CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS 55 



native, which, in a sense, it is, inasmuch as it has grown 

 as a wilding for centuries in some places. It is 

 naturalised on some of the old castles of Norman 

 construction, such as Dover and Rochester ; and this 

 raises an interesting point : Was it introduced advisedly 

 by the Norman builders, or accidentally with the stone 

 which they quarried and shipped ? It was certainly a 

 popular plant in Normandy, and it is probable that the 

 barons brought it over to please their ladies, who doubt- 

 less looked with scant favour on their new homes, and 

 needed placating. 



It is not easy, either, to fix the period when flower- 

 lovers in England began to specialise the Carnation. 

 When we find so old a writer as Gerard (1545-1612) 

 sa3 r ing that it would require a large volume to describe 

 all the varieties of Carnations, Picotees, and Pinks, we 

 may infer that it was a highly specialised flower as far 

 back as 1597, when his Herball appeared. Shakespeare's 

 reference to " streaked Gilly vors " in The Winter s Tale 

 showed that Carnations differing from the old flesh- 

 coloured Self (which he referred to in the same line) 

 existed in 1601 ; and Gerard credits Lete with the intro- 

 duction of yellow varieties in or about the year 1580. 

 John Parkinson (1567-1650) appears to have had a large 

 collection of different kinds, but not Picotees. 



These historical facts about Carnations increase our 

 interest in the flower. They show us that it has long 

 been rooted deeply in the national life. It is not an 

 ephemeral plant, the interest of which passes within a 

 few hours of its introduction, but a flower of abiding 

 one might almost say constitutional interest. It is 

 woven into the national fibre. As we move about 

 among our collections to - day, propagating, potting, 

 planting, so we may imagine Lete, Gerard, Stow, 



