DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF FLOWERS. 193 



perfectly hardy like the others. This is im- 

 ported in about ten varieties ; colors similar to the last, 

 viz : pink or rose, white, grey, violet, blue, striped, spot- 

 ted, etc. 



DIANTHUS. PINK. 



[The name of Dianthus is of Greek origin, and signifies the Flower of Jove ; 

 which name is, according to some, bestowed upon the flower for its beauty; 

 others say from its fragrance. That distinction is surely just, which exiles a 

 doubt only for which, of its good qualities it is conferred. French, (Billet..] 



Most of the species of this genus are highly valued, not 

 only for the beauty and fragrance of the flowers, but also 

 as being evergreens; their foliage during winter, being as 

 abundant and as vivid as in summer. The fragrance of 

 some of the species is peculiarly grateful, and no plant in 

 this repect surpasses the Clove, and some other varieties 

 of the Pink. 



Diaiithus Caryophyllus. Clove Pink and Carnation. 

 There is no flower more desirable in the flower-garden 

 than the Carnation. A well-grown, superior variety, can- 

 not be surpassed in elegance, beauty, or odor, by any 

 other flower ; yet we scarcily ever see it in perfection. 

 Its cultivation in our climate is attended with many diffi- 

 culties, which may account for its rarity. Our winters are 

 too severe, and springs too changeable, to keep it in perfec- 

 tion in the open ground ; and then our summers are too 

 dry and hot for the full development of its beauties. 

 Seedlings stand the winter and spring without difficulty, 

 with a light covering of leaves and evergreen boughs, and 

 flower very well ; but then not one plant in a hundred will 

 be considered worth saving by the florist, although they 

 will all be interesting as single, semi-double, or irregular 

 flowers, and richly repay all the labor. Valuable varieties 

 are generally propagated from layers, which often keep 

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