8o PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



the stock once a week for this purpose. The proper time 

 to cease stopping depends upon the approximate date the 

 plants are required to flower. Varieties differ in the time 

 they take to come into flower after their final stopping. 

 I will therefore append a list of varieties, with the dates 

 of last stoppings, when the bulk of the flowers are wanted 

 for the latter part of November and the months of De- 

 cember and January. Even then, this type of Carnation 

 would not be perpetual-flowering if the time was not 

 considerable between the opening of the first and last 

 flowers. The later in the season the stopping of a plant 

 is continued, the longer it will be in coming into flower. 

 For instance, it is recommended to stop the variety Brit- 

 annia for the last time at the end of August. This will 

 result in this variety commencing to flower in November ; 

 but if the last stopping is delayed until a month later, it 

 naturally follows the flowering period is delayed by more 

 than a month, principally owing to the less favourable 

 season for growth. 



Disbudding. Where flowers of the largest size and 

 best quality are desired, it is necessary to pick off, at an 

 early stage of their growth, all buds except the terminal 

 one on each flower-stem. This practice is now adopted 

 generally, but some varieties, such, for instance, as Robert 

 Craig and Britannia, if allowed to bear three or four buds 

 on a strong stem in various stages of development, make 

 excellent decorative plants, and are preferred by some, 

 to plants which are more rigidly thinned. The old variety 

 Winter Cheer was, in its best day, a notable example of 

 this particular form of cultivation. 



Staking. There are numerous devices and methods 



