DISEASES OF THE CARNATION 83 



ficial manure is used, or if farmyard manure comes into 

 contact with the roots. Carnations like rich soil to 

 grow in, for good flowers cannot be expected from 

 plants in poor ground. I advise trenching the ground 

 for Carnations to a depth of, say, eighteen inches or 

 two feet. A layer of manure is placed on the bottom 

 of the trench, and another layer six inches to nine 

 inches below the surface. The roots will soon reach 

 the first layer, even at nine inches, and it is not 

 injurious at this distance. Your correspondent com- 

 plains that his plants die off after being planted on 

 well-dug ground dressed with well-decayed manure. 

 If the ground has been merely dug the manure will 

 be in direct contact with the roots at the time of 

 planting, but when the plants are put out immediately 

 after digging that is not so satisfactory, as the ground 

 should be exposed to the air for a month or six weeks. 

 It is also a mistake to give a good sprinkling of lime 

 with the manure. Mortar rubbish is excellent if dug 

 into heavy soils. Double digging or trenching of the 

 ground is advisable, so the manure should be put 

 at least six inches below the surface. This should 

 be done some time before planting to well expose 

 the ground to the action of the atmosphere. Omit 

 the lime ; also an exchange of stock is needful. If 

 the same stock is grown year after year in the 

 garden the plants degenerate." Mr. W. J. Godfrey, 

 of Exmouth, also places great stress on the necessity 

 of a change of soil. In his case "no fresh manure 

 is ever applied, but when forking between the plants 

 in April, and moving the soil again in May, a good 



