JUNE 



1910. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



11 



A PRIVATE GABDENEB'S IDEAS. 



(A paper by Geo. B. Wilson, of Roslyn, N. Y., 

 ri>n(l at. a meeting of ttie Nassau County Horti- 

 . iiltural Society in Glen Cove, N. Y.] 



1 venture to say that there is not one 

 of you before me tonight but what has 

 original or peculiar methods, from which 

 you have elaborated a system which gov- 

 erns the growth and beauty of the car- 

 nation. It will not be necessary, there- 

 fore, for me to enter into minute details 

 of the subject, since there is scarcely a 

 gentleman present who has not proved 

 himself to be eflScient in this particular 

 line. I shall just touch lightly on the 

 various stages of the growth of the car- 

 nation, after giving a few particulars 

 about its early history. 



Origin and Early History. 

 The carnation, Dianthus Caryophyllus, 

 is a native of southern Europe and is 

 sometimes found in Britain in a wild 

 state, where it had been introduced by 

 cultivation. 



The name carnation is from the Latin 

 word caro, carnis, meaning "flesh," and 

 having reference to the flesh color of the 

 original. This plant is supposed to have 

 been in cultivation for over 2,000 years. 

 Theophrastus, in his "History of 

 Plants," says, "The Greeks cultivate 

 roses, gillyflowers, violets, narcissi and 

 iris," the gillyflower being the old Eng- 

 lish name for the carnation. However, 

 it was not till the beginning of the six- 

 teenth century that the carnation gained 

 I prominent place in the mind and eye 

 ' f the representatives of the flow8r-lov- 

 'flg nations of the world, namely, the gar- 

 '■eners, who seemed to grasp with pro- 

 phetic zeal the importance of such ac- 

 uisition and herald the coming magnifi- 

 •ince, beauty and fragrance of the car- 

 ation of the future. 



Early Classifications. 

 The French, who were enthusiastic over 

 !ie numerous different varieties, at- 

 empted a classification of them. In 1597 

 Gerard wrote that to describe each new 

 ariety would be diflScuIt, seeing they 

 ^ere as countless as sand. As I have 

 ;aid, the French sought to introduce a 

 'ittle order in this line and arranged all 

 he varieties in three classes: First, 

 '^renadins, embracing those with strong 

 perfume, flowers of medium size, either 

 single or double, petals fringed and of 

 '>ne color; second, Flamands, including 

 ihose with large flowers, sound and dou- 

 ble, rising in the center to form a con- 

 vex surface, petals entire, either one color 

 "r striped with two or more colors; third, 

 Fancies, embracing those with colors ar- 

 ranged in bands on light grounds, the 



petals fringed or otherwise. Tlie British 

 classification of those varieties divided 

 them into four sections: First, Flakes, 

 or those having ja. pure ground of white 

 or yellow, and flaked or striped with one 

 color; second, Selfs, or those possessing 

 only one color; third, Bizarres, or those 

 having a pure ground, marked, as in the 

 flakes, with two or more colors; fourth, 

 Picotees, or those having a pure ground 

 of white or yellow, and each petal hav- 

 ing a band of color around its cxtriMnc 

 edge. 



In the Nineteenth Century. 

 In the early part of the nineteenth cen- 

 tury the British gardeners recognized the 

 importance of giving particular attention 

 to the developing and perfecting of such 

 flowers as give promise of future great- 

 ness, and thus gradually, through the 

 great interest shown by many prominent 

 men in our profession, every age has 

 added to the grace, beauty and fragrance 

 of the carnation, until at the present 

 day it has taken such a hold on the 

 hearts of the American nation that we 

 hear whisperings of a likelihood that in 

 the future it will dethrone our niuch-loved 

 rose and reign supreme as queen of the 

 flower world. But I am inclined to think 

 this is an undue stretch of the imagiu.a- 

 tion, as I believe thiit the rose is well 

 able to hold its exalted position against 

 all comers, even carnations. 



I should just like tu .say a word about 

 the Malmaison carnation. This is a va- 

 riety that I have been much interested in 

 since I was a boy, and last spring I had 

 some plants imported, but I was not suc- 

 cessful with them, owing to their condi 

 tion on their arrival, as they were mucli 

 infected with stem-rot. However, I may 

 try again, as this is a family that would 

 gladden the heart of all lovers of carna- 

 tions. 



Modern Culture. 



Modern carnation culture calls fortii 

 our best energies, not only for exhibition 

 purposes, but for our own satisfaction, 

 since we have the knowledge that we 

 have done our utmost to produce the besi 

 results. 



The varieties to be chosen for the com 

 ing season depend largely on our fancy 

 or on the favor of those who employ us. 

 As examples, let me mention White Per 

 fecfion, Rose-pink Enchantress, Enchant 

 ress, Beacon, Imperial, Victory and Win 

 sor. When any grower has only the use 

 of one house, it is not advisable to grow 

 a great many varieties, seeing we must 

 keep in mind our table decoration and 

 the prevailing tendency to have one color 

 on the table, and if we adopt two or three 

 varieties we will be better able to provide 

 for the wants of those in authority. 

 [Continued on page SO.] 



One of the Iron-frame Houses at the G>ttage Gardens, Queens, N. Y. 



(Planted to Alma Ward Carnation.) 



