The Ideal Carnation 



day. Fig. 3 is described as Puxley's Emperor, a scarlet bizarre, raised by 

 Mr. Puxley in 1848, a remarkably large and showy kind, of good habit and 

 free growth. It is stated as a fact worth recording that Air. Puxley, though 

 an extensive grower, had only two kinds of carnations in his garden at that 

 time which were not originated by himself. 



Further comparing the ideal with the attainable carnation of that date, 

 one is once more impressed with the stiffness, formality and lack of grace in 

 the so-called ideal, or perfect carnation. In those days nothing but bizarres, 

 flakes and picotees were grown. So far as carnation literature discloses to 

 us, selfs were not desirable, consequently were not cultivated. At the present 

 time the American carnation grower seems to be working in an entirely differ- 

 ent field from that of the English cultivator of earlier days. The shell petal, 

 so much valued by the English grower, seems to be but little liked by the 

 American public, for the reason that in our climate during bright, sunny 

 weather the moisture evaporates from the edges of the petals, drying them up 

 and drawing them together toward the center in a cup-shaped manner, thus 

 producing a sleepy appearance in the flower, which is fatal to its sale. 



Among the many smooth-edged seedlings which we have raised at 

 Queens quite a number of them develop beautifully and keep well during 

 dark, winter weather, but as soon as exposed to the bright, sunny days of 

 February and March they take on their sleepy character; and during the 

 months of April and May are comparatively valueless. The laced or ser- 

 rated-edged petal seems to stand far better in our climate, for even after the 

 edge of the petal has become slightly withered and dried it does not alter the 

 shape of the flower, consequently the bloom is still presentable in appearance ; 

 and it may be stated that invariably the flower with the lace-edged 

 petal is far more durable and lasting than the shell-petaled bloom. 



Among American seedling growers of the present day more attention is 

 perhaps paid to form than is warranted by the tastes of our public. It has 

 been said that the devotion of the carnation grower in England to the produc- 

 tion of perfectly formal flowers finally wrought the downfall of the English 

 carnation, which, in a measure, passed out of popularity. Up to the present 

 time the American seedling grower has not been able to make so much 

 progress toward the production of formal blooms as to rob the carnation 

 of that great wealth of artistic variation, which probably has contributed more 

 to the increase of the consumption of carnations in the United States than any 

 other one point. 



So far as artistic taste is concerned, there is as much to be said in favor 

 of the ragged, yet artistic, graceful appearance of the heavily fringed carna- 



229 



