334 On the Cultivation of the Pink. 



flower? The average price of carnations and picotees, in Eng- 

 land, is about three shillings sterling per pair — pinks, one shil- 

 ling and sixpence per pair, with a few exceptions for new and 

 scarce varieties, which vary from five to twenty shillings per 

 pair. I mention these facts, to contrast the prices asked and re- 

 ceived by a gardener in this vicinity for one hundred plants of 

 the carnation, warranted fine and of colors various ! — Price paid, 

 and I believe all that was asked, was three cents each ! The re- 

 sult is, the purchaser is disgusted with his bargain; and if he had 

 not had an opportunity of seeing better things, he might have ex- 

 claimed, in reply to the following line of the poet, — 



" And pinks of smell divinest," 

 Carnations of shapes and colors vilest. 



To engage our friends in the cause of Flora, we should supply 

 them with good things at a fair price. Taste, like truth, does 

 not lie at the bottom of a well, nor is it confined to the rich or 

 the poor, to the citizen or the yeoman, but is found in all coun- 

 tries, and among all classes of society. 



In conchision, dear Sirs, I would remark, that some good va- 

 rieties of the carnation and the pink are to be found in the vicinity 

 of Boston. A few years since, I did not know of a first-rate 

 pink in the state of Massachusetts. We have now some ten to 

 fifteen varieties of the best sorts. Mr. Hill, of Boston, has long 

 been successful in the cultivation of the carnation; and it gives 

 me pleasure to add, that some choice varieties are now under the 

 care of Mr. Haggerston, at the seat of J. P. Gushing, Esq., at 

 Watertown. A variety of fine pinks may be found at the Botanic 

 Garden, Gambridge, under the care of Mr. W. E. Garter, and 

 also at other gardens in the neighborhood. Among the best 

 sorts cultivated in the vicinity of Boston, I would name Bow's 

 Glaudius, Major Shaw, Lady Gobbett, Lord Hamilton, Queen 

 Garoline, Ford's fine seedling. Bow's Sir Isaac Newton, Nava- 

 rino, Pettit's seedling, Hawkins's Beauty, a seedling raised 

 by Gol. Wilder, of Dorchester, and a seedling by the Messrs. 

 Hovey, of Gambridgeport. The two latter I consider as pos- 

 sessing many, if not all, the properties which constitute a good 

 pink. We may, therefore, hope soon to have more than one of 

 our senses gratified; for 



" Good scents do purify the brain, 

 Awake the fancy, and the wits refine." 



Yours, &c. S. Walker. 



Roxbury, Aug. 16, 1836. 



