58 Select Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks. 
those for 12, and contain three rows of two each. 
The distances from centre to centre of the holes and 
the edges of the box should be identical with those 
in the box for twelve blooms. 
Staging the Flowers——The aim of the exhibitor 
should be to get his flowers in any one stand as 
nearly uniform in size as possible, and at the same 
time of the largest size, all other things being equal. 
Varieties naturally differ in size and even the same 
variety may produce blooms of unequal size though 
otherwise relatively perfect. By skillful arrange- 
ment they may be made to appear fairly well 
balanced. 
The largest bloom should take the left hand 
corner in the back row of the box and all the other 
large ones should occupy the back row, furthest from 
the eye. The rest should be graduated, the medium 
sized ones occupying the middle row, and the 
smallest ones the front of the box. Should the 
blooms be all of one size or nearly so, the hand and 
eye may then be concentrated on the even distribu- 
tion of colours throughout the box. This will more 
particularly apply to self-colours in which the con- 
trast is more marked than in Bizarres, Flakes, and 
Picotees, though it should by no means be ignored i in 
these old types of show flowers. 
Treatment after Flowering—Unless the plants 
are wanted to produce seed, those that are housed 
should again be placed in the open air immediately 
after they have ceased flowering; and if any have 
been protected in the open by temporary shading 
the latter should be removed. 
If the young shoots are ready for layering, as they 
usually are by the time the plants have passed out of 
bloom, they should be layered in the pots. About 
an inch of the old soil should be picked off the top 
and a compost of equal parts of leaf mould and sand 
prepared in which to embed the layers. Hair pins 
may be used for pegging down the layers, or wires 
bent, with a hook and a handle for pulling them out, 
made and sold for the purpose, should be secured 
in sufficient quantity previous to commencing the 
work. The leafy points of the layers should be set 
as upright as possible. The operation of layering is 
precisely the same as for layering Carnations in the 
open. (See chapter on Border Carnations). Plants 
