme, supplies of 
water. 
To obtain lax’ge specimens of the tree Mignonette, the seed 
may be sown at any time from the middle of April to the middle of 
June (I generally sow the seed at the beginning of June, but I 
would advise amateurs to sow a month earlier) in small pots, 
using two parts fibry loam and one part dried cow manure or 
spent Mushroom-bed, with a little sand. Place the pots on a 
gentle hotbed, and within G inches of the glass, and as the seed¬ 
lings appear remove all out but the strongest, and leave this as 
near the middle of the pot as possible, ventilating on favourable 
occasions to encoui’age a sturdy growth. About the middle of 
June they will be ready for repotting, and if the seed was sown 
in 60-sized pots the plants may be transferred into those 5 inches in 
diametei’, but if it was sown in pots 4£ inches in diameter, then 
6-inch pots must be used for this shift. Let the compost be as 
before, with the addition of a little charcoal broken to the size 
of horse-beans, or a few crushed bones. Replace them in the 
frame and ventilate fi’eely. Care must be taken in watering 
until the roots have obtained good hold of the new soil, and a 
dewing overhead in the evening of warm days will be very 
beneficial. 
As the lateral shoots are developed they should be tied out 
wards and downwards, great care being exei’cised in the operation, 
as they are liable to break off at the junction with the stem; the 
points of the shoots should also be pinched out occasionally to 
keep the plants bushy and symmetrical. Cai-e and attention in 
staking and tying is requisite at all times. At the beginning of 
August the plants will be ready for the pots in which they ai’e to 
remain ; these need not be more than 9 inches in diameter, and 
the soil recommended for the previous potting cannot very well 
be improved for this. If it is possible to accommodate them 
with a cold frame until the middle or end of September it will be 
greatly to their advantage, and to allow more head-room the 
frame may be l-aised on the requisite number of bricks The lights 
should be kept closed for a few days after potting until the roots 
begin to ramify in the new soil, after which an abundance of air 
should be given. At the end of September they should be moved 
into winter quarters, which ought to be warm, light, and airy. 
As the pots become filled with roots liquid manure may be applied 
with advantage. By these means specimens may be obtained 
3 feet high and the same through, and when so grown few 
things are more attractive to the eye or more creditable to the 
cultivator. 
Schizanthus. —A group of beautiful and not commonly 
grown annuals ai’e the species of Schizanthus, a genus introduced 
from Chili during the years 1823-1832. Schizanthus pinnatus is 
sometimes met with in the open border, but its beautiful con- 
genei’s, S. Grahami, S. Hookeri, and S. retusus, are very seldom 
seen, a reason for which it would be difficult to find, unless it 
be that they ai’e too easily gi’own. S. l’etusus, S. Grahami, and 
S. Hookeri will vie with many Orchids for beauty, and will 
hold their own for floriferousness; therefoi’e those who do not 
know the plants should give them a trial. For flowering during 
summer sow the seed in pots in the same way as recommended 
for early Mignonette, giving the same general treatment. Only 
allow one plant in a small pot, and keep giving them more root 
room until they are as large as desired; or three plants may be 
transferred from 4-inch pots into one 9 inches in diameter. 
Keep them staked and tied to prevent breaking. 
If it is desired to flower them early in spring the seed ought 
to be sown the previous autumn in the same way as before, and 
be kept in a cool greenhouse during the winter close to the glass 
to prevent a weak growth. Pot them and tie the shoots down as 
often as requisite after the turn of the year, and keep them close 
to the glass, but safe from frost. Care must be exercised in 
watering during the months of November, December, and 
January. 
Sensitive Plant Mimosa Pudica). —Many people are 
very much interested with the Sensitive Plants, and if all who 
possess a greenhouse knew how easily they can obtain one of the 
most sensitive of the class, few would be without it. Mimosa 
pudica is the plant referred to, of which seeds may be sown in 
spring at the same time as other tender annuals, and the same 
soil and general cultural details will suffice. The family is some¬ 
what extensive and is closely allied to the Acacia, belonging to 
the large natural order Leguminosae. The genus is of wide geo¬ 
graphical distribution, being found in the East Indies, Madagascar, 
Africa, West Indies, Brazil, and Peru. Mimosa pudica was 
introduced from Brazil in 1638. 
Yariegated Maize. —I cannot close my list of select annuals 
without drawing special attention to an annual that, from a 
decorative point of view, may correctly be termed a foliage plant. 
I allude to the Yariegated Maize, Zea japonica albo-vittata or 
variegata. Its cultivation is very simple Seed should be sown at 
the end of March or beginning of April in light soil, and be 
placed in gentle heat as recommended for the other annuals. As 
soon as the young plants are large enough to handle they may 
be potted into small pots, using a compost of loam and leaf 
mould in equal proportions, and returned to their growing 
quarters ; maintain a humid atmosphere and do m t allow them to 
suffer from drought at the roots. In several weeks they will be 
ready for moving into 6-inch pots, using the same soil as before, 
because if the soil be made too rich a more vigorous growth 
will be obtained at the expense of the variegation; but if it is 
not particularly desired to have the variegation as clear as 
possible, then a little manure may be added to the soil with the 
addition of somesand. Keep them growing, and let them have 
an abundance of light, syringing them on fine days. As soon as 
the roots reach the sides of the pots the plants should receive 
their final potting, using the same soil as before. As the Maize 
requires a good supply of water, it is essential to drain the pots 
efficiently. When the plants are too tall for the frame, which 
they will be after their last potting, they will thrive well in the 
warmest position of the greenhouse. 
When they have attained the height of 2, 3, or 4 feet they 
form very graceful objects either in the sitting-room window or 
the conservatory, giving an additional charm of form and colour 
to the occupants. They are also valuable for groups in the 
exhibition tent.—J. U. S. 
THOUGHTS ON CURRENT TOPICS. 
Ax last Mr. Iggulden has met his critics. Admittedly the statement 
of his case was faulty, and “Vitisator’' opportunely came to the rescue. 
Yet, notwithstanding, Mr. Gilbert remains a surface-scratcher, and Messrs. 
Miles, the Thomsons, and all the rest of successful cultivators, have 
wasted their labour in deepening the fertility cf the soil. Supposing 
such men have been “radically wrong,” and 3 ’our correspondent has 
found out the right way, he will be entitled to be regarded as the horti¬ 
cultural Mahdi. Is he destined to be “ smashed ? ” 
Had Mr. Iggulden been sufficiently careful in stating his case, and 
confined his remarks against trenching to such land as he has to work, I, 
for one, should not have entered the witness box against him ; but, at 
the same time, it is better as it is, inasmuch as a subject of such deep and 
wide importance would not otherwise have been so thoroughly discussed. 
It is very pleasant, too, to feel that the controversy has been conducted 
in such an excellent tone, all the opposition having been evidently of a 
friendly nature. This is as it should be, for it is only then that discus¬ 
sions can be agreeable to general readers and profitable. 
It is not my desire to dwell tediously on this subject, but an oppor¬ 
tunity offers for observing how easy and unsafe it is to found an argument 
on assumptions. When I instanced a case in which deeper landworking 
than before had proved markedly profitable, our Mahdi somewhat hastily 
prophesied that this was the result of a hot, dry, and particularly favour¬ 
able season for vegetables ; whereas, in the district alluded to it was 
precisely the reverse, as for weeks not a drop of rain fell, and the land is 
light, resting on gravel. Again, he takes it for granted that my allusions 
to a higher rental attending deep culture referred to “ Fulham and the 
neighbourhood.” I was alluding to a district where the produce cannot 
be conveyed to London and manure had in return at a less cost than is 
incurred in transit to and from Essex. Yet in one case the rents have 
increased IOO per cent, in value as the result of deep working and high 
culture, while during the same time they have fallen in Essex, and at 
present it is estimated that 75,000 acres await occupiers in that county. 
Exceptional prices of past years for Broccoli or any other crop go for 
nothing now. We have to deal with the present and general results, and 
these, I regret to say, are for not a few landowners deplorable. It is 
quite possible that there are certain tracts of land in Essex that it would 
be a mistake to trench 2 feet deep “ all at once,” just as it would doubt¬ 
less be to trench the garden which Mr. Iggulden wcrks so well in a 
similarly unreasonable manner ; and I am as firm a believer as he is in film 
or even hard, soil for Broceols ; but the fact, I think, lemains, that the 
larger the larder the more food it contains, and if the Fulham growers, 
with all their manure, only dug the lard one spit deep they wculd 
