444 DIANTHUS. THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



DI AN THUS. 



some very prettily mottled, others 

 more or less edged with white or pale 

 pink. 



Their culture is very simple. Sow 

 the seed in April, in a well-prepared 

 bed in a sunny spot, transplanting 

 when they are large enough, about 

 6 inches apart, in good soil. About 

 the end of September transplant them 

 to their permanent quarters, and in the 

 following summer they will bloom. 

 Plant out in light loam, dressed only 

 with a little leaf-mould or loam from 

 rotted turfs, placing the seedlings so 

 that a few of the lower joints are under 

 the soil. Sweet Williams may also be 

 propagated by cuttings taken off in 

 early summer, but good kinds from 



Dianthus alpinus (Alpine Pink). 



seed are best; for the main stems, 

 which should rise for bloom, creep 

 along the ground, and throw up from 

 every joint shoots suitable for cuttings ; 

 and a little sheaf of cuttings may be 

 taken from the tips of the main stems, 

 so that each plant would furnish over 

 a hundred cuttings. 



Double-flowered kinds, as a rule, are 

 not desirable, except the double dwarf 

 magnificus, the deep velvety crimson 

 flowers of which are the finest among 

 the double kinds : the large heads of 

 flower are numerous, the colour is rich 

 and effective, it is a dwarf, vigorous 

 grower, and soon forms a strong tuft. 

 The Sweet William is easily naturalised 

 in woods or copses by simply scattering 

 the seed in barish spots, using any 

 single kinds. 



D. c^sius (Cheddar Pink). One of the 

 prettiest of the dwarf Pinks, the fragrant 

 and rosy flowers appearing in spring, on 

 stems 6 inches high. In winter it perishes 

 in the ordinary border, while quite happy 

 on an old wall. It is a native of Europe 

 and Britain (the rocks at Cheddar, in 

 Somersetshire). To establish it on the 

 top or any part of an old wall, sow the 

 seeds on the wall in a little cushion of 

 Moss, if such exists, or, if not, place a little 

 earth in a chink with the seed, and it may 

 also be grown upon the rock garden in 

 firm, calcareous, or gritty earth, placed in 

 a chink between two small rocks. 



D. CAL-ALPINUS. A hybrid of D. calli- 

 zonus and D. alpinus, and one of the best 

 of the dwarf alpine set. The handsome 

 flowers are of rosy crimson with a darker 

 central zone. 



D. FREYNII (Microlepsis), from Hungary, 

 is a minute-growing kind of 2 inches high ; 

 the flowers are pink. Suited for rock 

 walls, crevices, or the moraine. 



D. SUB-ACAULIS. Also a minute-grow- 

 ing species having glaucous tufts an inch 

 high, covered in its day with pale pink 

 flowers. Dauphiny. 



D. CARYOPHYLLUS (Carnation). This 

 beautiful flower, so much loved in all 

 countries where it can be grown, both 

 under glass and in the open air, is derived 

 from a wild Dianthus of W. Europe and 

 the Alps, which, as regards our own 

 country, is wild on Norman castles such 

 as Rochester. From very early days it 

 seems to have been a favourite flower, as 

 in Dutch pictures nearly three hundred 

 years old the Carnation, mostly in its 

 striped forms, is shown in perfection. At 

 a very early date the Carnation was 

 divided into four classes, viz., Flakes, 

 Bizarres, Picotees, and Painted Ladies. 

 The Flakes had two colours only, the 

 stripes going the whole length of the 

 petals. Bizarres (from the French, mean- 

 ing odd or irregular) were spotted or 

 striped with three distinct colours. Pico- 

 tees (from the French piquoUe] had a 

 white ground with additional colours in 

 spots, giving the flowers the appearance 

 of being dusted with colour. Painted 

 Ladies had the under side of the petals 

 white and the upper side red or purple, so 

 laid on as to appear as if really painted. 

 Unfortunately this class has so entirely 

 disappeared that many growers are not 

 aware that it ever existed. The first two 

 classes still remain unchanged ; but the 

 Picotee, instead of being spotted, has the 

 colours confined to the edge of the petals, 

 and any spot on the ground colour (which 

 may be either white or yellow) would 

 detract from the merits of the flower as 

 an exhibition flower. 



Another class, too long neglected, 

 consists of self-colouredL kinds. A 

 familiar type is the old Crimson Clove, 



