118 THE CARNATION MANUAL. 



SEEDLINGS. 



In all probability the branch of his calling 

 which most engrosses the attention and arouses 

 the most lively interest of the true florist is the 

 raising of seedlings. As the buds break into 

 colour, the early morning finds him bending affec- 

 tionately over a bloom which, in his sanguine 

 moments, he anticipates will turn out to be 

 superior to anything yet produced. Visitors are 

 requested to look over the beds, and opinions and 

 speculations are freely indulged in as to the re- 

 spective merits of the flowers. Points of difference 

 and resemblance are noted and discussed. Indeed, 

 the consuming interest centred in a bed of seed- 

 lings can only be equalled by the care which 

 should be exercised in their raising. 



The jnethod followed here in the raising of 

 seedlings . is to sow the seed early in February, 

 place them in a gentle heat, and as soon as they 

 are forward enough to handle they are pricked out 

 into boxes and placed on the shelves of a green- 

 house near the glass for six or eight weeks, when 

 they are removed to a cold frame. About the 

 beginning of June they are nice sturdy plants, 

 and are then planted out in beds in the open 

 ground and watered. All the care they require 

 for the season after that is to keep down weeds. 

 By the end of the autumn they will have gi'own 

 into nice bushy plants from six to ten inches 



