THE NEW CARNATION-GROWING 159 



school of florists, who love a smooth-edged flower, and 

 could never reconcile themselves to the serrated edge of 

 Mrs. T. W. Lawson, acknowledged to be of the highest 

 quality. 



Beacon. As good a scarlet as Britannia except in 

 having a serrated edge. 



Carola. Dark crimson, of the best quality. 



Enchantress. Pink, one of the earliest varieties, and 

 still good enough to grow. 



Lady Bountiful. Pure white. 



Lady Coventry. Crimson. 



Lady Fortescue. Bright rose, a rich and beautiful 

 tone. 



Lady C. Waring. Yellow. 



May Day. Clear pink, a very popular sort. 

 ' Mrs. Burnett. Salmon-pink, one of the best. 



Robert Craig. Scarlet. 



Winsor. Silvery rose. 



White Enchantress. White. 



All the foregoing are varieties which have a natural 

 tendency to produce larger flowers and longer stems than 

 the old-fashioned Tree Carnation, and consequently they 

 are much more important for cutting. 



The power of producing long stems is developed by the 

 special system of culture which is now adopted by com- 

 mercial florists both in America and Britain. This is to 

 grow the plants in large, lofty, airy greenhouses, where the 

 Carnations are planted out in beds that are covered a foot 

 or so above the soil with a net- work of wire. A plant grow- 

 ing in a bed a good way from the glass will always produce 

 a longer flower-stem than one growing in a pot close 

 to the glass, and this is taken advantage of. (It is de- 

 sirable to point out that in the case of some plants 

 elongation of flower-stems means weakness, and is 



