66 WINDOW AND PARLOR GARDENING 
Cut obliquely immediately below a bud and remove the marrow 
from the lower end. Prepare a well-drained pot, fill it partly 
with sharp silver-sand which should be pressed down very 
firmly. Insert the cuttings one by one nearly down to the 
leaf. ‘The outer ones may very well touch the inside of the 
pot. Then water well and keep constantly moist and in a 
light position in about 60 degrees, where, in the course of three 
or four weeks, they will all be rooted. ‘Then remove from the 
sand, pot singly in 2-inch pots, very firmly and without injur- 
ing the roots. Re-pot as often as necessary until established in 
7- or 8-inch pots, in which they should be allowed to bloom. 
Roses require rich soil: two parts of good fibrous loam, one part 
decayed cow manure, with a sprinkle of bone-dust and some 
sand, makes a good soil for flowering plants. After some time 
the soil should be top-dressed, and late in the season weak 
manure water will do good. 
To make the plants bushy and strong, all flower-buds appearing 
during the summer should be removed. Shoots producing no 
flower-buds should be trimmed back to about two strong buds 
in September or October. During the winter months the 
plants will bloom freely if properly cared for. All shoots after 
flowering should be cut back to a good bud. 
Look well after watering in summer, spray foliage frequently, 
allow no green-flies or mildew to get a foothold on any account. 
Carnations, next to the rose, have been favorites with florists 
for centuries. The Carnation is a plant well fitted for house 
culture, neat in habit, easily grown and very floriferous ; there 
is no better plant to be had. Of American varieties the white 
Silver-spray, the yellow Buttercup, the salmon-pink Daybreak, 
the rose-pink Tidal-wave and the scarlet Portia are among the 
best. 
