Show Carnations and Picotees. 55 
mostly neither growers nor exhibitors. This fre- 
quently arises from an imperfect knowledge of the 
aim and object for which flowers are dressed and 
the fine qualities it displays rather than creates. The 
canon of the florist is that “ There must be nothing 
extraneous introduced into the flower, neither petal 
nor pellet, nor any such thing.” Deformed petals 
may be removed or those that exhibit any defect in 
colour or the arrangement of the same. The 
harmony of petals and colours may be maintained, 
but only such as are inherent or intrinsic of the 
flower. Could a commercial florist do less, who uses 
a gum pot to make his flowers hold together. 
The method of dressing, as told by Hogg, was to 
cut the flowers and put them in water for two hours, 
after which, “take your etui [tweezers], and pull the 
guard leaves quite round and circular; then place 
the second, third, and fourth tier of petals in an 
imbricated form, that is, like slates upon a roof, or 
scales upon a fish, a leaf covering each division of 
the leaves in each row or tier, till they are arranged 
in a convex form like the outside of a dome or 
cupola; place the bizarred and finely striped leaves 
in full sight, pluck out ali white or self-coloured, all 
pouncy and superfluous dull leaves, and those that 
will not lie.” 
The words used by the modern florist are some- 
what different, but the creed and the instructions 
given are practically identical with those of Hogg. 
First turn back the teeth of the calyx with tweezers. 
Then the lower or outside petals must be gently 
pulled towards the edge of the card or collar, neatly 
and regularly arranged; and upon these the remain- 
ing petals are to be regularly and alternately disposed 
tier upon tier, removing deformed petals, also those 
that have “run” or become self-coloured, as well as 
those that are wholly white. A bad petal may hide 
a much finer one beneath it. This tends to increase 
or emphasise the unity of the flower as a whole with 
its variety of contrasting colours. Ruffled, folded, or 
deformed petals few can admire, and all such should 
be removed. This then is really displaying the best 
of what is already in and part of the flower. The 
real beauty of a bizarred or flaked Carnation can 
scarcely be seen or appreciated till one comes to 
arrange the petals, and build up a symmetrical 
bloom. A really bad flower could not be trans- 
formed into a perfect or even a good one of its kind. 
