The Carnation in Town. ie 
On 
congenial foothold of stone and mortar similar to 
the conditions it finds on its native banks and rocks 
of limestone. The wild Carnation is abundant in 
some parts of Normandy and has been witnessed as 
recently as 1874 by Ellacombe on the old castle 
walls of Falaise in which William the Conqueror 
was born. The late Mr. Burbidge also observed it 
growing in abundance on the donjon keep of 
Chateau Gaillard, high above the bed of the Seine. 
He also speaks of it as flourishing, healthy, and 
happy on the limestone walls of the Trinity College 
Gardens, Dublin. It has long been recorded as 
naturalised on the ruins of Rochester Castle, Kent, 
and still existed there quite recently. 
In all these habitats the Carnation flourishes with- 
out any attention on the part of man. Flowers are 
produced in abundance every year, and the foliage 
assumes that natural rich sea-green hue 
characteristic of health. There is no damping off 
in winter, and eel-worms have no chance of 
penetrating the roots or destroying the foliage. 
Though subjected to a scorching sun in summer, a 
very low temperature in winter and exposed to 
every gale that blows, the Carnation maintains a 
healthy and vigorous independence. 
All this should furnish us with a useful object 
lesson as to the natural hkings and requirements of 
the Carnation. It is a plant of the rock and wall, 
like the Wallflower, Snapdragon, Pink, and Erinus. 
In the rich soils cf our gardéns, subjected to a mild, 
moist climate in winter, it is like a pampered and 
overfed domestic animal, liable to many ailments, 
which its constitution undermined by highly 
artificial conditions, is unable to resist. For these 
same reasons it should not be planted in heavy clay 
soils to stand the winter, but grown in small pots 
and sheltered from rain and melting snows, in cold 
frames with a maximum of ventilation except when 
the soil is frozen hard. Under the latter ccn- 
ditions, that is, when a bright day succeeds a very 
low night temperature, it would be well to tilt up 
the lights at the back, and throw a light shading 
over them to prevent a material rise of the tempera- 
ture, which would be detrimental rather than 
beneficial to the plants. The hardiness of the wild 
plant is unquestionable, but even the high bred 
varieties of the florist have not been materially 
altered in this respect. The more succulent stems 
and foliage of the cultivated forms have to be 
