462 THE SURVIVAL OF THE UNLIKE. [xXVIII. 



distinct ideals, the children have far outnumbered and 

 even obscured the parent. 



These two great groups of carnations are opposed 

 to each other in various attributes, but particularly, I 

 think, in three : 



The border varieties are low or rather dwarf and 

 tufted ; they produce the greater part of their bloom 

 in a comparatively short space of time, and the indi- 

 vidual flowers need not be very large. 



The forcing type demands a very tall plant, and it 

 loses its habit of standing erect, the production of 

 flowers is distributed over several months, and the 

 individual flowers must be large. 



In short, in the one case, the ideal lies in the 

 plant and its effect as a mass ; in the other, the only 

 ideal is the individual flower. 



I have insisted upon this antithesis in these two 

 types of carnations in order to correct what I believe 

 to be a wrong tendency in the attempt to popularize 

 outdoor or border carnations in this country, — the 

 belief that the forcing varieties can be adapted to this 

 purpose by propagating them in summer and fall, 

 and thus changing their season of bloom. It is true 

 that the forcing kinds will grow and flower well 

 under this treatment, but they are not the type of 

 plant which is adapted to the requirements of out- 

 door ornamentation. For this purpose we need a 

 plant which requires no staking, which will give a 

 definite and emphatic season of bloom by means of 

 which strong effects can be produced, and the size of 

 individual blooms can safely be sacrificed to produc- 

 tiveness and habit of plant. It is obviously unwise 

 to attempt to impress forcing varieties into service in 



