90 GLENNY y HANDBOOK 



Other hardy subjects used for that purpose. The best are 

 D. gracilis, white, and D. scahra, white. 



DEVIL IN A BUSH. See Nigella. 



DIANELLA. [Liliacese.] Greenhouse or half-hardy 

 fleshy-rooted perennials. Soil, sandy peat and loam. In- 

 creased by seeds or division. Nearly all the introduced 

 species are blue-flowered, and natives of New Holland. 



DIANTHUS. Pink. [Caryophyllacese.] The majority 

 of the Pinks are highly ornamental hardy perennials, particu- 

 larly suited for rockwork, and almost all of these are alike 

 desirable in such situations. All the hardy perennials prefer 

 a light dryish soil, and are increased by cuttings or pipings, 

 and also by seeds, which should be sown as soon as ripe. 

 There are a few half-hardy sub-shrubby kinds, which may be 

 kept in a dry frame or greenhouse, and should be potted in 

 sandy loam and peat : they propagate by cuttings. The 

 Indian Pink (D. Chinensis) is a richly-coloured hardy annual, 

 and the only annual worth growing. 



Pink (Dianthus jjlumariiis, vars.). — The fancy or florists' 

 race of Pinks is extensive. They require every year to be 

 struck from pipings, which are the shoots that spring out 

 round the base of the stem : these are taken off" at blooming 

 time, or rather later, and each shoot is cut across just below 

 the third joint, the lower pair of leaves from the heart being 

 cut clean away. A bed is made of rich sandy loam and dung, 

 and the surface is made quite soft with water, in which state 

 pipings or shoots are inserted all over it not more than an 

 inch apart : after drying for an hour or two it is covered with 

 a hand-glass, which is not disturbed for some days, and then 

 only to water the pipings if they require it. A good deal can 

 be done towards moistening them by watering outside the 

 glass. In three weeks they will have struck root, and the 

 glass may then be tilted a little to admit some air, and in a 

 few days more may be taken away, that they may have full 

 benefit of the air. After a few days they may be taken up, 

 and planted out in four-feet beds : six inches apart every way 

 will be the proper distance for the plants. The soil in which 

 they grow should be the loam from rotted turves ; or, if ordi- 

 nary garden soil be used of necessity, a good dressing of dung 

 should be forked in before the Pinks ai'e planted. In May, 



