THE PINK. 113 



' sented only a sort of uniform sameness, undistin- 

 < guished by that pleasing variety of bright colouring 

 ' and beautiful lacing peculiar to each, which were 

 ' so manifest in mine : a common observer would 

 ' have said that they were Pinks altogether different 

 ' from mine. 



' Florists contending for a prize, and anxious to 

 { get their flow T ers large, leave three pods only upon 

 ' each stem, and four or five stems to a large plant, 

 ' two or three to a small one, cutting off the rest as 

 ' they spindle up to flower : as soon as the pods are 

 ' full formed they tie a slip of wet bass round them, 

 f to prevent their bursting irregularly, and place a 

 ( glass or other covering over them when in bloom, to 

 c protect them from the sun and rain, thereby pre- 

 ' serving their colours from being soon faded and 

 ' tarnished. 



( If there has been much frost during the winter, 

 ' and the earth is consequently rendered light and 

 ' loose when it thaws, the roots, by such an extension 

 ( of ground, will sometimes be raised almost out of it: 

 ' in that case it will be necessary, any time about the 

 ' beginning of April, to tread the mould down lightly 



