THE CARNATION. 3 



The Carnation is also called Coronarium, from its 

 having been used in chaplets and garlands for the 

 head : Linnaeus has now given it the more appro- 

 priate appellation of Dianthus, Flos nobilis, fine or 

 superior flower; and Dianthus Caryophyllus, in 

 the modern acceptation of the word, denotes the Clove 

 only. The Carnation is usually divided into three 

 classes, namely, Flake, Bizarre, and Picotee. 



Flake is a term too well known and understood to 

 require any explanation or definition here ; Bizarre, 

 the second, is an epithet or adjective borrowed from 

 the French, implying whimsical or fantastical; 

 hence Bizarre, applied to a Carnation, means that it 

 contains a whimsical or fantastical mixture of colours 

 of not less than three distinct shades: Picotde is 

 likewise a French word, an adjective feminine, and 

 signifies pricked or spotted ; hence ' la Carnation 

 picotee/ means the spotted Carnation. 



The English florist is almost inclined to treat the 

 Picotee as a distinct species like the Pink, and 

 though he has preserved the right mode of spelling 

 the word, he gives it an English pronunciation. To 



B 2 



