CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE CARNATION". 



The Monthly Carnations are the species most in request for window gardens, 

 as they bloom several times a year, though scarcely every month, excepting in 

 California. There the soil and climate is peculiarly adapted to their needs, is 

 exactly formed for their culture, and the flowers bloom in the greatest profu- 

 sion, of the largest size, and in the most perfect colorings. 



Many of the best species are brought from Italy and Germany, and the im- 

 ported seeds come from Erfurt, and some parts of Thuringia, where the cul- 

 ture of the Carnation is a specialite. 



There are three kinds of Carnations — Flakes, Bizarres and Picotees. 



The Flakes have only one color disposed in broad stripes on a pure white or 

 yellow ground, and it extends through each petal from its margin to the base. 



The Picotees, from the French picoti, was formerly spotted with purple, scar- 

 let or crimson spots on a yellow or white ground, but the florists have changed 

 its character, and it is no longer a spotted Carnation, but one with all the color 

 conflned to a border around each petal. 



The Bizarres have two or more colors running from the margin to the base 

 of the petal, in irregular stripes of purple, scarlet, cherry, pink or lilac, on a 

 white or yellow ground. 



Each of these classes have passed through transformations, and there seems 

 hardl}' any limit to the rare shadings, veinings and marblings which the flower 

 has assumed. A good, rich compost is indispensable to the production of fine 

 flowers ; there is scarcely any plant to which a congenial soil is of so much im- 

 portance. It does not like a wet soil, but one that is rich in leaf mould and 

 perfectly decomposed cow or horse manure. Many years ago the weavers in 

 various counties of England and Scotland were celebrated for their Carnations, 

 , and there were various receipts for composts which were jealously kept from 

 the public. One of these receipts ran thus : " One half one year old horse 

 manure, one-sixth good garden soil, one-sixth leaf mould, and one-sixth coarse 

 sand. Mix together, and let it be exposed to the frosts all winter, turning it 

 as often as possible." 



Carnations are propagated by seeds, layers and cuttings. 



The seeds should be sown in April or May, in sandy soil, under glass, and 

 transplanted when two inches high. 



Layering is best done in July or August. Take a fresh, young shoot, strong 

 and vigorous, which should be four or five joints in length ; strip off all the 



