GO 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ July 25 , 1889. 
in winter, unless the branches and shoots are left in an over¬ 
crowded state.—W m. Bardney. 
STANDARD MIGNONETTE. 
Standard Mignonette is not grown to the extent it shou’d be. 
Good plants are exceedingly enjoyable by their graceful appearance 
and fragrance, and they continue attractive for a very long time. 
Having had good experience in growing these plants I will en¬ 
deavour to impart the details of culture that may be of service to 
some readers. 
Sowing the Seeds .—For producing the best results some should 
have been sown three weeks or a month ago, but there is still time 
if no delay occurs for producing good plants. Prepare as many 
thumb pots as of plants required ; sow three seeds in each in loam 
and leaf mould, and place in gentle heat to germinate. As soon as 
the seedlings appear watch carefully for any appearance of slugs, 
and to prevent their depredations shake soot or lime about their 
haunts. As soon as the plants are large enough to determine 
the strongest, draw out the others, leaving one plant only in each 
pot; keep them near the glass, and gradually increase the amount of 
air to harden and prepare them for a cold frame. I find Miles’ 
Spiral a good variety to grow. 
First Shift .—As soon as the seedlings are well rooted they 
should be transferred to 60’s, using for a compost decayed leaf 
soil and fibrous loam in equal parts with a liberal quantity of sand. 
When turning the plants out be careful not to disturb the roots 
more than can be avoided, or the plants will experience a check ; 
place a small stake to each and remove to a cold frame, where 
they should be kept close for a few days until established. A 
north aspect, behind a wall if practicable, will be found a suitable 
place for the frame, which should be filled to within 6 or 8 inches 
of the top with coal ashes, and as the plants grow the ashes can 
be lowered accordingly. 
Side Shoots .—As the plants grow they will produce side shoots ; 
these should be nipped off close to the stem. When the plants 
have reached a height of from 10 to 12 inches they will probably 
be ready for a shift into larger pots, 32’s will be found a suitable 
size ; have them quite clean, or the roots will adhere to the sides 
when turned out at their next shift. A small quantity of dissolved 
bones may with advantage be added to the soil, which otherwise 
should be the same as before. Always use it in as rough a state as 
is compatible with the size of pot. Keep the plants rather close 
for a few days until established, after which admit abundance of air. 
As soon as they have attained the desired height— i.e., from 18 
inches to 2 feet, allow the top shoots to branch out, and when 
these require support place them on the trellises. 
Final Totting .—In giving the final shift a difference in the com¬ 
post will be necessary. Two parts loam, one of leaf soil, one of old 
Mushroom bed refuse, and an eighth of charcoal, with sufficient 
sand to keep the whole porous, will be suitable. I have heard it 
said if sand is used in quantity it will add to the fragrance of the 
flowers, but for the accuracy of this I cannot vouch. In placing on 
the trellises make them as firm as possible, pushing the stakes well 
through the soil. Ours are made of galvanised wire after the style 
of those used for Chrysanthemums, only the wires are placed much 
closer together. They range in size from 15 to 20 inches in 
diameter, 8 to 12 inches in depth, with stems from 2 to 3 feet in 
length. Pots 10 inches in diameter will be large enough ; they 
should be well drained, as Mignonette is very impatient of too much 
moisture at the roots during the winter. Cover the potsherds 
with new leaves, or, better still, fragments of fibrous loam, with 
the fine soil shaken out ; pot rather firmly, leaving an inch of space 
to allow for top-dressing. These are small matters, but essential 
for attaining success. As the growths extend stop and tie them 
down, regulating them so as to cover the trellises as evenly as 
possible. As the days shorten the plants must have a light, airy 
position near the glass. When they have overspread the trellises 
cease stopping, and allow them to flower. It will be found necessary 
to tie the shoots down once more to keep the plants compact and 
shapely. They will now derive benefit from a top-dressiDg of soil 
similar to that used in potting. 
Summary .—Mignonette delights in a humid atmosphere during 
its early stages of growth, but as the weather becomes less dry the 
plants require less moisture, both at the roots and in the atmosphere, 
until the flowering period, when they will again require abundance 
of water. When flowering they are gross feeders, and are much 
benefited.by occasional applications of liquid manure, or the surface 
of the soil sprinkled with Thomson’s Vine manure or Standen’s 
fertiliser, at intervals of eight or ten days. As seed pods appear 
they must be nipped off ; this will prolong the flowering season. 
Our plants last in bloom from the middle of February to the first 
week in June. They should be shaded from hot sun.—N il 
Desperandum. 
DEATH OF MR. JOHN E. LANE. 
The name of Mr. John Edward Lane of Berkhamsted is one that 
has been long associated with the progress of horticulture in this country. 
The contemporary of Rivers, Loudon, Paxton, and many others, he had 
survived them all, and he, with Mr. Marnock and Mr. John Lee, was 
left the representative of an age anterior to our own. He now has 
passed away, having died on the evening of the 17th instant at Berk¬ 
hamsted in the eighty-second year of his age. 
Mr. Lane was born at Berkhamsted, where his father, Mr. Harvey 
Lane, had previously been a nurseryman. At an early age he exhibited 
an amount of business capacity and energy which soon began to tell 
upon the fortunes of what was at that time a thriving though modest 
country nursery and seed business. By his application to business, and 
the extent of his enterprise, the little town of Berkhamsted, which itr 
was at that time, was soon too small to occupy the attention of one whose; 
ideas expanded with his growth, and he soon succeeded in having' 
himself associated with some of the large metropolitan houses. As a* 
cultivator he was thoroughly practical, and the direction his mind toolv 
was in the study of ornamental trees and shrubs, of which Roses, 
formed a very large part ; he was for many years classed among the 
leading Rose-growers, and his nursery as one of the emporiums of the' 
Rose trade. His name will be perpetuated in the Moss Rose Lanei, as 
well as in that useful fruit, the Apple, Lane’s Prince Albert. Some years, 
ago Mr. Lane acquired celebrity as a Grape-grower by the marvellous 
specimens of the Muscat of Alexandria with which he astonished the 
frequenters of horticultural shows at home and in many parts of the- 
Continent. Mr. Lane was a man of kindly disposition, a fast friend,, 
and generally highly esteemed. 
PARIS GREEN FOR INSECTS. 
Paris green is an arseniate of copper, and London purple and- 
Brunswick green as sold by our people, appear to be cheaper forms- 
of the same article. It was first announced in the “ American. 
Gardeners’ Monthly” as a perfect preservative against the Colorado 
Potato beetle, and it is now in general use. 
The Colorado Potato beetle (Doryphora decemlineata) was one- 
of the most terrible pests the vegetable grower ever had to contend 
with. In a week they would appear in such hordes as to eat every 
vestige of leaf from a hundred-acre Potato field. Its home is, or 
rather was, in the Rocky Mountain region, where it fed on Solanum 
rostratum, and other allies of the Potato native there. It could 
not cross the thousand mile desert between the Rocky Mountains* 
and the Mississipi river. But when the railroad was carried across 
the dessert in 1870 it took a free passage and stormed the Potato 
fields, and took to Egg Plants and other solanaceous plants. Many 
schemes have been introduced to apply the poison, but the plan in 
general use is to mix it with three-fourths, provided it has not 
already been adulterated, of ashes, dust, powdered lime, or any 
similar material, and sift it through any old tin vessel with holes, 
as in a cullender. The vessel is tied to a long pole, and the work¬ 
man stands to windward, so that the poison will not blow in his 
eyes. It is sifted while the dew is on the foliage. It has saved 
many a thousand acres, and is often welcomed rather than feared. 
There would often be a glut, but the ignorant and careless lose 
their crops, while the “ book-learnt”—as those who read are 
derisively called by the purely practical man—saves all his crop at 
little cost, and gets haavy prices for the tubers he saves. 
Paris green is now used as a preservative against any insect- 
that eats. Against such as suck, as in the class of aphides, it is 
useless. In trees out of reach of a man with a sifter, it is used in 
water, and applied by a pump or syringe. In many regions it is 
impossible to get an Apple for the codlin moth, or a Plum or 
Apricot for the curculio. Paris green syringed over the trees 
at an early stage effectually secures a crop. Sometimes rain 
falling soon after the application, a second, or even third dose 
is necessary. 
Much opposition was made to its general introduction because 
of its poisonous character. Strange to say it is extremely rare to 
hear of any accident through its use. Everybody seems to know 
how to use it, just as they have learned how to use gunpowder. 
The Cabbage here suffers fearfully from the caterpillar (larvae of 
Pieris rapae), but I never heard of anyone using Paris green for 
its destruction, because all know that the Cabbage leaves would 
retain the poison. 
London purple, the same I suppose as Brunswick green, is 
cheaper than Paris green, and is being freely used. It is a great 
blessing to the American farmer or gardener in any of these forms. 
—Tiiomas Meehan, Germantown Nurseries, Philadelphia, United 
States. 
[We have pleasure in publishing this article from our esteemed 
