248 



CARNATION 



CARNATION 



feet imbrication ; the calyx tube was cut partly down 

 between the teeth, to prevent excessive splitting at one 

 side and to give more freedom to the expansion of the 



366. Section of Carnation flower. 

 c, d, bracts; 6, calyx; a, style. 



flower. These and many more tedious details seem to 

 have wrought the downfall of this sweet flower about 

 the middle of the nineteenth century. 



All the foregoing has reference to those types of Car- 

 nations which are but little known or grown in America 

 at the present day. The varieties so common in Europe 

 are usually kept in coldframes or coolhouses during 

 the winter, and as spring approaches the plants are 

 brought into their blooming quarters, for no flower is 

 expected to appear until the month of July, when there 

 is a great profusion of blossoms, but for a short season. 

 Therefore, they can all be classed as a summer race. 

 They are also grown permanently in the open. 



PERPETUAL-FLOWERING CARNATION ( Remontant, 

 Monthly, or Tree). The Carnations so common in 

 America, and grown so extensively under glass for win- 

 ter cut-flowers, originated about 1840 as a distinct race 

 of Perpetual-flowering Carnations. A French gardener, 

 M. Dalmais, according to M. Jean Sisley, of Lyons, ob- 

 tained the first real constant-blooming Carnation, which 

 was called Atim, and sent out in 1844. It was the result 

 of artificially crossing Oeillet de Mahon, or St. Martin, 

 because it was regularly bloomed in November, with 

 pollen from Oeillet Biohon. The first gain was crossed 

 with Flemish Carnation with repetition. In 1846 he 

 obtained a great number of varieties of all colors. 

 M. Schmitt, a distinguished horticulturist of Lyons, fol- 

 lowed in the work, and obtained several fine varieties, 

 like Arc-en-ciel and Etoile Polaire, which were culti- 

 vated for several years. The next enthusiast who aided 

 materially in the development of this new race of Car- 

 nations was M. Alphonse Alegatiere, who, by careful 

 crossing, obtained varieties with stiff stems. About 

 1866 the number of such varieties was increased, and as 

 a class they received the name of Tree Carnations, but 

 in America they were more generally termed the Monthly 

 Carnations. The earliest importation of this race of 

 varieties into America seems to have been made in 1868, 

 and included such varieties as Edwardsii, President 

 Degraw, La Purite and Variegated La Purite, and for a 

 period of ten years were grown as pot plants for sum- 

 mer or winter blooming. About 1875 bench culture was 



introduced in coolhouses, and was attended with such 

 marked success that soon entire greenhouses were de- 

 voted to the cultivation of the Carnation, and there arose 

 the carnation specialist, or carnationist, the latter title 

 being used first, in 1892, with such men as Starr, 

 Swayne, Tailby and Dorner. There are now about 500 

 distinct varieties in this country, all of American origin. 

 The winter forcing of Carnations is now more highly 

 developed in America than anywhere else in the world. 

 For sketches of the evolution of the Carnation, particu- 

 larly of the American cut-flower race, see Bailey, "Sur- 

 vival of the Unlike." 



Propagation. The perpetual-flowering Carnations are 

 propagated by cuttings (Fig. 369). The best "wood " for 

 this purpose is found in the lateral shoots at the base of 

 thrifty branches ; shoots appearing high on the flower- 

 ing stem are not desirable. No cuttings should be taken 

 from stems bearing small, sickly, or poorly colored 

 flowers. Diseased plants, and plants which have been 

 greatly stimulated and forced in a high temperature, 

 should also be avoided in propagation. The material for 

 cuttings is pulled from the plants by a lateral move- 

 ment, and in this condition, that is, without further 

 cutting or trimming, is considered by many propaga- 

 tors as ready for the sand-bench ; others remove a por- 

 tion of the leaves or the tips of the long ones. Cuttings 

 are successfully made from December 1 to May 1. 

 Growers choose different portions of this period for 

 the best results. February is, perhaps, most frequently 

 chosen. The cuttings are usually planted in sand- 

 benches to be rooted, either in a separate propagating 

 house or upon a portion of bench prepared for the pur- 

 pose in the regular Carnation house. For a limited num- 

 ber of cuttings, "flats" may be used and placed where 

 they will receive proper treatment. The temperature in 

 which cuttings are best rooted is 50 F. for the first few 

 days, then increased to 55 or 60 F. During sunshine 

 the young cuttings are shaded, and at all times mois- 

 ture is carefully regulated, to avoid the "damping off'' 

 fungus and the flagging of the cuttings. In about four 

 weeks a good bunch of roots will be formed, and the 

 cuttings are transplanted into small pots or flats. They 

 are then kept in coolhouses (45 to 50 F.) until it is 

 possible to plant them in the field. Propagation by lay- 



367. Showing the anthers becoming leaves, a stage 

 in the doubling of the Carnation. 



ering is practiced abroad (Fig. 370), but is too slow for 

 American conditions. Plants are grown from seed only 

 when it is desired to obtain new varieties. 



