100 6Select Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks. 
and only the most experienced hand allowed to 
attend the Malmaisons. If the grower is really in 
love with the work, he or she is in a better position 
to perform the work unerringly than a stranger put 
to do the work, it may be, for a week only. The 
grower or gardener who is enthusiastic over his work 
knows practically every plant individually and deals 
with it sympathetically. The practice of frequently 
changing the party in charge is radically wrong in 
the case of any class of plants, and more so with 
those which require careful treatment in winter. 
Rust, red spider and eel-worms are the most 
likely enemies of Malmaison Carnations in winter 
and spring; and for these the grower must ever be 
on the alert. Whenever rust makes its appearance 
in patches on a leaf, the latter should be cut off and 
burnt immediately to prevent the scattering of the 
spores on healthy plants. In large batches of plants 
unhealthy specimens should be eyed with great 
suspicion, especially those with pale coloured and 
blistered leaves near the surface of the soil. This 
is generally a en that something is radically wrong, 
and in all prob cael! the plants are affected with 
eel-worms. All such plants should be destroyed by 
burning. Indeed all unhealthy specimens that show 
signs of flagging when the soil is sufficiently moist 
should be destroyed or isolated from the rest till the 
true cause of their unhealthiness becomes manifest. 
All Carnations are liable to this malady, the eel- 
worms being introduced with the soil, manure, or 
the water used. For fuller instructions on these 
points see chapters on “Fungoid Diseases” and 
“Insect Pests” respectively. 
Should the owner or cultivator desire a batch of 
plants to come into bloom early, the requisite num- 
ber should be placed in a house where the tempera- 
ture at night 1s kept at 50°. This may be done at 
the new year, and when the plants respond to the 
treatment the minimum night temperature should be 
gradually ratsed to 55°, but never higher. 
By skilful management some of the varieties may 
be had in bloom during the last three months of the 
year, and onward through the first four months of 
the next, till the natural flowering period of the 
section in May, June, and July. For the earliest 
work the old Blush and Princess of Wales Mal- 
maisons, with the newer Mme. Arthur Warocque 
and Princess May should be selected, as they submit 
