76 THE CARNATION. 



swell and grow hard, so as to give hopes of seed, 

 which it will not do till the flower is fading, and the 

 leaves of it withering, then pluck the petals one by 

 one out of the corolla or cup, taking great care not 

 to injure the styles, or two horns, which if you do, 

 all chance of seed is lost. By letting the flower- 

 leaves remain in the cup, they are apt to hold the 

 dew and wet, which frequently occasions the whole 

 to rot. As the seed vessel fills up, you may with a 

 pair of scissors cut off the ends of the cup all round, 

 and make a slight incision down it, to keep the wet 

 from resting in it. It will ripen towards the end of 

 September ; but do not gather it till it is fully ripe, 

 when it will be of a dark brown or black colour. It 

 is the safest way to let it remain in the seed-pod, in 

 some dry place, till after Christmas, when it may be 

 cleaned, and put into a paper bag, or small bottle. 



It may be sown in wide pans, or 24-sized pots, 

 about the second week in April, which is quite early 

 enough, and covered a quarter of an inch thick with 

 fine mould, the surface to be made smooth and level, 

 both before and after sowing. Hand-glasses may be 



