22 Select Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks. 
if the cut is rather under than over 4in. long the 
firmer the tongue will be and less lable to break 
away when the layers are being severed from the 
parent and lifted after the process of rooting 1s com- 
plete. When the tongue has been made bend the 
layer and push it into the loose soil and fix it down 
with a hooked peg. 
A punnet filled with pegs previously prepared 
should be kept close at hand. They may be made 
from bracken, old birch brooms, or brushwood. 
METHOD OF LAYERING CARNATIONS. 
Wire pegs may also be bought ready made from the 
horticultural sundriesman, thus saving a deal of time. 
They last several years and answer the purpose 
admirably. Hair-pins are often used for pegging 
down Carnations, and may be bought cheaply. 
When all the layers on a plant have thus been laid 
down cover them with the prepared compost, keep- 
ing the points of the layers upright. Make the 
edges of the basin rather high to prevent the water 
supplied from running away. Deal with all the rest 
of the plants in the same fashion. Before leaving 
