AUGUST. 157 



ing, the usual height of which is from two and a 

 half to three feet: some are, however, much taller, 

 but they appear awkward and out of proportion. 

 The flowers ought not to be too double, or they 

 will burst and be ill-formed, but consist of just enough 

 of regularly arranged petals to fill the flower-cup to 

 the crown or centre, without appearing to crush 

 each other, or to be too crowded. The outer or 

 guard petals must be large, and have sufficient 

 strength to maintain a horizontal position and sup- 

 port the interior ones, the disposition of which should 

 be of such regularity as to produce the most perfect 

 symmetry of appearance, and display their vivid 

 coloring to advantage. The edge of each petal 

 should be perfectly even, and without the slightest in- 

 dentation or inclination to fringe be, as it is termed, 

 completely rose-leaved. Whether the flowers are 

 bizarred or flaked, the colors should be evenly dis- 

 tributed through them, neither the ground color nor 

 striping appearing to predominate. The white or 

 ground must be of the utmost purity, with a lustrous 

 appearance, and the stripes cleanly drawn through it, 

 and diverging with the most perfect regularity from 

 the centre to the edge of the blossom. Bizarres, or 

 flowers with two or more colors on the white 

 ground, are generally more preferred than the 

 flakes, or such as have but one. The flakes are, 

 however, very beautiful, and present a bolder con- 

 trast of color than the others. A good Piccotee 

 should be similar, in the construction of its flowers, 

 to the Carnation, except that the petals are some- 

 times slightly indented or even serrated, but they 

 ought not by any means to be coarsely notched. 

 The colors are fancifully distributed in a multiplicity 

 of small stripes or dots, upon either a white or yel- 

 low ground, while the Carnation is striped only, and 



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