Marguerite Carnations. 109 
the plants are in no way exhausted or impaired by 
previous flowering. The operation of potting should 
be accomplished before the plants commence to 
bloom, and before the stems and foliage get beaten 
down and injured by autumn wind and rain. 
Marguerites are hardy or relatively so, but they 
retain their fresh appearance under glass much 
better if placed under shelter before being buffeted 
by rough weather. Plants in pots can be housed on 
the shortest notice when this becomes necessary, and 
both they and those newly potted up from the open 
ground will find ample protection in frames for 
some weeks longer. In the absence of other accom- 
modation a temporary framework, on which sashes 
or even mats can be placed, may be erected. Even 
then the sashes may be drawn off during the day in 
the absence of heavy rain, and the exposure to light 
and air will strengthen the plants for the strain of 
flowering during the short, dull days to come. 
A low, span-roofed structure is the best place for 
them after the middle of October, and as they ap- 
proach the flowering stage a minimum night tem- 
perature of 50° Fah. should be maintained. Wooden 
staging would be less likely to harbour damp and en- 
courage fungoid diseases than if the benches were 
covered with ashes or gravel, though Marguerites 
are usually very healthy and little lable to disease. 
Aphides may be kept down by fumigation or better 
still by the slow evaporation of nicotine fumes, if 
the plants are in bloom. 
I have seen Marguerites flowering splendidly in 
Perthshire towards the end of November under this 
system of treatment. The buds of tree Carnations, 
even when well grown, often fail to open in the 
short days and cloudy skies of winter in Scotland. 
The Marguerite Carnations make good substitutes. 
Seeds sown there from March to the end of April 
come into bloom in November and continue to 
furnish flowers till March or April. A compost often 
used is three parts of good turfy loam, one part well 
rotted manure, and a little soot and sand. The best 
results are obtained from plants in pots, giving them 
the final shift into 6in. pots at the end of July, 
sheltering them from windy, wet weather, and 
housing them in a suitable structure in November. 
During August and September the plants bloom 
much more profusely than they could in autumn and 
winter, by reason of the more favourable conditions. 
The season of flowering is, of course, proportionately 
