86 PICTORIAL PRACTICAL CARNATION GROWING. 
shades, which most sundriesmen supply, are good. Or shades may 
be made at home of cardboard or tin. Waterproof transparent canvas 
may also be used, if procurable. 
Collars. 
There is no detail in connection with exhibiting Carnations which 
has been so severely criticised as that of staging them on collars. 
The attack has gone on for generations. The fiercest invective, the 
most pungent sarcasm, have been launched at collaring, without 
having the slightest effect in restricting the practice. The exhibitor 
has serenely pursued his placid way, either unconscious of the “ slings 
and arrows” aimed at him, or disdainfully ignoring them. 
The critics declare that exhibiting a flower with a “ruff” round 
its neck is hollow, artificial, and an offence to good taste. Exhibitors 
(or such few of them as think it worth while to notice the attacks) 
contend that it is only when a bloom rests on a snow white base of 
cardboard that its true refinement can be seen. The critics, they 
FIG. 39 (NEXT PAGE).—PROTECTING THE BLOOMS. 
N, stage or stand; d, receptacles filled with water ; e, posts or legs, 4 by 4 
inches, and 18 inches long, the lower part turned for appearance sake, 
but not too much diminished for stability ; /, bearers, 4 by 3 inches long, 
narrow part upwards ; g, platform of battens, 14 inches thick, 3 inches 
wide, fixed so as to allow about 1 inch between each two. 
O, section of the shelter or awning over stage; 4, brickwork foundation on 
which the posts of the stage stand; 7, pans; j, hollow for water; 
k, stage or stand ; 7, posts, 8 feet 6 inches to 9 feet long, fixed 6 feet out of 
the ground, and 3 feet of the lower part creosoted, the exposed part 
squared to 3 or 4 inches; m, plate, the width of the posts and sloped to 
suit the pitch of the rafters; , rafters, 3 by 24 inches, grooved } inch 
from the sides of the upper edge, narrow face upwards; o, ridge piece, 
6 by 13 inches, to which the rafters are secured by screws, as also to the 
eavesplate; p, iron tie rod; g, cap of zine secured to the ridge; 
7, light frames made similar to glazed lights, covered with canvas, and 
so wide that their edge will come in the middle of each rafter, where at 
the bottom should be a projecting bolt and screwdown nut gripping the 
frames to keep them in place; s, side frames corresponding to the roof 
frames, covered with canvas, jammed under the rafters, and resting ona 
board at the lower part, ¢, being secured there with nuts; w, $-inch 
feather edge boards, preferably battened, and hinged at the top to open 
outwards as shown by the dotted line, so as to admit air on the opposite 
side to that on which strong wind blows. 
P, cover for shielding Carnation blooms in the open air from sun and rain; 
v, stake; w, arm or support of galvanised iron affixed to the top of the 
cover x, and with socket, y, for receiving the top of the shade handle or 
stake ; z, cover or shade formed of tin, the disc about 1 foot in diameter, 
height 6 to 9 inches. 
Q, conical shade of cardboard, oilcloth, or thin tin, any diameter; a, stake; 
b, point of the stake where a peg or nail is driven through to support 
the shade ; c,shade; d, wedge inserted between the stick and the cover 
to make it firm. 
