THE CARNATION MANUAL. 139 



QToimd, as wc know from Parkinson's '' Paradisus," 

 published in 1G20. By-and-by the yellow-ground 

 varieties became the more popular class, and this 

 supremacy of the yellow-ground sections was main- 

 tained until the present century. At this period 

 Yellow Carnations were growTi very extensively in 

 Germany; and if we may judge from drawings 

 which have been handed doAvn to us, the Yellow 

 Avas a rich gold colour, not a straw or creamy 

 yellow. They were grown under the name of 

 Picotees, but their markings had nothing in 

 common with the flower we now call a Picotee. 

 They would now probably be exhibited in that 

 mysterious class termed " fancies," which seems to 

 be a refuge for a host of nondescripts. 



The petals, in many instances, were fringed, and 

 marked — or "pounced" as they termed it — with 

 lines, flakes, and spots, in the most admired 

 confusion. 



About sixty years ago, or more, Mr. James 

 HoofSf, of Paddinofton, was an enthusiastic cultivator 

 of the Carnation and Picotee. He published a 

 treatise on these flowers, which contained much 

 interesting information on the Yellow-Ground 

 varieties. He says they were much sought after 

 by the nobility, doubtless owing to the patronage 

 they received from Royal and Imperial personages. 

 Amongst others, they were gro^vn by the Empress 

 Josephine, who had an admirable collection m her 



