CHAPTER XXI 



Various Classifications of the Carnation— Traits and 

 Peculiarities—Sports and Variations— Seed Sports 



THE various attempts at classifying the carnation have gradually been 

 abandoned, until, at the present time, there seems to be no definite 

 classification scheme in vogue. The French divide the carnation into 

 three classes, namely : First, Grenadines, including those with strong per- 

 fumes, single or double flowers, medium in size, with petals deeply fringed 

 and self-colored blooms. Second, Flamands, which include all large- 

 flowered varieties, the blooms being round and double, rising in the center, 

 and forming a convex surface, with smooth-edged petals. In this class the 

 colors might be self, or striped with two or more colors. Third, Fancies, 

 comprised of those with colors arranged in bands on light grounds. In this 

 class the petals might or might not be fringed. 



The English divide the carnation into four classes, namely : First, 

 Selfs, those possessing but one color. Second, Flakes, those having a pure 

 ground of white, or yellow, and flaked, or striped, with another color such 

 as crimson, scarlet, or pink. Third, Bizarres, those having the pure white, 

 or pure yellow ground, marked in the same manner as in the Flakes, but 

 with several different colors. Fourth, Picotees, which latter class has been 

 regarded as a distinct race, the flowers having a pure white, or yellow ground, 

 the same as with the Flakes, with a band of color bordering each petal at 

 the margin. 



In the early part of the 19th century much attention was given by 

 English gardeners to the growing of large carnation flowers. In order to 

 produce the most perfect blooms, the English growers practiced what was 

 called the art of "dressing," which consisted of removing the superfluous 

 petals with forceps, and arranging, in a formal manner, such petals as 

 appeared out of place. The calyx was frequently cut partly down between 

 the teeth, in order to prevent bursting, and to provide sufficient room for the 

 utmost expansion of the flower. But the practice of the art of dressing 

 seems to have wrought the downfall of the English carnation about the 

 middle of the 19th century. 



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