XXVIII. 



THE PROGRESS OF THE CARNATION. 



I. 



Some Types and Tendencies in the Carnation.^ 



The carnation is wild in the Mediterranean region, 

 where it is a perennial plant of erect, branching habit, 

 long cylindrical calyx, and single flowers with a 

 spreading limb and of a pale lilac color. It has 

 been cultivated for centuries, and it is variable under 

 domestication. No one knows the various forms into 

 which it has run, and doubtless many of these forms 

 have entirely disappeared, leaving no record. The 

 earliest marked varieties appear to have been in color : 

 white, pink, various shades of red, and even yellow, 

 together with many variegations and curious markings, 

 are recorded in the early herbals. The English have 

 always classified the forms largely upon color, dis- 

 tributing them among the Selfs, Flakes, Bizarres, and 

 Picotees. The French and others have classified the 

 forms upon other characters, as habit of plant, shape 

 and texture of flowers, or combinations of various 

 features. Vilmorin recently divides the carnations 

 into seven groups: 



•Read before the Second Annual Meeting of the American Carnation Society, 

 at Pittsburgh, Penna., Feb. 22, 1893. Printed in the Report of the Society for 

 1893, pp. 21 to 30. 



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