THE CARNATION MANUAL. 19 



indeed, there is no reason why he should do so. 

 There are varieties in every class — selfs, bizarres, 

 flakes, fancies, and picotees — which will do well out 

 of doors. There are, however, certain points to be 

 considered in their selection. 



The first, and certainly one of the most impor- 

 tant, is that no plant which habitually bursts its 

 calyx is worth growing at all in the open border. 



It must, however, be remembered that nearly 

 all Carnations have this tendency, and will at times 

 produce untidy flowers with a burst calyx, and in 

 some seasons this habit is much more observable 

 than in others. It is w^ell to remember, however, 

 that plants which display this fault in the open 

 border may lose it to some extent under pot culture. 

 Xo promising seedling, therefore, should be finally 

 discarded until it has been proved under both 

 conditions. 



The formation of the buds, however, furnishes a 

 rule by w^hich Carnations may be roughly divided 

 into two gTcat classes — Bursters and Non-bursters. 



The confirmed "burster" will always have short, 

 round, blunt-headed buds ; such plants never give 

 satisfactory results in the border, and will seldom 

 produce a flower which is worth the trouble of 

 picking. The non-burster, on the other hand, dis- 

 plays a long bud of about three times its diameter, 

 and these alone deseiTC to be classed as " Border 

 Carnations." 

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