ON RAISING SEEDLING CARNATIONS AND PICOTEES. 209 



petals, quickly lose their beauty and brilliant colouring, and being no 

 longer needed, wither and die ; they should then be cut away, lest by 

 retaining moisture, they should communicate disease to the base of 

 the ovarium (where the petals had been attached) which is of a spongy 

 and light structure, and very liable to rot, if not preserved in a dry 

 state. The stems should now be loosed from the stakes to which they 

 were fastened, and the plants given as much air as possible. When 

 the pericarpium has attained to half its size, it will be necessary to 

 remove as much of the calyx or cup that contained the flower as can 

 be done without injuring the seed-pods. The plants will now need 

 little further care until the maturing of the seed, when they must be 

 carefully looked over every day, lest the pods should burst and lose 

 their seed. When ripe, the pods should be carefully gathered and 

 preserved unopened, until the following May, which is the most 

 proper time for sowing, or the seeds extracted may be preserved in 

 small well-corked bottles, which is the mode usually adopted. 



It has been stated that layering Carnations prevents their flowering 

 as well as if it had not been done, and also prevents their producing 

 seed. This I have found is not the case ; if the plants are layered 

 sufficiently early, the bloom will be stronger, and without doubt they 

 will give more seed in consequence of the increased resources of the 

 plant, each layer becoming rooted, and enabled to support itself, as 

 well as contribute to the strength of the parent plant : they ought 

 not, however, to be detached until the seed is gathered, else a failure 

 of your crop will be the consequence. The seeds that have ripened 

 in the early part of the season may be sown as soon as gathered, in a 

 sheltered part of the garden, and the young plants placed out on a 

 well manured south border, where (with slight protection during the 

 very severe weather of winter) they will become strong blooming 

 plants for the ensuing summer, thus gaining a year, as by the usual 

 culture the plants never show their flowers until the second year from 

 Bowing. The late-saved seed is to be sown and the plants treated in 

 the usual way. This process may seem a little troublesome, but it is 

 really not so ; and the gratification arising from the production of 

 very many beautiful flowers, will, I am sure, amply repay the person 

 who pursues it. 



Vol. XIV. No. 162. 



