28 CARNATIONS AND PINKS 



used to make up the Carnation beds, take care that it 

 does not contain wireworms. Pasture land is the 

 breeding ground of wireworms ; they evidently thrive 

 on the roots of grasses, but the Carnation is their 

 favourite food. If one wireworm is in the soil of a 

 large pot containing three Carnations, it will be 

 strange if it does not kill the lot. When it has cleared 

 out the centre of one it will frequently find its way to 

 another before the mischief is detected. 



The distance between the Carnation plants should 

 be fifteen inches, and they should be made firm in the 

 soil. If planted in March they will grow away freely 

 at once, but those put in during the autumn require 

 some attention in winter, frosts and thaws alternately 

 having a tendency to throw some of them out of the 

 ground with each frost. When the frost disappears 

 look over the plants and press those that require it 

 into the ground. Some of the varieties are tall and 

 slender in growth, and these should be supported 

 with a stick to prevent the shoots snapping close to 

 the surface of the soil. Slugs and the leather-coated 

 grub consider the Carnation their favourite food ; they 

 both feed at night, and can be readily detected with 

 the aid of a lamp. Electric lamps recently introduced 

 are excellent for the purpose ; they are clean, not 

 troublesome, and the extra expense would not stand 

 in the way with the majority of Carnation growers. 



VARIETIES 



A bed planted with one variety only is a striking 

 sight. I well remember a mass of some six hundred 



