THE CARNATION MANUAL. 119 



across, and a few of them will probably have thrown 

 up a flower-stem ; and, if wanted, they may be 

 carefully lifted and potted, and placed in a green- 

 house, where they will bloom through the late 

 autumn and Avinter. The plants in the seed-beds 

 will stand the severest winter without the slightest 

 protection, unless rabbits are about ; if so, they 

 must be kept out with wire-netting, or they will cer- 

 tainly find their way to the Carnation beds. 



The following summer the plants will send up 

 on an average from six to twelve flowering stems, 

 Avhen they will require attention in the way of 

 staking and tying. As it would be an enormous 

 labour to tie each stem singly, the plan I adopt 

 is to stick in small pieces of branches through the 

 beds, about two and a half feet high, with the 

 twigs on them, and run strands of raflia matting 

 loosely round them. About the beginning of 

 August the raiser will begin to have his reward — 

 not a few straggling flowers, but the beds a solid 

 mass of bloom in almost every shade of colour, 

 where you may "cut and come again" without 

 making any apparent difference in the appearance 

 of the beds. If the seed has been genuine, the 

 grower may reasonably expect something really 

 good amongst them ; but if he has had only the 

 ordinary cheap seed that is usually sold, the 

 " game is not worth the candle," 



