362 Cultivation of the Carnation and Picotee. 



nights, heavy rains, and cold, drying winds. When they 

 need water, give it in the morning till about the middle of 

 May. To prevent sour incrustations, litter over the surface 

 of the pots with fine sand ; or once in about six weeks gently 

 stir the mould with a sharp-pointed stick : the latter is per- 

 haps the preferable mode. All decayed leaves must from 

 time to time be taken off. To supply the exhaustion of veg- 

 etative matter occasioned by frequent watering, give them a 

 top-dressing about the middle of June by sifting over the 

 pots rotten horsedung two years old, to the thickness of half 

 an inch. Some raisers use sugarbakers' scum and nightsoil ] 

 but these are in reality too hot. About this time if any of 

 the plants look in a dying state, it will arise from worms be- 

 ing in the pots ; for which the cure is easy — irrigate two or 

 three times a week, for a fortnight or more, with lime water. 

 When they shoot up for bloom, they should be supported by 

 fixing them with loose collars of wet bass to sticks four feet 

 long. As soon as the pods begin to swell, water them freely, 

 and keep them moist as long as they continue in bloom ; 

 this will be best done with the pipe of the watering-pot ; and 

 to prevent the mould being washed from the roots, place an 

 oyster-shell upon the earth, to receive the water and break 

 its force. It will strengthen the main stem to strip off the 

 side-shoots as soon as they appear. Should the flower be for 

 exhibition, leave not more than two or three pods on a stem. 

 ■In July gird the pots, to prevent them bursting, with narrow 

 slips of bladder wetted with gum-water, lapped once or twice 

 round : this will require easing from time to time as the pods 

 enlarge. When the guard-leaves expand and fall back, they 

 must be supported with circular card-paper collars, three or 

 four inches in diameter, having a hole in the centre large 

 enough to admit the pod with ease, which may be effected 

 by making a slit from the centre to the circumference. When 

 in full bloom, they must be either carded or fixed to the sticks 

 by pieces of thin brass wire, to guard them from agitation by 

 the wind, as well as to support the additional weight of the 

 card, and shaded with an awning to keep off rain and the 

 intense heat of the sun, which will otherwise spoil the flow- 



