38 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



inducing it to flower early from seeds, and also for the 

 purpose of increasing its floriferousness, the size of its 

 flowers, and the colour variation. The result is that we 

 have a race of plants which produce beautiful flowers and 

 more nearly of Annual than Biennial duration. An effort 

 has been made in this work to keep pure Annuals together 

 and not confuse them with Biennials that readily submit to 

 cuitiv.ition as Annuals, but the effort fails in the case of 

 Dinnthus chinensis var. Heddewigii. 



In Dianthuscs we have a charming group of garden flowers, 

 which rarely exceed i foot in height, and range in colour 

 from white to blood-red crimson. They arc variously known 

 as Japanese or Indian Pinks, and the taller sorts as Koyal 

 Pinks. Of the single varieties, with shapely, broad-petalled 

 flowers. Crimson Bell, blood-red ; Empress, crimson and 

 rose ; and Eastern Queen, red, rose, and pink, are good. 

 Among single, fringed varieties, a few of outstanding merit 

 are Salmon Queen, salmon-rose ; Vesuvius, orange-salmon ; 

 Scarlet Queen, scarlet ; and The Bride, white. Double or 

 Diadem varieties include such delightful sorts as The Mikado, 

 finely fringed, colours various ; Aurora, salmon-scarlet ; 

 Mourning Cloak, dark crimson ; Purity, white ; and Snowdrift, 

 fringed white. 



By far the best way to manage Indian Pinks is to raise 

 them in gentle heat in March, prick the seedlings into boxes 

 early, and transplant them to beds or borders, or the Rock 

 garden, at the end of May or early in June. Thus treated 

 they will flower splendidly in Summer and Autumn. They 

 may be sown in Autumn, wintered in a cold frame, and 

 planted out in May, while under favourable conditions a 

 sowing out-of-doors in April produces plants that will 

 flower tlie same year. Spring-sown plants will sometimes 

 survive the Winter and flower the following year, but I have 

 never had one do so. The Indian or Japanese Pinks love a 



