SWEET WILLIAM. 249 



SWEET WILLIAM. 



(DIANTHUS BARBATUS.) 



" Sweet William small has form and aspect bright. 

 Like that sweet flower that yields great Jove delight.'' 



This is a delightful ornamental evergreen, flowering 

 profusely from May to July, and bearing all the colors so 

 susceptible of imparting delight, both single and double. 

 The flowers are aggregate, facicled ; scales ovate, subulate, 

 with a long stem, on the top of which is formed a corymb 

 of gorgeous flowers, well adapted for bouquets made in the 

 French style. The leaves are lanceolate, forming alto- 

 gether one of the best border flowers in cultivation. 



This perennial is a native of Germany, and has been 

 many hundred years in cultivation. It is propagated by 

 seeds, cuttings, and by dividing the roots in the fall. It 

 thrives best in good rich soil, and is perfectly hardy. The 

 double variety is best for being protected through the win- 

 ter. To propagate by seeds it will be necessary to so A' 

 them in April. It is often the case that this plant will 

 drop its seeds, which come up and flower the following 

 spring. Should the winter prove severe the young plants 

 will probably perish for want of strength ; therefore, by 

 early sowing, the plants become strong, and the cold will 

 have no effect on them. Sow in April, and transplant, 

 when your seedlings are about two inches high, to whore 

 they are intended to flower. When you discover a flower 

 of superior merit, you can either propagate by cuttings or 



