672 



CARNATION 



CARPENTERIA 



818. Carnation flower Radiance, showing 

 deeply serrated petals. 



The Fig. 816 is a section of a flower showing the repro- 

 ductive organs; a shows the pod which encases the ovules 

 or forming seeds, b. From the tip of the pod rises the 

 style which has usually two, but frequently three 

 curved ends, or stigmas, c. When the stigma is in 

 the proper stage to be fertilized, which is indicated by 

 the fuzzy appearance of the upper part, the pollen, 

 which is the powdery substance released by the anthers, 



d, is applied to 

 the fuzzy parts. 

 To prevent self- 

 fertilization, these 

 anthers should be 

 removed from 

 flowers intended 

 to be pollinated, 

 before the pollen is 

 released. Within 

 one to three days, 

 if fertilization has 

 taken place, the 

 bloom will wilt, 

 the ovary will 

 begin to swell and 

 within a week the 

 seed-pod can be 

 seen to increase in 

 size. As soon as 

 the bloom has 

 wilted, the petals should be removed and the calyx slit 

 down the sides to prevent water from standing inside 

 the calyx and causing the pod to decay. In six to eight 

 weeks the seeds will be ripe and should be sown at once. 

 Each seed may prove to be the beginning of a variety 

 which will be one of the milestones of progress in the 

 improvement of the carnation. Not one should be 

 discarded until it has bloomed. 



The seedlings should be potted as soon as the first 

 pair of character-leaves appears. Later on they may be 

 shifted into larger pots and bloomed, or they may be 

 planted in the field and marked as they bloom and only 

 the promising ones housed in the fall. The selecting 

 of the plants for further trial is of the very greatest 

 importance and requires a thorough knowledge of the 

 subject. There are many points in the make-up of a 

 first-class carnation, and a combination of as many of 

 these as is possible to get in one plant is the object 

 sought. No carnation has ever been found which was 

 perfect in every way. The hybridist must be able to 

 judge correctly as to the relative value or loss repre- 

 sented in certain characteristics shown by a seedling 

 plant. This discrimination between the desirable and 

 undesirable calls for the clearest judgment, and a valu- 

 able variety might be discarded through the failure of 

 the grower to see its good points. 



Among the seedlings will probably appear variety 

 of colors, shapes and sizes of bloom, different types of 

 growth, perfect in some respects and faulty in others. 

 From these the hybridist is to select those which most 

 nearly represent his ideal of the perfect carnation. This 

 ideal should be of a pleasing shade of color, pure in tone, 

 so as to hold when the bloom ages. The form should be 

 symmetrical, resembling as nearly as possible a half 

 sphere with just enough petals to fill the bloom nicely 

 without crowding. The petals may range from the 

 smooth-edged, as seen in Fig. 817, to the deeply-ser- 

 rated, as seen in Fig. 818. The texture of the petals 

 should be such as will resist bruising. The odor should be 

 strong clove. The size should be as near 4 inches across 

 as possible under ordinary culture. The calyx should be 

 strong and large enough to hold the petals firmly at all 

 stages of development. The stem should be 30 to 36 

 inches long, and strong enough to hold the bloom erect. 

 The plant should have a free-growing habit, throwing 

 blooming shoots freely after a shoot is topped or a 

 bloom is cut. It should also be healthy and disease- 



resistant. The American Carnation Society uses the 

 following scale of points for new varieties : 



Color 25 



Size 20 



Calyx 5 



Stem 20 



Substance 15 



Form 10 



Fragrance 5 



100 



The most uniform results have been secured by con- 

 fining the breeding to separate colors; as, for example, 

 crossing white with white, red with red or crimson, 

 pink with pink, and so on. This method has been 

 proved to produce the largest percentage of self-colors, 

 which are considered the most valuable commercially 

 in this country. 



New varieties are frequently secured by sporting or 

 mutation. A variety of a certain color may produce a 

 bloom of another color, and by propagating the cuttings 

 from the stem which carried the odd bloom a new 

 variety is established. The securing of a new variety 

 in this way is purely a matter of good fortune, as no 

 method for causing the sporting is yet known. 



Leading books on the carnation are: "The American 

 Carnation," by C. W. Ward; "Carnations, Picotees and 

 Pinks," by T. W. Sanders; "Carnations and Pinks," 

 by T. H. Cook, Jas. Douglas and J. F. McLeod; 

 "Carnation Culture," by B. C. Ravenscroft. The last 

 three are English. A. F. J. BAUR. 



CARNEGIEA (named for Andrew Carnegie, phil- 

 anthropist) . Cactacese. The giant tree cactus of Arizona, 

 California and Mexico. 



Large columnar plants, usually single, strongly 

 ribbed, with numerous spines, those from flowering 

 and sterile areoles quite different: fls. borne from the 

 upper areoles, diurnal, funnelform; petals white: fr. 

 an oblong edible berry; seeds black and shining. 



gigantea, Brit. & Rose (Cereus giganteus, Engelm.). 

 STTWARRO. (Plate III, Fig. 819.) A tree 20-60 ft. high, 

 usually single, but sometimes with one or more branches: 

 ribs in mature plants 18-21 : fr. 2-3 in. long. B.M. 7222. 

 A.G. 11 : 451, 528. In rocky valleys and on mountain- 

 sides, S. Ariz, and Sonora, with 2 stations in Calif. 

 [reported, but probably not to be found, in Lower Calif.]. 

 This great cactus does not do well in cult., although 

 large plants are often brought into greenhouses and 

 grounds about railroad stations in the S. W. It is 

 not suited for small collections. The fr. is gathered in 

 great quantities by the Indians of Ariz, j N ROSE. 



CAROB: Ceratonia. 

 CAROLlNEA: Pachird. 



CARPENTERIA (after Professor Carpenter, of 

 Louisiana). Saxifragacese. Ornamental shrub culti- 

 vated for its large fragrant white flowers. 



Evergreen: Ivs. opposite, petioled, usually entire: 

 calyx 5-parted; petals 5; stamens numerous; ovary 

 almost superior, 5-7-celled; styles 5-7, connate at the 

 base, with linear-oblong stigmas: fr. a many-seeded 

 dehiscent caps, with numerous oblong seeds. One 

 species in Calif. 



This is a highly ornamental ever- 

 green plant, with rather large oppo- 

 site leaves and showy white and 

 fragrant flowers in loose and terminal 

 corymbs. Hardy only in warmer tem- 

 perate regions. It requires a well- 

 drained, light and sandy soil, and 

 sunny, somewhat sheltered position; 

 it especially dislikes moisture during 

 the winter, and its perishing is more 

 often due to an excess of moisture 

 than to the cold. Propagated by 

 greenwood cuttings under glass in 



819. Flower of 

 Carnegiea gigan- 

 tea. 



