80 THE CARNATION MANUAL. 



half good, brown, turfy loam ; three-eighths leaf- 

 mould and sandy road-sweepings ; and one-eighth 

 brown, fibrous peat. I consider the main element 

 in winter cultivation is the making of roots, and, as 

 will be seen by the composition of the soil I use, 

 root-making material forms an important in- 

 gredient. 



The plants, having duly arrived, should be 

 potted without delay. I use pots of about three 

 inches diameter, never placing more than one plant 

 in a pot, as I have found that, where two are placed 

 together, a great disturbance of the roots takes place 

 in the spring, if they are separated when trans- 

 ferred to their blooming-pots. When potted, they 

 should be put in a frame, and kept close for a week, 

 and very little water given until they are fairly 

 started. The question of the winter aspect that 

 Carnations should have, is, I think, an open one, 

 and depends entirely upon the convenience at the 

 disposal of the cultivator. Up till last 3^ear, I have 

 always given them a northern position, which I was 

 given to understand was the correct thing; but I 

 was not at all pleased mth their appearance in that 

 aspect, and what was still more important to me, in 

 a monetary sense, was the losses I sustained by the 

 plants damping off. I have, therefore, during the 

 present winter given them a southern aspect, with 

 the benefit of such sun as we get in the winter, 

 and, up tu the present time, the result has far 



