THE CARNATION 



THE Carnation is a prime favourite with almost every lover of 

 flowers. We may include the Pink with it in a general sense, and 

 when we do so we widen its appeal. It is one of those old, old 

 flowers, love of which has become almost traditional. It could no 

 more be torn out of the lives of the British people than affection 

 for the Union Jack. True, it is not the national flower ; that great 

 distinction belongs to the Rose ; but it is only in a minor degree 

 that it falls short in its hold on the affection of the public. There 

 are perhaps more Roses than Carnations grown, but for all that 

 there are few gardens worthy of the name in which the Carnation 

 is not represented. And its appeal is a very intimate one; it is 

 not merely admired, but loved. It gets its roots deep down into 

 our hearts. 



What is the explanation of the great favour which the Carna- 

 tion enjoys? It is undoubtedly the union of attractive form and 

 colour with delicious perfume. Our ancestors learned to love the 

 flower because it was at once beautiful and sweet. They did not 

 call it by its present name in the earliest times. It was known 

 to them as the Gilloflower. Of course, more than one plant bore 

 this name. When we escape from the rush and bustle of the 

 modern workaday world from the hissing of the electric tram, 

 the humming of the printing-press, and the hooting of the motor- 

 car into the quiet seclusion of the study, and spend a delightful 

 hour with the old poets and gardening writers, we find that 



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