THE CARNATION MANUAL. 61 



vigorous growth in the plants. From this time on- 

 ward to the period of flowering — about the 20th of 

 July in an ordinary season here in the south — they 

 will want little further attention beyond the tying 

 and the watching for the attacks of green fly and 

 the ordinary garden enemies. 



Towards the latter end of July, or as the plants 

 are going out of flower, they will be ready to layer. 

 One often sees the grower urged to do this early, 

 and good advice it is as a rule ; but regard must 

 also be had to the season. 



Free rooting depends on the proper ripening of 

 the grass, the time of which will vary as the season 

 may be late or early. In a warm, genial, and early 

 season, such as we had in 1885, layering might be 

 done soon after the middle of July. In the very 

 late one of 1888, or in those of the last two years, 

 the second week in August was early enough to 

 begin it. A large Northern grower wrote to me in 

 1890 that his failures were nearly all with the first 

 layers — the second, done some weeks later, having 

 been more successful. I have always taken the 

 time as best indicated by the decline of the flower, 

 and have never had any considerable percentage 

 of failures even in such seasons as those above 

 mentioned, when complaints were common. 



The best compost for layering is one consisting 

 of fresh turfy loam, leaf-mould, and coarse, sharp 

 silver sand in equal parts. Some of the old soil 



