726 



The Weekly Rorists* Review. 



MAT 10. 1900. 



as amateurs. The work of this so- 

 ciety has been of incalculable benefit 

 and to its efforts may be largely at- 

 tributed the advaucoment which has 

 been made in the American carna- 

 tion. This society holds its annual 

 meeting in February of each year at 

 different points throughout ihe Unit- 

 ed States, upon which occasions are 

 exhibited magnificent displays of the 

 finest carnations that can be .a;rown. 

 The membership of this society is 

 open to any and all persons who are 

 interested in or have any love for the 

 carnation. None are barred — ama- 

 teurs and professionals are equally 

 welcome. 



termed monthly carnations. It is 

 from the productions of Alegatiere 

 that our American race of carnations 

 was undoubtedly obtained. 



As early as IStJti a number of va- 

 rieties were imported into this coun- 

 try by Messrs. Dailledouze & Zeller, 

 horticulturists, who were '.hen lo- 

 cated in Flatbush, L. I., these gen- 

 tlemen having imported Edwardsii, 

 Pres. Degraw, La Purite and a varie- 

 gated La Purite. These varieties 

 were grown during a period of ten 

 years as pot plants for xummer and 

 winter blooming. It may be of in- 

 terest to state that at the present 

 time Mr. Charles Zeller, the survivor 



Steps in the Improvement of the Carnation. 



The carnation comnicnly grown in 

 America was derived from the French 

 strain, known as the remontant, 

 monthly, or perpetual flowering car- 

 nation. This distinct race originated 

 aljout 1810. and is said to have been 

 l)roduced by M. Dalmais, a gardener 

 !>( Lyons, France, the original variety, 

 called Atim, having been .lent out 

 .iljout the year 1844. This improve- 

 ment was followed in 1846 by M. 

 Schmitt, of Lyons, who produced sev- 

 eral fine varieties that remained in 

 cultivation a number of years. 



M. Alphonse Alegatiere was the 

 next horticulturist to aid in the ma- 

 terial development of this now race 

 of carnations, and he succeeded, by 

 skillful crossing, in obtaining fine 

 varieties with stiff stems. In 1800 

 the number of these varieties was 

 largely increased and this class re- 

 ceived the name of tree carnations: 

 but in America they were generally 



of the firm of Dailledouze & Zeller. 

 still lives in Flatbush, a hale and 

 hearty gentleman upward of eighty 

 years of age, and it has been my 

 pleasure to hear Mr. Zeller frequently 

 declare that he was more than proud 

 to have been one of the first who 

 brought the carnation to this country. 

 Mr. Zeller's partner. Mr. .John Daille- 

 douze. has long since passed away, but 

 has left worthy sons who have suc- 

 ceeded to and preserved their father'^; 

 love for the carnation. 



The work of improving the Ameri- 

 can carnation has been taken up and 

 carried on successfully by such men 

 as the late Charles T. Starr and W. 

 R. Shelmire, of Avondalo, Pa.; Wm. 

 Swayne. of Kennett Square, Pa.; Jos. 

 Tailby, of Wellesley, and Sewall 

 Fisher, of Framingham. Mass.; Fred 

 Dorner. of La Fayette, Ind.; R. Wit- 

 terstaetter, of Cincinnati. O.; Peter 

 Fisher, of Ellis, Mass.; the Daille- 



douze Bros., of Flatbush, L. I., and 

 many others whose names are not 

 now at my command. 



The foregoing historical treatment 

 of the carnation I have gathered 

 largely from the Cyclopedia of Amer- 

 ican Floriculture recently published 

 by L. H. Bailey of Cornell Univer- 

 sity. 



To-day it is my purpose to give you 

 an illustration of the development of 

 the carnation from the original flve- 

 petaled bloom to the 4-inch flower of 

 the present date. AVe find from the 

 ancient descriptions that the wild 

 carnation was a fivt-petaled flower 

 about one inch in diameter, and that 

 it was commonly of a flesh or laven- 

 der color. Fortunately, among hy- 

 brid seedlings of to-day frequent re- 

 versions furnish us with flowers that 

 are almost identical with the original 

 type as it existed 2,000 years ago. 

 save perhaps in the matter of color. 



In Fig. 1 we have the original flve- 

 petaled flower, but the color is of a 

 deep crimson. In Fig. 2 we have the 

 first step toward the improvement of 

 the flower, this being the addition of 

 a single petal, produciag a six-petaled 

 bloom. The next step is shown in 

 No. 3. where three or four small. 

 short petals have been added to the 

 center of the bloom. producing a 

 semi-double flower. In the next step. 

 No. 4. still more petals have been 

 added, and we now have a fairly 

 double flower. The fourth step was 

 made by adding still more petals, 

 making a full double flower, as shown 

 in figure .5. But you will notice that 

 in all of these the relaj;ive size of the 

 liloom remains the same, namely, 

 about one inch in diameter. 



After the carnation hybridizer had 

 succeeded in producing the double 

 l)loom shown in figure 5. his next 

 aim was to increase the size of the 

 bloom, improve its strength, as well 

 as to elongate the stem, and to im- 

 prove and diversify the shades of 

 color. This has all been so faithfully 

 done by our American hybridizers 

 that you now have before you these 

 magnificent blooms measuring from 

 three to four inches in diameter, with 

 perfect calyces, and supported upon 

 stiff stems two feet or more in length, 

 some of them being equal in 'orni to 

 those produced by the artificial man- 

 ipulation of the Engl'Sh dresser, em- 

 bracing almost every tint of colo: 

 known in flowers, save that of blue, 

 and the approach toward this latter 

 color is shown in va.ying shades ef 

 purple; several California varieties 

 have been introduced in a ('istinc' 

 shade of mauve. 



The study of this plate is decid- 

 edly interesting, as it shows the com- 

 parative difference between the car- 

 nation as we know it to-day and the 

 original flower that aroused the sen- 

 timent and admiration of the ancient 

 Greeks and Romans. This comparison 

 is accentuated when we tliroiv ;.'pou 

 tlie screen Governor Roosevelt, a seed 

 ling four inches in diameter, as the 

 photographs from which these slides 



