126 
ness and profusion of its growth, the brillianey and di- 
versity of its colors, and sweetness of its perfume, never 
fail to attract admiration. Hogg says: ‘Of all the 
flowers that adorn the garden, whether they charm the 
eye with their beauty, or regale the sense of smelling by 
their fragrance, this may justly be said to hold the first - 
rank.’’ They are all hardy South of this point, though 
in many cases a light covering of leaves or evergreen 
boughs would be beneficial to them through December 
and January. They Lloom most when grown out doors 
in the South in September, October and November. At 
this season a bed of Carnations is a grand sight. To pro- 
cure a bed of this sort select young plants in March or 
April; no matter how small they are, as long as they are 
healthy and have good roots, for large plants are ones 
that have been blooming through the Winter and are 
comparatively worthless. The soil should be quite rich 
and well manured with thoroughly rotted manure, or if 
not to be had, bone dust may be used to a good advan- 
tage. The plants should be set out about eight inches 
apart each way, and as they grow they should be stopped, - 
that is when the shoots of growth become six inches 
Jong, they should have the points pinched out. This 
should be continued until the middle of July, when the 
operation must be discontinued if flowers are desired 
early in Fall. As most of the foot stalks of Carnation 
blooms are not strong enough to bear the weight of the 
blooms, a stake must be put to each plant and the differ- 
ent flower stalks looped up to it by means of a fine string 
or matting, which is better. Some of the varieties have 
but one flower on the end of the flower stalks, others 
have their buds produced in clusters, so that in gathering 
the blooms only short stems can be secured unless at a 
great sacrifice of buds. The long stemmed varieties 
