24 THE CARNATION TJANUAL. 



No amount of digging and turning over, no 

 supplies of manure, farmyard or patent, can be 

 relied upon to produce such satisfactory results as 

 fresh virgin soil — "top-spit," It may be objected 

 that fresh soil brings large additions of that most 

 pernicious pest, the " Avire-worm," and so it does ; 

 but no one who loves his flowers Avill dig in the 

 new soil without careful examination of it. Fortu- 

 nately the wire-worm is easily seen, and the greater 

 part of them should be destro3^ed ; as regards the 

 balance, the advantage conferred by the new soil 

 will amply compensate for occasional losses by 

 wire- worm. 



The border, when finished, should be well and 

 firmly trodden down, and is then ready for the 

 plants. 



Plants. — These should be well rooted " layers." 

 Small compact plants that have not flowered 

 during the summer may be left undisturbed in 

 the garden border, and may produce a plentiful 

 supply of flower the following summer. But, in 

 making a special Carnation bed, it will certainly 

 be wiser to fill it with fresh layers, for they can 

 be better depended upon to withstand the rigours 

 of the winter; and the blooms produced, though 

 they may be less in quantity, will be gTeatly 

 superior in quality. 



The following experiment was tried last year 

 by the writer. Some forty or fifty plants were 



