88 APPENDIX 



there are any number of fine large Selfs now in the market. 

 Not a less important point is " petal." The petal should be 

 large, firm, flat, and smooth on the edge (not fimbriated). 

 Avoid varieties with many small petals in the centre. It is 

 certainly better to breed from a flower with too few petals 

 than from one crowded in the centre. 



The shape of the calyx is also of much importance. Select 

 as parents varieties with a long bud, as opposed to the short, 

 dumpy buds too often seen. These short buds always burst, 

 and there is no greater disfigurement to a Self than a burst 

 calyx. It is a fault also that is almost invariably transmitted 

 to descendants. The bud should be somewhat of the shape of 

 a Martini-Henry bullet i.e. with a length of about three times 

 its diameter. 



As regards colour, you can have every latitude. A really 

 good flower may be very valuable to breed from, even if it be 

 somewhat poor or dull in colour. Some of the best Selfs I 

 ever raised were from " Germania," the well-known yellow 

 Self, crossed by a dull " brick-dust " coloured Self. 



It will be found necessary to nail some light netting over 

 the windows and ventilators of the greenhouse, as a house full 

 of carnations in bloom will attract bees in hundreds, and they 

 will fertilize hap-hazard a large proportion of the flowers they 

 visit in their search for honey. 



Do not disbud the plants you intend to use for propagating, 

 and do not feed them artificially, for you do not require big 

 flowers to breed from ; on the contrary, a flower that has been 

 pushed into size by disbudding and stimulating food will very 

 rarely seed at all. 



It may be necessary to feed a little as the seed is ripening, 

 but even this should, if possible, be avoided. 



Begin as soon as your plants show flower, for the early seed 

 is always the best ripened. 



Fertilization is effected by taking upon a small camelVhair 

 brush a little of the pollen from the stamens of one flower and 

 brushing it very gently and lightly upon the pistils of another, 

 and the two main points to be considered are, first, whether 

 the pistils are sufficiently advanced to receive the pollen, and, 



