154 



IRISH GARDENING. 



Pinks and Carnations. 



" READER" asks us to explain the 

 botanical differences between pinks 

 and carnations, to name a few good 

 varieties for a small garden, and to 

 add a hint or two on general culture 

 Ihat might be helpful to a n>ere 

 amateur in gardening. 



Pinks and carnations belong to 

 the genus Diaiilhus (the name being derived from the 

 Greek, and meaning Jove's own flower), and easily 

 distinguished from all other genera in the same family 

 by the presence of scales underneath the tubular calyx 

 of the flower. The parent of all the varieties of car- 

 nations IS Dianthus caryuphyllus, or clove pink, a plant 

 with a stout stem, much branched and woody below, 

 and carrying very glaucous long-linear leaves, grooved 

 above, and about 4106 inches long. The scales under 

 the calyx are short and broad. The petals are of 

 various colours, and are toothed along the upper 

 margin. The flo\' ers are fragrant. The parent of 

 most of our garden or plumed pinks or Pheasant's Eye 

 is Dianthus pluniarius, a low-growing, broadly-tufted 

 plant, from 9 to 12 inches high, carrying small 

 glaucous-green linear leaves, with rough edges. The 

 petals are white, pink, or variegated, and have their 

 edges cut into a fringe of slender segments. This 

 species is more tufted in habit and hardier in consti- 

 tution than the carnation, and its scented, freely- 

 produced flowers have been always great favourites in 

 gardens, although they do not seem to appeal to the 

 popular taste so much as carnations. This, to a large 

 extent, may be due to the fact that Ihey are not exhibi- 

 tion flowers, and therefore have been subjected to com- 

 parative neglect by the florists. We know that too 

 many " gardeners" select the things they grow not so 

 much by independent personal preferences as by what 

 they see printed and praised in florists' catalogues. 

 Vet pinks deserve more attention, and as they have 

 wide powers of variation, hybridise freely and produce 

 seed in abundance, any amateur with ordinary dis- 

 crimination may raise up charming varieties from his 

 own seeds. .Any ofi"spring of DIanlhus plumarius will 

 thrive in a well-drained soil in a sunny position, and 

 hence they are specially useful in covering dry, sunny 

 banks and borders. The presence of stagnant water 

 in the soil is fatal to success in growing pinks. 

 They should always be planted on raised ground, while 

 an annual top-dressing of old or well-decayed manure 

 will be very helpful in promoting vigorous growth and a 

 good show of flowers. 



In the choice of varieties we would advise the 

 amateur to leave the exhibition kinds severely alone 

 and plant only those that will fill his border with June 

 beauty, and laden the air with rich perfume. As to 

 colour, we have pure whites in ."Mbino, and in Mrs. 

 Sinkins, white ; claret-laced in Mrs. Pettifer, a blood- 

 red in Napoleon III., light rose with crimson blotches 

 in Anne Boleyn, doubles in Multiflonis Jlorc-pcno and 

 Midtijlorus niscus, and many more. There are other 

 species and varieties of pinks, but we will here mention 

 only one other, the cheddar pink (Dianthus sinensis), 

 called after its only native station in the British Isles — the 



Cheddar Rocks in Somersetshire. Why we refer to it 

 specially is because it readily hybridises with Dianthus 

 plumarius, and doubtless some new desirable forms 

 might be secured by crossing and selection, and we 

 commend the work to any enthusiastic amateur who 

 would care to undertake the necessary experiments. 

 This particular pink thrives best in a soil containing a 

 fair amount of lime. Such a soil may be easily prepared 

 by intermixing ordinary loam with old lime rubble. 



The carnation or clove-pink is a great favourite, and 

 has been for centuries back. The flowers inherit great 

 variability as to colour. Pink is the colour of the type ; 

 variations from this represent every colour of the 

 spectrum excepting blue. Florists for ages have been 

 playing about with the coloration of carnations, and the 

 game between them and nature still goes on. They 

 have set up certain artificial classes representing their 

 ideas of carnation beauty, and all e.xhibitors were, and 

 we suppose still are, obliged to conform to these ideas 

 or be disqualified. Thus we have 1 1) the Flakes 

 distinguished bv having two colours arranged in stripes 

 which must run lengthwise along the petals; (2) the 

 Bizarres with three colours in stripes or spots scattered 

 anyhow ; (3) Picotees with petals one colour, but 

 edged with a different — and if possible — strikingly 

 different colour ; and (4) Painted Ladies with the under- 

 side of each petal white and the upper coloured red 

 or purple. 



The natural colour is a " self" or one colour like the 

 charming old crimson clove, and growers of t.iste 

 select these for their own pleasure, and leave the 

 " Painted Ladies" and other artificialities to the prize- 

 himters and show-tents. Within recent years races of 

 beautiful self-coloured carnations have been raised, 

 such as Alice (white). Fiery Cross (scarlet). Purple 

 Emperor, Mrs. Lora Armstrong (salmon), Mrs. 

 Reynolds Hole (salmon-apricot), and lots more. Many 

 of the French-raised kinds are well spoken of, such as 

 Countess of Paris, Madame Roland, and Madame 

 Lafausse, 



In planting carnations in the border (and it is oiily for 

 this purpose that we are writing) put them down in 

 bold clumps, not in lines or dolled about among other 

 plants. Select a rich loam with plenty of leaf-mould or 

 old manure and coarse sand, or gritt}- material (mortar 

 rubbish is good) intermixed. The plants are easily 

 propagated by layers, and fresh stocks are thus raised 

 each year. The old plants, after removal of the 

 rooted "layers," may be destroyed. Now is the time 

 to plant. 



M.\RJOR.\M is an aromatic pot herb largely used for 

 flavouring soups. It grows well in a light soil, and revels 

 in a chalky one. It is a strong sun lover. Bees are 

 apparently very fond of it, and clumps of it might well 

 be planted wherever bees are kept. 



" Bit those (herbs) that perfume the air most delight- 

 fully, not passed by as the rest, but being trodden upon 

 and crushed, are three— that is, bumet, wild thyme, and 

 water-mints. Therefore you are to set whole alleys of 

 them, to have the pleasure when you walk or tread." — 

 Bacon, 



