THE CARNATION FAMILY. 233 



cold frame, the lights being drawn off except at nights or in 

 cold, wet weather; for one of the principal difficulties ex- 

 perienced in raising the seeds of Pinks and Carnations is their 

 proneness to be affected by damp. Sow the seeds in August 

 as soon as ripe, or in the following May, in pans of well- 

 drained light rich sandy compost, barely covering the seeds 

 with earth, and giving them a slight bottom-heat of about 65, 

 which induces them to grow quicker and all at once. Prick 

 off the seedlings into boxes when an inch or so high, and when 

 large enough plant out in deeply-dug, well-manured nursery 

 beds, the soil of which on the surface should be finely 

 pulverised, so as to allow the young seedlings to root freely 

 and make a strong growth before winter. The following is Mr 

 Ball's advice to raisers of Pinks, Carnations, and Picotees : 

 " It is very essential to have a few good, healthy, strong- 

 growing selected varieties of the very best kinds, choosing 

 those that produce but moderately full or rather thin flowers, 

 as these generally produce most seed, and the newer the 

 varieties selected the better, as recent seedlings of all florists' 

 flowers generally produce seed in greater abundance than the 

 older varieties. The plants may be either grown in pots or in 

 the open ground, but pot-culture is preferable. As soon as 

 the flowers begin to expand they should be protected from 

 the rain, either by putting them into a greenhouse or by plac- 

 ing glasses over them ; but give them plenty of air, and allow 

 them to have the sun, as plants bloomed under a covering in 

 the shade produce little or no seed, neither do those that 

 are entirely exposed to the weather, because the occasional 

 showers of rain and the night dews keep the base of the 

 petals continually moist, which, as a consequence, leads to 

 mouldiness and decay. It is a good plan, when the bloom is 

 over, to extract the decayed petals, taking particular care in 

 doing so not to injure the two stigmas or arms of the style, 

 which appear like horns projected from the seed-vessel. The 

 plants should not be layered until the seed becomes ripened, 

 because this operation will most certainly reduce, if not quite 

 destroy, the seed crop. 



The seed generally becomes ripe about the end of August. 

 Care should be taken not to gather it until it is quite ripe, and 

 it should be kept in the seed-vessel or pericarp until the time 

 to sow it, which is about the first week in May. 



Herbert (see 'Herb. Am./ p. 356, 366) says: "lam not 

 aware at what period the beautiful Mule Pink, which is common 

 in our gardens, made its first appearance, nor through whom 

 or in what manner it was obtained, but it was probably the 



