THE LADIES’ MAGAZINE OF GARDENING. 265 
shoots until the plants become bushy and vigorous. Most annuals are 
best when the central shoots are picked out, and the early blossom-buds 
displaced until they have become sufficiently well established ; and when 
treated in this manner even one solitary plant has been formed into a fine 
vigorous bush. Such as the following I repeatedly go over, and take off 
the whole blossoms, with their footstalks, and as frequently pinch off the 
extremities of the shoots, so as to form them into compact healthy bushes, 
before I suffer them to produce blossoms freely,* viz.:— 'Erysimum Perfoski- 
anum , Sphenogyne speciosa , Leptosiphon androsaceus , Bartonia aurea , 
Calliopsis picta , Eutoca mscida , Eschscholtzia ccdifornica , &c.: likewise 
all my ten-week and little annual stocks, China and German asters, 
African and French marigolds, and mignonette; the latter being an 
important plant in every garden, but one usually badly managed. I have 
acquainted you that I was in the act of picking off all the blossoms from 
my mignonette upon the receipt of your letter, and I had been enjoying 
that task from early dawn, as the morning was, what it had not been for 
sometime, delightful for the purpose; and on such mornings I cannot rest 
in bed when I have such pleasing and important occupations in hand. 
Mignonette is of the most simple and easy culture, which every lover 
of flowers knows ; but you never see it so managed as to look long neat 
and elegant; while although it is but a simple flower, it is really kept 
elegant for a length of time when treated in my manner. 
I shall begin with my box or window-culture first: I get some good 
compost, such as is usually prepared for vines; or a mixture of good 
cucumber and melon mould, or rich garden soil, is quite sufficient for the 
purpose. Instead of sowing the seed, I transplant the compost in the 
boxes, either from the clumps or border, or from plants previously raised 
for that purpose, planting only one row along the middle of the box, at 
four to six inches apart, and pinching off the tops of each plant as soon as I 
plant them, or very soon after. If I plant large plants, which I frequently 
do very successfully, I pinch all the shoots back to the first joint of each ; 
and as they push fresh shoots, I continue to pinch them all back to the 
first joint of each shoot, till the box becomes nearly full, or till I think I 
shall soon require them to be in bloom, when I decline stopping them any 
longer, and allow them to shoot out for flowering. Still I occasionally 
pinch them in so as to keep them in a judicious trim; and frequently I thin 
out many branches, that they may not become too crowded, so as to weaken 
the plants or endanger the stems by damping off. By the above treat¬ 
ment, I have had mignonette that has been planted and treated so early 
in the spring, kept in fine and vigorous bloom at Lord Bateman’s, and at 
the Duke of Portland’s, in the outside of the windows, till, the end of 
January. 
