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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



(OF AMERICA) 



LnHARY 



Devoted to the Science of Floriculture and Horticulture **'^^'**^^t- 



I Vol. XXIV 



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MARCH, 1920 



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No. 3 ■ 



Things and Thoughts of the Garden 



THE ONLOOKER 



■' — the fairest flowers o' the season 

 Are our carnations.". 



—The Winter's Tale, IV, 4. 



So wrote the Bard of Avon more than three hnnch-ed 

 years ago, and the same sentiment is voiced today by 

 many an ardent admirer of the Divine Flower. This 

 reverential title comes from the generic name of the car- 

 nation, Dianthus, "from dios, divine, and anthos, a 

 flower; the name given by Theophrastus, in allusion to 

 the exquisite fragrance of the blossoms of most of the 

 species." to f|uotc from Nicholson's Dictionary of Gar- 

 dening. 



This establishes the carnation as a flower of ancient 

 lineage, as Theophrastus, who w^s a Greek philosopher 

 and botanist, lived some three hvmdred years before 

 Christ. There is abundant evidence to show that the 

 carnation has long been regarded with much favor as a 

 garden plant, although its earliest history as such seems 

 to be somewhat obscure. But it is quite clear that it 

 was a well-known plant in English gardens of the si.x- 

 toenth centur\', and the evolution from a single five- 

 petak'd flower to handsome double varieties was an ac- 

 complished fact at that time. Gerard wrote in 1597 that 

 "every clymate and countrey bringeth forth new sortes," 

 and Parkinson in 1629 stated that "the number of them is 

 so great that to give several descriptions to them all were 

 endlesse." The old English name was Gillyflower, of 

 which llicre were numerous quaint spellings, and the 

 name carnation appears to have been first used to dis- 

 tinguish a deep red color. 



Parkinson is credited with the first attcm])t to classify 

 the varieties. The largest kinds he called carnations, 

 the smaller ones gillyflowers, and all those with flowers 

 of yellow shades he classed as "Orange Tawnies." This 

 type originated in Silesia, and its introductidfi into Eng- 

 land gave the growers there something which had hither- 

 to been lacking, and that was good seed jjroducers. 

 I'heir influence was soon shown, old sorts were discarded 

 for new, new sections were formed, and the flower 

 greatly increased in poi)ular favor. It is interestmg to 

 learn that at one time those kinds which developed a 

 split caly.x were regarded with most favor. These were 

 called lUirsters. and those with a non-s])litting cal\x were 

 known as Whole IMowers. It was not until tlie eighteenth 

 century was well along that the latter gained first place 

 in i)opular esteem, which they have maintained ever 

 since. Some of the good ])oints of a fine double carna- 

 tion are set forth in Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Garden- 

 ing, published in 1835, as follows: "The stem should be 

 strong, tall and straight : not less than thirty or more 



91 



than forty-five inches high. The flower should be at 

 least three inches in diameter, consisting of a great num- 

 ber of large well-formed petals ; but neither so many as 

 to give it too full and crowded an appearance, nor so 

 few as to make it appear too thin and empty. The calyx 

 should be at least one inch in length, terminating with 

 broad points, sufficiently strong to hold the narrow bases 

 of the petals in a close and circular body." 



Hogg in 1820 issued a catalog of 350 good sorts 

 which were in his possession, and writing in praise of 

 the carnation as a garden flower states that "The tulip, 

 though styled the queen of the garden, cannot boast of 

 more admirers. They may with propriety be considered 

 the two masterpieces of Nature." 



* * * 



Referring to the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

 we find it stated that about 250 species of Dianthus are 

 known to botanists, and of these the most noted is 

 D. caryophyllus, a native of southern Europe, and re- 

 corded as the original parent of all the carnations. We 

 find that distinctive strains were developed in dififerent 

 European countries, and as the result of cross-breeding 

 various well-defined sections were developed. In Great 

 Britain the Bizarres and Flakes, parti-colored flowers, 

 each with their sub-divisions of color, were for a long 

 time the ideal of the old school of florists. Later on the 

 Picotees, Fancies and Selfs had their day of popular 

 favor. These were all summer bloomers and mostly 

 flowered in the open air, although some enthusiastic culti- 

 vators did grow plants in pots under glass for exhibition 

 blooms. For a time in the latter part of the last century 

 the Malmaison type was very jiopular in Britain. Won- 

 derful flowers these were when well developed, but ac- 

 cording to general experience it was one of the most 

 uncertain plants to grow. Many a good plantsman 

 struck a snag on Malmaison culture, and few growers 

 really ever mastered its peculiarities. 



* * * 



But of late years the American carnation has taken the 

 leading ])lace across the seas, and this distinctive type, 

 known also as the Perpetual, and winter-flowering sec- 

 tion stands pre-eminent in the world tuday for all-round 

 excellence. The story of its develo])ment will stand as 

 one of the most notable chapters in the history of .Ameri- 

 can floriculture. It is a descendant of a French strain 

 which was derived from the so-called Tree Carnation 

 about the middle of the last century, and to a French 

 florist named Charles Marc, who was located on Long 

 Island, belongs the credit of being the first to introduce 



