16 CARNATIONS AND PINKS 



the strong, healthy, free-growing, and free-blooming 

 plants which are of compact growth, with flowers that 

 do not burst, and carried on stout, erect stems. 

 Choose those, in fact, which not only give flowers 

 of fine colour and form, but which are also satis- 

 factory in other ways, and try and supply the short- 

 comings of one by crossing it with another which has 

 those good qualities which it itself lacks. 



When the flowers of the plant intended to bear 

 the seeds open, wait until the stigmas, which rise from 

 the top of the ovary (the ovary is at the base of the 

 flower, and contains the embryo seeds), usually two 

 in number, but sometimes more, are fully grown and 

 show themselves well beyond the petals ; they then 

 resemble the antennae of a moth, and are covered 

 on the outer edge with soft down. Now the pollen 

 must be searched for in the other flower selected for 

 crossing with, some varieties giving very little pollen, 

 and others plenty. However, look amongst the petals 

 for the stamens, which are thread-like stems rising from 

 the ovary and terminating in small curved cups, 

 lightly poised on the ends. There are the anthers, 

 which it is hoped will be covered with very fine dust 

 (pollen). Either collect this dust on the point of a 

 fine camel's-hair brush and apply it to the stigma of 

 the flower first selected (this should be done about 

 midday, when the weather is dry and sunny), or pull 

 out the stamens carefully with a forceps and apply 

 the anthers directly to the stigma, rubbing the pollen 

 off one on to the other. This is, perhaps, the better 

 way, as when crossing several varieties the pollen 



