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The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



11 



V PRIVATE GARDENER'S IDEAS. 



\ paper by Geo. K. Wilson, of Roslyn, N. Y., 

 i iit a iiuH'ting of tlio Nassau County Horti 

 •iir.il Society in (lien ('ov<', X. Y.] 



I veiituri! to say that there is not one 



villi before iiic toiiiijlit but what has 



uyiiial or peeiiliar i)i('tlio<ls, from which 



■ Ml have elaborated a system which gov- 



' IIS the growth and beauty of the car- 



ii.it ion. It will not be necessary, tiiere- 



■ ■ir, for me to enter into minute details 

 I the subject, since there is scarcely a 



^' iitleman present who has not proved 



■ iinself to be efiiclent in this particular 

 Niif. T shall just touch lightly on the 



a lions stages of the growth of the car- 

 n;iiion, after giving a f(^\\ particulars 

 i'"int its early history. 



Origin and Early History. 



I'iit; carnation, Dianthus Caryophyllus, 



- .■! native of southern Europe and is 



"iiK'times founil in Britain in a \vild 



■-late, where it had been introduced by 



'iltivation. 



The nniiic (•.•iriiat mhi is fmni the L.utiii 



wrd caro, carnis, meaning '•flesh,"' and 



ii.iving reference to the llesh color of the 



'iginal. This plant is supposed to have 



■<n in cultivation for over 2,000 years. 



' ncophrastus, in his "History of 



.mts. 



says, 



The Greeks cultivate 



•<es, gillyflowers, violets, narcissi and 



IS."' the gillyflower being the old Eng- 



li name for the carnation. However, 

 was not till the beginning of the six- 



•nth century that the carnation gained 



prominent place in the mind and ej'e 



the representatives of the flower-lov- 



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

 ners, who seemed to grasp with pro 



'ftic zeal the importance of such ac 

 isition and herald the coming magnifi- 



Mce, beauty and fragrance of the car- 



itjon of the future. 



Early Classifications. 

 riie French, who were enthusiastic over 

 '■ numerous difl'erent varieties, at- 

 inpted a classification of them. In 1597 

 lard wrote that to describe each new 

 iriety would bo difficult, seeing they 

 ere as countless as sand. As I have 

 lid, the Frencli sought to introduce a 

 ttle order in this line and arranged all 

 le varieties in three classes: First, 

 lenadins, embracing those with strong 

 "rfume, flowers of medium size, either 

 ^iigle or double, petals fringed and of 

 ii(^ color; second, Flamands, including 

 liose with large flowers, sound and dou- 

 le, rising in the center to form a con- 

 'X surface, petals entire, either one color 

 I' stri|)(>d with two or more colors; third, 

 'ancies, embracing those with colors ar- 

 ranged in bands on light grounds, the 



prtals fiingi'd nv otiiorwisc. 'riic Britisli 

 (dassification of those varieties divided 

 them into four sections: l-'irst. J<'lakes. 

 or those having .a pure ground of white 

 or yellow, and tlakiMl or striped with one 

 color; second. Sclfs. or tliosf possessing 

 only oni' color; third. liizaires. or those 

 having a pure ground. inaikiMl, as in the 

 (lakes, ^\itll two or more I'olors; fourth, 

 Picotees. or those having a [)ure ground 

 of white or yellow, and each petal lia\ 

 ing ,'i lian^l ot' cohn- ;ii-o;n!i| ii~ cx.ienie 

 edge. 



In the Nineteenth Century. 



In the early part of the nineteenth cen 

 tiiry the British gardeners recognized the 

 importance of giving jiarticular attention 

 to the ileveloping and perfecting of such 

 flowers as gi\(' promise of future gri'at- 

 iiess. .111(1 thus gradually, througli the 

 great interest shown by many jn'ominent 

 men in our profession, e\(>ry age has 

 added to the grace, beauty ami fragrance 

 of the carnation, until at tlu> present 

 day it has taken such a hold on the 

 hearts of the American nation tiiat we 

 hear whisperings of :i likelihoo<l that in 

 the future it will dethrone our much-loved 

 rose and reign supreme ;e< queen of the 

 flower world. But I am inclined to tiiiiik 

 this is an uiidui' stretcli ot' tlii' imagiii:i 

 tion. as I believe that the rose is well 

 able to ludd its exalted jiositioti against 

 all coiiK^rs. even carnation^. 



1 should jiisi like to ->;iy ;i word about 

 the Malmaibon carnation. This is a va 

 riety tiiat I. have been iiiiich interested in 

 since I was a boy, and last spring I had 

 som(> plants imported, but 1 was not sue 

 cessfiil with them, owing to tiieir coudi 

 tion on their arrival, as they were nuicl 

 infected with stem fot. However, I ma\ 

 try again, as this is a family that woulil 

 gladden the heart of all lovers of carna 

 tiotis. 



Modern Culture 



.Modern carnation culture calls fort 1 1 

 our best energies, not only for exhibitioii 

 purposes, but for our own satisfaction 

 since we have the knowledge that we 

 have doiK^ our utmost to ]M'o(luce tlie bes- 

 results. 



The varieties to be chosen for the com 

 ing season depend largely on our fanc,\ 

 or on the favor of those who employ u^ 

 As exani])l(^s, let me mention White Per 

 feet ion, li'ose pink Mnchaiit le-^, Kiii'liain 

 res>, Peacoii, Imperial, \'ictoiy ,iiid Wiii 

 sor. When any grower has only the ust 

 of one house, it is not advisable to grow 

 a greiit many varieties, seeing we mus: 

 keep in mind our table decoration am 

 the iirevailing tendency to have one colo; 

 on the table, and if we adopt two or tlire< 

 varieties we will be better able to provide 

 for tile wants of those in authority. 



I ( '(inl iriin''! (Ill \i:i'^r so. ( 



One of the Iron-frame Houses at the Cottage Gardens, Queens, N, Y. 



I'liintcd li. Aliiiii WnnI Ciii-ti.itioti. I 



