Malmaison Carnations. 95 
prove that they are serivceable and certainly that 
their number of admirers is large and on _ the 
_increase. ; 
The flowers are the largest of all Carnations, an 
now embrace all shades of colour from white and the 
original blush, to rose, scarlet, crimson, maroon, 
yellow, apricot, and terra cotta. The petals are very 
numerous and often shell-shaped or incurved at the 
edges, which gives the flower a different conforma- 
tion from that permissible in purely exhibition 
flowers such as Bizares, Flakes, and Picotees. The 
Malmaisons, in a word are Tree Carnations of 
remarkably robust habit of growth, with stout stems, 
very broad leaves, and massive flowers very fre- 
quently sweet scented and in many cases as fragrant 
as a Clove. 
Though correctly described as tree Carnations, 
they-are not perpetual flowering, but the plants 
themselves may be grown into huge bushes, and each 
side shoot when strong enough will furnish a truss 
or bunch of flowers, if left to develop naturally. 
Where large flowers are desired they must be 
reduced to the terminal one by disbudding as early 
as the buds can be conveniently fingered without 
injury to the stem or top bud. Their natural 
season of flowering is during May, June, and July. 
Whey, therefore, fill a gap between the tree and 
American Carnations on the one hand, with a little 
overlapping, and border and show Carnations on the 
other. Owing to the flowering season being so late 
they may be grown in very cool houses from which 
frost is just excluded. The natural rise of tempera- 
ture in. May is sufficient to develop the massive 
flowers. By some growers they are accorded a 
regular temperature by artificial means, not 
necessarily high, and this would induce an early dis- 
play. _ On no account must the general batch be 
subjected to a temperature equivalent to forcing or 
the flowers will be poor and short lived, while the 
plants would be more or less injured or weakened. 
Mme. Arthur Warocque and Princess May submit 
to forcing better, perhaps, than any others of the 
section. The old or true Malmaisons may be 
retarded bv placing them in a greenhouse facing 
north, in Mav. 
Propagation. 
Seed is sown with the scle obicct of raising rew 
