THE CULTURE OF THE CARNATION. 



401 



lus of botanists, and belongs to the class 

 Decandria, and order Trigynea of the sexu- 

 al, and order Caryophyllea? of (he natural 

 system of botany. In its wild state, it is 

 only a single flower, having one row of 

 netals, and is supposed to be indigenous to 

 Germany, though it has also been occasion- 

 ally found in rocky situations on the south- 

 eastern coast of England. In a cultivated 

 state, we have record of its having en- 

 gaged the attention of florists, in the latter 

 country, about two and a half centuries. 

 Gerard received it in 1597 from Poland. 

 Parkinson, in 1629, enumerates forty-nine 

 sorts ; and Rea, in 1702, has three hundred 

 and sixty good sorts. This rapid progress 

 in the number of varieties proves that the 

 florists of those days paid great regard to 

 it ; but I much doubt if their standard came 

 anything near the criteria of the present 

 day, as improved kinds are not now so 

 easily procured. 



The varieties of this flower are now ar- 

 ranged into three classes ; Bizarres, Flakes, 

 and Picotees. Bizarres (Fr., odd or irregu- 

 lar,) are variegated in irregular stripes, run- 

 ning lengthwise down the petal, from the 

 outer margin towards the base, and having 

 not less than three colours. This division 

 is further subdivided into pink or crimson, 

 having white, pink, and crimson colours ; 

 and scarlet, having white, scarlet, and ma- 

 roon colours. Flakes are variegated in a 

 similar way, but have only two colours ; 

 (scarlet, having white and scarlet — rose, 

 having white and rose — and purple, having 

 white and purple colours.) Picotees (Fr., 

 •piquet tec, pricked or spotted,) have a white 

 or yellow ground, and are margined with 

 rose, red or purple. This class is sub- 

 divided into purple, each petal having 

 a purple belting ; red, having a red belt 

 in like manner ; and rose, having a rose 

 coloured belt. Yellow Picotees have a yel- 



low, or primrose ground, and bordered in 

 like manner. Picotees are still further 

 subdivided into heavy edged, having a 

 broad belting ; and light edged, having a 

 fine narrow border. There are also some 

 very pretty self coloured kinds, which, 

 though not much regarded by florists, are 

 notwithstanding very handsome, and well 

 worthy of cultivation. 



Criterion of a Good Carnation. — The 

 stem should be strong and straight, ave- 

 raging from thirty to forty inches high ; the 

 footstalks should be sufficiently strong to 

 support the flower, and of proportionate 

 length; the calyx, or cup of the flower, 

 should be regularly shaped all round, and 

 proportionately long, to support the flower 

 above the stem, — the segments bursting 

 regularly and freely, so as to allow the 

 petals to expand without bursting. The 

 corolla or flower should form a perfect 

 hemispherical, imbricated outline, and have 

 the petals perfectly free from notch or ser- 

 rature of any kind. The lower, or guard 

 leaves, should not set upon the calyx, but 

 rise about half an inch above it, and turn 

 gracefully over, — lying horizontally. The 

 upper rows of petals should be regularly 

 smaller, and placed alike on all sides, so 

 that the colours may show to the best ad- 

 vantage, which should be bright and dis- 

 tinct, and in due proportion. In Bizarres, 

 the three colours should be equal ; but in 

 Flakes, the white may preponderate a little 

 in some cases, without detracting from the 

 beauty of the whole. In both these classes, 

 the variegation should run in lines down 

 the petal, from the upper margin to the 

 claw, being broadest at the top, and gra- 

 dually tapering to a point at the base. In 

 Picotees, the belting should extend per- 

 fectly round the outer surface of the petals, 

 and be confined to it, leaving the ground 

 colour perfectly free from spots. 



