354 CuUivaiion of the Carnation and Picotee. 



cool and dry place, till the third or fourth week in April, 

 which is about the best time for sowing them, rather thinly, 

 in shallow pans or boxes, or large flower-pots, with about a 

 quarter of an inch of mould riddled lightly over them, which 

 must be kept rather moist, and as the plants make their ap- 

 pearance, all kinds of weeds should be carefully and entirely 

 removed from among them. It will be advisable to maintain 

 glasses over the pots until the plants are well up ; for if the 

 weather be cold and wet, many of the seeds, if not well ri- 

 pened, will perish in the soil, which this precaution would 

 probably cause to vegetate. By the first or second week in 

 July they will be ready, and it is generally the best time to 

 plant them out, on the first showery opportunity, where they 

 are to remain for blooming, in beds of four rows, of about a 

 foot apart, and at the distance of six inches each in the row, 

 with a space of twenty inches between the beds, for room to 

 examine the blooms ; and if the weather be dry soon after 

 planting, they must be plentifully watered, and continually 

 kept free from grass or weeds ; for if you neglect them at 

 this time, many of the weakest plants will not bloom the fol- 

 lowing summer. Seedling carnations are generally as hardy 

 as cabbage plants, and do not require a winter protection at 

 all. In the spring, as they advance in height, they should 

 have hazel-sticks or willow twigs, or something sufficient for 

 their support through the blooming season, when your chief 

 care will be directed to find among them all that are worth 

 preserving ; and either dig them up carefully and place them 

 in large pots, or pull up those about them that are of no 

 value, to give room for the growth of laterals for layering, 

 in order to perpetuate your new and beautiful varieties ; the 

 latter being a much more important, successful, and certain 

 method of obtaining blooms than that of seeding. 



MODE OF PIPING. 



The mode adopted by many experienced raisers for propa- 

 gating these flowers by means of piping, if the method sus- 

 tains any preeminence over that of layering, must be entitled 

 to rank in that position from the former operation being pro- 



