NAMES OF THE CARNATION 17 



others are distinguished by markings and colours that 

 render them fascinatingly lovely. There being no limit 

 to the colours, we find the ground or body colour of all 

 shades, from white and yellow to scarlet, and the mark- 

 ings are disposed without any of the regularity the florist 

 expects in Shows and Picotees. In this section the old 

 Flames (French, Flamand) are now included, these possess- 

 ing a red ground barred with a darker colour. The Picotee, 

 as already noted, is simply a form of Carnation. It has now 

 quite lost the distinctive markings that gives it its name 

 all Picotees, whether white or yellow grounds, having the 

 whole of the petal except a clearly defined coloured margin 

 pure white or pure yellow, any spots or bars being 

 considered a serious drawback. White Ground Picotees 

 are classed as red-edged, purple-edged, and rose- and 

 scarlet-edged according to the colour with which the 

 petals are margined. These, again, are called light, 

 heavy, or intermediate, according to the width of the 

 margin. Yellow Ground Picotees have been so recently 

 brought into line with the others that there has not been 

 time to subdivide them into classes ; but the type is now 

 as rigidly and sharply defined as in the White Ground 

 section. " Border " applied to Carnations generally 

 refers to any variety that succeeds well in the open, and 

 which is possessed of certain properties that render it 

 suitable for garden decoration. 



Tree, Perpetual or Winter-Flowering Carnations were 

 originally a French strain first cultivated fifty years ago. 

 They are now, however, wonderfully improved on the 

 original type, and included in them are varieties belong- 

 ing to other sections. Moreover, Italy, Spain, Germany, 

 France and Flanders possess each a strain of Tree Carna- 

 tions peculiar to itself, and from among these a few varieties 

 have been secured that run alongside later English-raised 

 forms. America, too, possesses a distinct strain, and the 

 best of these are making a rapid conquest in this country. 



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