444 THE SURVIVAL OP THE UNLIKE. [XXVIII. 



dale has also remarked, that the ideal way in which 

 to further increase the size of the carnation flower is 

 by lengthening the outer petals, so as to make the 

 flower broader on the base. So far as I have ob- 

 served, the worst "bursters" are usually those whose 

 centers are densely packed with petals. There is 

 much to be done, of course, in modifying the style of 

 the calyx itself. There is a common impression that 

 mere shortness in a calyx is all that is desired, but 

 while this may be the chief requisite, it is not the 

 only one. Short calices are frequently the worst 

 bursters, while a long calyx may remain perfectly 

 entire, and these facts are well represented in plants 

 in this hall. Martin R. Smith, an English carnation 

 specialist, writes that "the confirmed burster will 

 always have short, round, blunt -headed buds," but 

 "the non-burster, on the other hand, displays a 

 long bud of about three times its diameter." What 

 is more particularly desired is a calyx relatively short 

 in proportion to its breadth, and one which has a 

 spreading or open mouth and some elasticity. In the 

 single or little improved carnations, the petals unfold 

 or project between the calyx teeth ; if it is possible 

 to increase the number of teeth in the calyx as the 

 number of petals have been increased, we may speed- 

 ily procure the perfect calyx. An elastic cushion 

 or hump on each calyx lobe, which is so conspicuous 

 in the seedlings of Dorner and in some other va- 

 rieties, is one of the most encouraging signs in 

 recent productions. 



But there is reason to expect that all the requi- 

 sites of a perfect carnation are attainable, and the 

 question then arises if these features will persist. In 



