724 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 18tli, 1885. 
DROUGHT AND THE WATER 
SUPPLY OF GARDENS. 
If any proof 'were needed of the benefits or the 
profits resulting from an abundant and easily 
applied water supply to gardens, a walk round at 
the present time is the best and surest means of 
acquiring it. Here, in the north of England, from 
the middle of May till the present date (July 13), with 
the exception of slight showers, ranging from one to 
eight hundredths, the drought has been something 
quite exceptional, rivalling that of 1868, chiefly 
owing to an unintenuipted period of dry and scorching 
winds from south to south-west, which immediately 
neutralized any good effects of the small quantities of 
rain which fell. To-day, I expect, is the beginning 
of a change to better things, as we have had some 
thunder, followed this afternoon by a fall of seventeen 
hundredths of rain, but still far too small a quan¬ 
tity to reach into the soil for more than an inch 
at most. 
During an experience of over twenty years, I do 
not remember encountering such difficulties as I have 
met with during the last two months. Vegetables, if 
not actually dying off, are in “the blues,” and at a 
standstill, and are therefore scarce; early Potatos are 
not much larger than marbles although ripening, and 
fruits, which are plentiful, both bush and wall, are 
dropping from the trees through want of moisture in 
the ground. And in dry seasons like this, water is 
so scarce with us here, that from sheer necessity we 
are compelled to abstain from giving it in the garden ; 
the labour which would be caused by having to apply 
sufficient quantities, which we have not, would 
be too great to be undertaken. All we can do is to 
give the plants a thorough soaking when put out, and 
trust to Providence for their future supplies. It is 
in such cases that the benefits of mulching can best 
be seen. 
How much to be envied are those of our gardening 
brethren who can obtain an abundant and unlimited 
water supply, by gravitation or otherwise, with a 
complete system of pipes and hydrants throughout 
the whole extent of the garden grounds. How pleasant 
it is to have only to affix the hose wherever and 
whenever required, and being certain that with only a 
minimum amount of trouble, which we should not 
reckon trouble in our present case, all the different 
requirements and applications of water to the garden 
are insured, time and labour saved, the trees clean 
and healthy, and the produce increased to such an 
amount as to soon compensate for any extra expense 
involved in putting in the supply. And of how 
much superior quality are fruits and vegetables 
when produced under conditions where the water 
supply is unlimited and given without stint when it 
is required ? 
I am quite certain that the produce of a given 
piece of ground could be more than doubled by a 
judicious use of water alone, and that therefore 
owners of gardening establishments would be only 
acting in their own interests by insuring a constant 
and unfailing supply of good water to their gardens. 
I know cases where such a supply is saving the 
expense of several extra hands, and even if this 
were not the case, the time and labour spent in 
applying sufficient quantities of water could be more 
profitably employed elsewhere. I speak of giving 
sufficient quantities, for the reason that there are two 
ways of watering plants of any kind to be effective 
and beneficial to the plants requiring it. I have often, 
and so no doubt have many of my gardening friends, 
heard fellow-gardeners say that they could not give 
water in dry weather, such as this has been, for the 
reason that they had always to be keeping at it and 
it did little good. 
This is a creed, I need scarcely say, I have no faith 
in, and in my own mind, when hearing such words 
used, immediately set that man down as being either a 
lazy man or a careless one. No rational being, much 
less a professional gardener, could for a moment 
believe that a sufficient quantity of water given to 
any plant, either in the open ground or indoors, 
will be of no benefit to it. Of course driblets, such 
as are too commonly given in insufficient quantities 
to reach the roots and feeders, will do no good, 
and in fact are worse than useless, as harm is 
generally the consequence in such cases.— E. Stevens, 
Paxton. 
MICHAELMAS DAISIES. 
Sometimes a collection of these herbaceous Asters 
is shown by Mr. T. S. Ware and others, and then one 
is struck with the beauty and the great service they 
render in the garden at the particular time of the 
year when they flower ; and yet, valuable as they 
are, they appear to find their way into gardens very 
slowly indeed, for one may go into many and scarcely 
find a perennial Aster in one of them. And yet they 
form a group of hardy perennials, containing more 
than a hundred species and varieties, the greater por¬ 
tion of which are probably worthless for decorative 
purposes; but some of them are undoubtedly the best 
of our autumn-flowering plants. Such of them as 
deserve this designation will be found in the following 
list, and they are distinguished by colour, by size 
of the flowers, by abundance of bloom; and they will 
do well in almost any position in the garden. Some 
few make good rock plants : we have seen some grown 
with great success in pots; but in whatever way they 
may be cultivated they will be found most useful, both 
for decorative and cut purposes. 
Now for our select list. It includes Alpinus, pale 
lavender-blue, with orange centre; Aurelius, large 
violet blossoms, dashed with orange in the centre ; 
Aurelius Bessarabicus, a fine variety of the preceding, 
with rich purplish-blue flowers, with orange centres; 
Cyaneus, bright mauve, very free, and one of the 
latest to flower ; Discolor, white, changing to rosy- 
pink; Formosissimus, a distinct and beautiful species, 
flowers rosy-purple ; Grandiflorus, one of the latest 
and most beautiful of the family, flowers large, and of 
a rich purplish-blue ; Novas Angliae, rich bright rose, 
flowers large, very distinct, and its variety rubra, with 
bright magenta blossoms ; Polyphyllus, white, very 
free ; Salsuginosus, large white flowers, with yellow 
eye, extra fine ; Turbinellus, pale rosy-purple ; and 
Versicolor, white, shading to rose, distinct and 
pretty. All the foregoing can be had from 9d. to Is. 
each, and in good plants. 
These Asters do well in good garden soil, and if 
they can root deeply into it will last for years. But 
the plants will be greatly benefited by a mulching 
of manure and leaves in autumn, after the old growths 
have been cleared away, and the soil forked about the 
roots. 
It would appear that the name Michaelmas Daisy 
was applied originally to A. Tradescanti, a white- 
flowered species introduced from North America some 
250 years ago, and no doubt because of flowering just 
previously to and about Michaelmas time. But the 
old English name of the perennial Aster is the “ Star- 
wort,” from Aster, a star. The flowers of Composites, 
or Starworts, are called florets, and being collected 
together on a receptacle, as in the Daisy or Dahlia, 
the rays of their circumference resembles stars. Aster 
amellus should be a flower of great antiquity, for in 
one of his books the poet Virgil prescribes the root of 
this, the Italian Starwort, for sickly bees. In Ger¬ 
many, the Starwort is used by lovers as an oracle 
to decide whether then- love is returned or not. Goethe 
introduces this rustic superstition in his tragedy 
of Faust, when the luckless heroine consults the 
floral oracle as to the affection entertained for her by 
Faust. The French call the Italian Starwort, A. 
amellus, l’CEil de Christ, and the China Aster la Heine 
Marguerite.— Quo. 
THE CULTURE OF MIGNONETTE. 
The Mignonette has long been a flower of primary 
importance on account of its delicate perfume. Like 
most other aromatic plants, when grown on a light 
and somewhat barren soil, fully exposed to the sun, 
its odour is far more impressive, but I could not 
advise its culture on such soils in gardens except 
for experiment; such culture, I need hardly say, 
producing diminutive scraggy plants not worth the 
trouble of sowing, even though its fragrance be more 
powerful. I had the pleasure of seeing, some years 
ago, a border of Mignonette that afforded me great 
satisfaction and pleasure. The whole border was 
completely covered from end to end; the flowers 
were borne well above the foliage, which was of a 
dark green hue—the standard of perfection and good 
health. When in the zenith of its beauty, one was apt 
to imagine from its fragrance, what many travellers 
have informed us, that when sailing into some 
foreign ports, often on a summer’s morning the gentle 
breeze off the land is impregnated with a thousand 
delicate odours blended together, and of delightful 
sweetness. 
To be able to have such a display of Mignonette as 
the aforesaid, choose a border that is fully exposed to 
the sun, and during winter have as much manure 
wheeled upon it as may be considered necessary for 
trenching, which should be done as soon afterwards 
as possible. Some soils, it must be borne in mind, 
are not benefited by trenching, for there is often 
brought to the top soil injurious to the existence of 
plants. Therefore a knowledge of soils is always 
necessary to enable us to improve them, and adapt 
them to the wants of what it is desired to produce. 
The nearer the soil touches a pulverized state (with 
a very porous sub-soil such as sand) the better adapted 
is it for Mignonette. Wet, damp, adhesive soils act 
unfavourably on the roots of this favourite plant, 
turning the beauty of then’ pure whiteness into a 
sickly yellow. Soil of this character may be improved 
by the free use of sea sand or coal ashes, which will 
correct its tenacity and facilitate root action. 
After the border has been dug, allow it to remain 
in its rough state until a day or two before the 
Mignonette has to be sown, which should be done 
about the middle of April. The first operation is to 
rake the whole carefully over, breaking all clods and 
gathering the stones off until the whole is fine. Then 
the seed can either be sown in shallow drills or 
broadcast, and gently covered. All that is necessary 
afterwards is to keep it clean, and if too thick, to thin it 
a little. The border will last the whole season, and be 
a source of pleasure, if not profit, where there is a 
large demand for cut-flowers for vases. A good plan 
for perfuming rooms with Mignonette, is to fill garden 
saucers full of damp sand and dibble the flowers in 
as close as they can stand. These will last for a few 
days, when the saucers can again be re-filled. 
Mignonette is also invaluable as a decorative 
plant when well grown, though it has not the bold, 
dashing appearance of the show Pelargonium, the 
dazzling brilliancy of the Scarlet Zonal, nor the 
captivating colour of many an Orchid. Yet under 
good cultivation it is a first-class house plant. I 
consider that the best time to sow the seed for pot 
culture, either for show or for decoration, is about the 
beginning of April. From that sowing I can have 
plants that are fit for the house in three months in 6-in. 
pots, about 1 ft. 6 ins. high and nearly the same across. 
The system I have adopted here is to sow the seed 
either in pots or pans, and when they are strong 
enough to prick out, 1 get as many sixty sized pots 
as I intend to grow plants. The soil for the plants in 
this stage is made up of one part of loam and two parts 
river sand. In taking them from the seed pan we try not 
to break a root or injure them in any way. We do not 
attempt potting them, as some people boast, at the 
rate of “hundreds by the hour.” Care, patience, and 
time is required ; and if this is not exercised you need 
not be surprised if your plants are not as good as 
your neighbours. 
The strongest plants are selected, and one is put 
into each pot, the soil should not be pressed into the 
pot; I simply take the pot between the hands and 
give it a gentle tap or two on the potting bench. The 
batch is then taken either to a cold frame or a 
greenhouse, where they are shaded from the sun, 
a gentle watering is given them through a fine rose, 
and they are allowed to remain for a week or so 
in the same place, when they may be exposed to the 
sun. All the flowers are carefully pinched off or 
taken out with a pair of scissors. Whenever the 
roots appear at the bottom of the pots, they are 
potted either into 4-in. or 6-in. pots, the soil used 
being the same as recommended for specimens. The 
batch is placed again in cold frames and carefully 
watered, plenty of air is given them to encourage 
robust growth, and all that is necessary afterwards is 
to keep them staked and pinched. When they are 
required for the house, pinching must be stopped a 
few weeks previously and manure water given them 
to enlarge the flower. 
To grow into specimens, I pick all the largest out 
of the batch in sixties, and make up a compost as 
follows : three parts of loam to one part of old manure, 
and a liberal addition of sea sand. To every bushel 
of the above, I add a 5-in. potful of bone meal, or 
a 5-in. potful of Thomson’s manure; the latter of 
