THE CARNATION AND THE PINK 211 



amateur will have a choice collection, which he can himself in- 

 crease by the methods of propagation to which I shall refer later, 

 and which can be added to by the purchase of the most up-to-date 

 varieties as they become available. 



The best season in which to make a start in border carnation 

 growing is undoubtedly the autumn. If orders for young plants 

 be given early they will arrive in pots, neatly labelled and staked, 

 early in October, and they may then be planted out into the 

 positions' in which they are intended to flower in the following 

 summer. 



Meantime some attention must be paid to the choice of aspect 

 for the carnation bed or border, and to the preparation of the soil. 

 With regard to situation it only needs to be said that the carna- 

 tion is a sun-loving plant to put the matter beyond doubt. Avoid 

 heavily shaded borders, therefore, if you wish your carnations 

 to succeed. As to soil, any well-tilled garden should provide a 

 suitable medium, provided the surface can be unproved by the 

 incorporation of a few barrow loads of strong virgin loam (the 

 top spit from an old pasture for preference), some light manure 

 from an exhausted hotbed, and a quantity of old mortar rubbish. 

 These well mixed together will make an ideal home for the carna- 

 tion, especially if by a little forethought preparations are made to 

 ward off the onslaughts of that most persistent and dangerous 

 pest of the carnation the wireworm. An excellent artificial 

 preventive is slaked lime, which should be applied as a top- 

 dressing before the plants are placed in position. 



Plant your carnations firmly in mid-October or in March, if 

 reliable plants can be obtained taking care as they are turned 

 out of the pots that the roots are not injured. They will require 

 no further attention during the winter, nor, indeed, until the 

 flowering season approaches, when they will have to be staked 

 securely, otherwise the slender stems will inevitably suffer by the 

 buffetings of wind and heavy rain. JSarly June is the time to 

 stake and tie the plants. Use then bamboo canes for the purpose, 

 and make sure that they are long enough a good size is four feet. 

 Tie with bast or raffia tape, and avoid the mistake of securing the 



