36 Select Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks. 
with less risk of being raised out of the soil by frost. 
The plants should be fairly deeply planted, covering 
the stem up to the lower leaves. Those that get 
elevated by frost should again be pressed down by 
the fingers after a thaw. Should the following 
winter prove in any way severe, it is almost certain 
that some of the layers may die, leaving blanks in 
the beds or borders. It is well to be provided against 
such a contingency by potting up a number of layers 
to be wintered in frames by way of a reserve. When 
filling up the blanks, some of the layers that are 
still green may, nevertheless, be crippled and dying. 
This may be detected by those having wrinkled or 
flabby leaves that would most certainly perish when 
the drying winds of March begin to tell upon them. 
These may at once be removed and their places 
taken by healthy plants. Making good any defects 
in the beds or borders should be accomplished 
towards the end of February. 
After Treatment. 
On the advent of drier and warmer weather, the 
surface of the ground is hable to cake and crack, 
while seedling weeds will spring up apace. Ply the 
Dutch hoe frequently and both these evils will be 
non-existant, while the ground freely aerated in this 
way will encourage a vigorous growth of the Carna- 
tions. In naturally dry and light soils it has been 
found advantageous to mulch the ground with well 
decayed manure to conserve the moisture. Watering 
with the hose or garden engine is also a necessity, 
especially in droughty seasons previous to the period 
of flowering. Syringing is also of great benefit after 
sundown on bright, warm days. It also serves to 
keep the foliage clean and clear of insect enemies, 
which are always most active and numerous pre- 
vious to the flowering period. 
As the flower stems run up and before they have 
time to be beaten down by wind, rain, or the process 
of watering, they should be neatly and securely 
staked. Each stem of plants from layers should be 
given a separate stake, and for that reason wooden 
ones painted a dark green should be employed to 
make them as inconspicuous as possible. The ties 
should be placed above a pair of leaves in convenient 
positions and merely looped loosely to the stakes to 
allow the ties to rise with the lengthening of the 
stems. Wire stakes, twisted in spiral form and 
