VIII 



ON CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 



FROM the earliest times the Carnation has interested 

 flower-lovers deeply, and it interests them deeply to-day. 

 The old writers loved it, the people loved it. With the 

 possible exception of the Rose, it has figured more pro- 

 minently in literature than any other flower, and it has 

 loomed large in the customs of the proletariat. Monarchs 

 have chosen it as one of their favourite flowers. Florists 

 have specialised it, and formed societies to guard its 

 interests. 



It is easy to find an explanation for the popular name 

 Carnation ; it can be attributed to the colour flesh 

 colour. Note Shakespeare'? 



" 'A could never abide carnation ; 'twas a colour he never liked." 



Henry V. 



Even so good a scholar as Dr. Johnson was satisfied 

 with this. But the obvious is not always the correct, 

 and this appears to be a case in point. In Lyte's Herbal 

 the name is spelled Coronations, and now, when we read 

 Spenser's " Shepherd's Calendar " 



" Bring Coronations and Sops-in-wine 

 Worn of paramours," 



and recall the old custom of wearing flower-crowns 

 (coronet] by the Romans and Greeks, we arrive at the 

 true derivation. The Carnation held a high place among 



