JANUARY. 



CHRONICLES OP A SMALL GARDEN.— No. XII. 



Amongst other flowers, which I mentioned as forming part of the 

 stock of my small plot, were Carnations and Picotees, — flowers which, 

 for gorgeousness of colouring, delicacy of marking, and fulness of 

 perfume, are hardly excelled by any florists' flowers ; at the same time, 

 however, requiring, as all florists' flowers do, considerable care and 

 attention. I remember one grower used to say, he had eleven months 

 and a week's bother for three weeks' bloom. I hardly think it is 

 quite that ; but still, what with potting, tying, blooming, shading, 

 layering, and housing for the winter, they are not amongst the flowers 

 that can be described as taking good care of themselves ; and it is 

 certainly very provoking to find, after all your care, that a nasty ear- 

 wig has (like a thief that he is) come in the night, ensconced himself 

 in the calyx of your opening beauty, and spoiled your long expected 

 bloom ; or else that your fine new Carnation, from which you were 

 expecting such a treat, has run, and become again a degenerate self. 

 It may be thought, then, that I have no business attempting them, yet 

 I know nothing more attractive than a good bloom of Carnations and 

 Picotees. I this year had finer ones than I ever recollect having, and 

 sending a box of them to a tradesman to put into his window, they 

 created quite a sensation, people hardly being able to believe that they 

 were natural flowers — so waxlike were the petals, and so delicate and 

 regular the marking. It may be, some one similarly situated to 

 myself would like to attempt them, and for their benefit I will mention 

 what I believe to be a treatment that will ensure success. And — 



1. Soil. — Here I would again urge that which I contended for in 

 my paper on Auriculas, — good common sense — no quackery, no 

 messes, but just such good plain food as plants will ever delight and 

 thrive in. For these, as for most florist's flowers, the basis must' be 

 good loam, and it is one of the difficulties I have to contend with, that 

 it is a very rare commodity in this neigbourhood ; this, with well 

 rotted manure from a Cucumber frame, and a portion of road grit to 

 keep all open, will make an excellent compost for Carnations, and you 

 may perhaps add some leaf-mould for your Picotees. It is desirable to 

 have your compost heap turned over frequently in frosty weather, but 

 shelter it from heavy rain and snow, for two reasons, — firstly, because 

 you will have the fertilising salts washed out of it ; and secondly, you 

 will not have it in good working order when you come to the potting 

 season. The proportions of each will vary according to the ideas of the 

 grower, but I think one barrow of loam, one of manure, half of leaf- 

 mould, and a couple of gallons of road grit, a very good mixture. If 

 you have taken care of this during the winter, it will in early spring 

 be in a good condition for handling, and my plan is, on the first of 

 March, to take out each day as much as will suffice for two pots, and 

 regularly and carefully handpick it, taking out all worms, especially 

 those " monstra horrenda," wireworms (the larva of a kind of beetle), 

 eggs of snails, or, in fact, any living thing ; by this means, by the end 

 of the month, enough to fill four dozen of pots (the amount of my 



