5Si 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



ill long regular stiipes, broadest at the edge of 

 the lamina, and gracefully becoming narrower 

 as they approach tlie close of the petal, and there 

 terminating in a fine point. Each petal should 

 have one half, or nearly so, of white, wliich 

 should be pure, clear, and free of spots. Bizarres, 

 or such as contain two colours upon a white 

 ground, are esteemed rather preferable to flakes, 

 which have but one, especially when their colours 

 are remarkably rich, and very regularly distri- 

 buted. 



Scarlet, purple, and pink, are the three colours 

 most predominant in the carnation. The first 

 two are seldom to be met with in the same 

 flower; but the last two are very frequently. 

 When the scarlet predominates, and is united 

 with a paler colour, or, as it sometimes happens, 

 with a very deep purple upon a white ground, 

 it constitutes a scarlet bizarre, of which there 

 are many shades and varieties, some riclier, and 

 others paler in their colours, as is the case with 

 all the rest. 



Pink bizarres are so called when the pink 

 abounds, and so of the other colours. When 

 the pink flake is very high in colour, it is called 

 rose flake; but there are some so nearly in the 

 medium between a pink and scarlet, that it can 

 scarcely be defined to which class they belong. 

 In addition to these varieties, there is another 

 much esteemed by cultivators, called picotae, 

 many of which are very beautiful; and being 

 hardier than the other sorts, are in considerable 

 request. The colours are principally yellow and 

 white spotted; their properties are the same as 

 the other kinds, except that the edges of the 

 petals are serrated or jagged, and the colour is 

 disposed in spots while the" others are striped. 



The carnation is propagated by layers and 

 pipings, and by seed for procuring new varieties. 

 The most usual method is by layers. This oper- 

 ation is performed when the plants are in full 

 bloom, or as practised by some, when the flowere 

 are on the decline. Tlie process, by wounding 

 the stalks, imjiairs the bloom, and frequently 

 destroys the parent plant. 



A sufficient quantity of hooked pegs, and 

 of compost, being provided, the pot con- 

 taining the plant to be layed, is placed on a 

 table, and the layers prepared by cutting off^ 

 their lower leaves; the earth is then stirred, and 

 the pot filled up with liglit rich mould, not of 

 too fine a grain. The incision is made by enter- 

 ing a quarter of an inch below the joint, and 

 passing the knife up through the centre of it; 

 it is then to be pegged down, and buried not 

 more than half an inch deep. The layers should 

 be pegged down in a dry state, as they are then 

 less brittle, and less liable to break ofl^ than 

 when wet and succulent. As soon therefore as 

 the layers are dressed, the pot sliould be placed 

 full in the sun for half an hour, in order to 



render them more flaccid and pliant than they 

 otherwise would be. Wlien the layers are pro- 

 perly rooted, which will be the case with most 

 sorts in about three weeks or a month after lay- 

 ing, provided due care be taken to keep them 

 regularly moist, and to shade them from the 

 heat of the meridian sun; they are then to be 

 cut off^ from the old plant, with about half an 

 inch of the stalk which connects them with it, 

 and immediately planted in small pots, three or 

 four plants in each, placed round the sides. The 

 pots are to be placed under an ai'ch of hoops, 

 where they can be covered with mats, and pro- 

 tected from heavy rains. In winter they are to 

 be removed imder cover of a frame, to protect 

 them from the frost.'"' 



Piping is a more precarious mode of propaga- 

 tion, and the chances of its success depend much 

 on circumstances. It is resorted to when the 

 shoots are too short for laying. A slight hot- 

 bed is to be prepared, and covered with four or 

 five inches of light mould. The cuttings in- 

 tended to be piped, are to have two complete 

 joints. Some also cut off the extremities of the 

 leaves, as in the case of laying; and the pipings, 

 which should be from an inch and a half to two 

 inches long, are thrown into a basin of soft 

 water for a few minutes. The earth on the hot- 

 bed should now be moderately moistened, and 

 rendered rather compact; then take a small hand 

 glass, and with it make an impression neatly on 

 the surface of the soil, in order to mark out 

 where to stick in the pipings. These are to be 

 taken singly out of the basin, and put into the 

 eartli about half an inch deep, regularly at equal 

 distances from each other, and about an inch 

 within the circular mark of the glass. They 

 are then to be watered gently; and after the 

 leaves are dry, the glass is to be put carefully 

 over them, forcing the edge of it a little into 

 the earth, so as to exclude the external air. The 

 soil should be kept moderately moist, the plants 

 exposed to the morning sun, but shaded from 

 tlie noon-day by matting; and the glasses are to ,: 

 be occasionally taken oft" to admit air. If air 

 is not occasionally and freely admitted, the sur 

 face of the soil, and the plants themselves, will 

 become mouldy, in consequence of the growth 

 of parasitic fungi. 



Raising the seed is rather a difficult process 

 in this climate, owing to the dampness of the 

 autumnal months ; it is accordingly generally 

 procured from Switzerland and Germany; and 

 if put into well stopped phials, it will keep 

 sound for years. In raising it in this country, 

 those plants that have few petals, or nearest 

 approaching to single, should be selected, only 

 they should be good of tlieir kind. The pots 

 containing these should be separated from the 



* Maddock. 



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