108 Select Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks. 
for some time previous to planting them in the 
open ground if there is any intention to transplant 
them into beds or borders just previous to their 
coming into bloom. When Carnations have once 
been in pots they transplant with a ball of soil and 
receive less check in the operation than if the soil 
were to fall away from the roots. 
The early batches should therefore be potted once 
or twice, never allowing them to become pot bound, 
the object being to keep them growing in order to 
build up strong, bushy plants. About the end o 
March or beginning of April the seedlings should 
be thoroughly hardened off in readiness to plant 
them out when the weather becomes settled and 
genial in April. The latest batches should be 
planted out in May. For garden decoration they 
should be put into their permanent or flowering 
position. About a foot apart each way will usually 
be sufficient space as they usually grow only 18in. 
high. All they require after this is to be kept clean 
by hoeing, thus stirring the surface soil at frequent 
intervals. In hot, dry weather an occasional water- 
ing would be highly advantageous. A short, neat 
stake to each bush would prevent the stems from 
being blown down by the wind in exposed positions. 
It often happens that beds have to be refilled a 
second time during the season in public parks and 
gardens, various plants being held in reserve for the 
purpose. A very suitable subject fer this mode of 
gardening is the Marguerite Carnation. With this 
object in view a batch of plants might be grown in 
pots, and no check to growth would be experienced 
even in dry, hot weather, by transferring the plants 
to their new quarters in the beds. 
Culture in Pots. 
Those who intend to use their Marguerites for 
greenhouse or conservatory decoration in autumn 
and winter should grow the plants entirely in pots, 
on a bed of ashes in the open, and transfer them to 
their winter quarters at the end of September or 
early in October according to the weather. At the 
same time it is equally practicable to grow the seed- 
lings in a piece of well prepared ground or in beds, 
lifting and potting them up in September to get 
them thoroughly established in the fresh soil before 
the advent of short days and cloudy skies with feeble 
light. Needless to say the later sown batches of 
seedlings are best adapted for this purpose, because 
