August 3, 1876. J 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



87 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



Day 



Day 





Average 













Clock 



Day 



of 



of 



AUGUST 3—9, 1876. 



Temperature near 





Sets. 









before 



of 



Month 



Week. 





London. 













Sun. 



Year. 









Day. 



Night. 



Mean. 



h. ro. 



h. m. 



h. m. 



h. m. 



Days. 



m. e. 





3 



Th 





74.9 



50.6 



62 8 



4 29 



7 43 



7 81 



1 45 



IS 



5 53 



215 



4 



F 



Rawtenstall (Kosendale) Show. 



75.9 



50.6 



62.8 



4 81 



7 41 



7 53 



2 56 



14 



5 48 



216 



5 



a 



Southampton Show. 



74 5 



50.9 



62.7 



4 82 



7 S9 



8 9 



4 2 



• 



5 42 



217 



6 



Sdn 



8 Sunday after Trinity. 



73.2 



50 8 



62.0 



4 84 



7 87 



8 22 



5 27 



16 



5 85 



218 



7 



M 



Finedon Show. 



74.6 



509 



62.7 



4 35 



7 36 



8 83 



6 41 



17 



5 28 



219 



8 



To 





74.5 



49.4 



61.9 



4 37 



7 84 



8 43 



7 65 



18 



5 20 



220 



9 



W 





74.9 



49.6 



62.2 



4 38 



7 32 



8 53 



9 10 



19 



e 12 



221 



From observations taken near London during forty-three years, 



the average day temperature 



of the week is 74.6°; and its night temperature 



50.4°. 











THE CARNATION AND PICOTEE. 



"^55^' 



T the July Show of the Eoyal Horticultural 

 Society a small hank of cut flowers about a 

 score yards iu length attracted much atten- 

 tion ; they were first-rate examples of the 

 beautiful flowers cultivated and cherished 

 by the old florists — namely, Carnations and 

 Picotees. It is many years since they were 

 so well shown, and when these good old 

 flowers are brought out as they ought to be 

 they are as much admired as ever they were ; 

 and those who know the Carnation and Picotee well will 

 join with me in saying that they were better shown than 

 the popular and easily-grown zonal Pelargonium, notwith- 

 standing the fact that this last-named plant has a Society 

 formed for the express purpose of collecting money to 

 give in prizes for it, and which on the above occasion 

 were distributed with no sparing hand. Indeed so badly 

 grown were the Pelargoniums that the Judges had in 

 many cases to withhold the prizes ; while in the Carna- 

 tion and Picotee competition some that were placed second 

 and third well deserved a higher position. 



We would fain cherish the hope that the metropolitan 

 societies will continue to encourage the culture of Carna- 

 tions and Picotees by giving liberal prizes for them. When 

 the first exhibitions were inaugurated at Chiswick these 

 flowers were placed in the same position (social position 

 would be the better expression) as Grapes, Pines, and 

 stove and greenhouse plants. In 1833 we read that Mr. 

 George Glenny of Twickenham, Editor of the Horticul- 

 tural Journal, received a gold Banksian medal for Carna- 

 tions and Picotees, and a large silver medal was also given 

 to Mr. Hogg of Paddington for blooms of these flowers. 

 The florists at that time knew the properties of the flowers, 

 and right well did they grow them up to the regulation 

 standard. 



At that time a sub-committee was formed to draw up 

 rules by which florists' flowers should be judged ; their 

 names were James Twitchett, Richard Headly,' Adam 

 Fitch, Fred. Finch, Samuel Widnall, and Edward Cat- 

 ling. The following relate to Carnations : — "The flowers 

 large, consisting of a number of well-formed petals, neither 

 so many as to give it a crowded appearance, nor so few 

 as to make it appear thin and empty ; the petals broad 

 and stiff, the guard petals well rounded, and should rise a 

 little above the calyx and then turn off gracefully in a 

 horizontal direction, supporting the interior petals, which 

 should gradually taper towards the crown. Bizarres must 

 have three colours in every petal ; flakes two colours 

 strong and bright, the stripes clear and distinct ; the 

 fewer freckles or spots the better ; all the colours nearly 

 equal, or the most brilliant colour should predominate, 

 the white pure and bright. Picotees the same qualities 

 as to size, petals, crown, and clear white ground as the 

 Carnations ; edge of the petals smooth and well rounded. 

 Those flowers which are free from blotch or stripes down 

 to the petal, below the coloured edging, are greatly to 

 be preferred to those which are marked and pouncy." 



No 801.— Vol. XXXI., New Series. 



The florists of half a century ago used to grow their 

 Carnations and Picotees in beds, being very careful to 

 prepare a suitable compost for the plants. At the pre- 

 sent time nearly all the best growers for exhibition culti- 

 vate their plants in pots, and in this way they are very 

 much more under the control of the cultivator. Nor is 

 it necessary to use very large pots. A pair of plants may 

 be potted, the weaker-growing sorts in 8-mch and those 

 of stronger growth in 9-inch pots. The plants are now 

 ready for layering, and the grass this season is remark- 

 ably strong. There is a very great demand for this 

 class of plants, and the trade cultivator will most likely 

 layer all the grass he has ; but it is not necessary for the 

 amateur to do so, although it is well to layer a good 

 many more than is actually required, as a number perish 

 from the attacks of wireworm and other causes between 

 the time of layering and potting into the blooming pots 

 in March. 



Layering is commenced by having ready a sufficient 

 number of pegs either cut from small sprays of Elm, 

 Beech, or Hornbeam. The stems of the common Bracken 

 (Pteris aquilina) also answer well. An inch of the sur- 

 face soil in the pots is removed and some fine sandy soil 

 put in its place ; the lower leaves are then stripped from 

 the grass, then with a sharp knife cut a notch upward 

 through a joint into the centre of the stem, then peg the 

 layer into the soil, the peg to be placed close to the notch. 

 The base of the layer should be about half an inch in the 

 soil. After the operation is complete water with a fine- 

 rose water-pot. The layers will be well rooted in a month 

 or six weeks, when they may be cut from the parent 

 plant and be potted two plants in large 60's or small 

 48-sized pots. The soil tor this potting ought not to be 

 too rich, as the plants do not winter well in rich soil. 

 They ought to be placed in a cold frame, and the lights 

 should be kept close for a week. Air should be gradually 

 admitted after this until the plants endure the removal 

 of the lights altogether without flagging. All the atten- 

 tion required now is to see that none of the plants suffer 

 for want of water. Remove all dead and decaying leaves, 

 and the lights should also be removed whenever the 

 weather is dry and mild. Damp is the desperate enemy 

 of the Carnation and Picotee in winter, and does infinitely 

 more damage to the plants than frost. 



When the plants begin to grow in the spring is the 

 signal for potting them into the blooming pots ; this will 

 be from the middle to the end of March, or even in April. 

 The requisite compost is very simple. Good sound yellow 

 loam four parts, one part of leaf mould, one of decayed 

 manure, and one of sharp river sand will grow the plants 

 perfectly. This ought to lie in a heap through the winter 

 months, and should be torn in pieces by the hand before 

 using it, which gives an opportunity to pick out any 

 wireworms that may be in the loam. When it is not 

 convenient to place the pots in glazed frames after the 

 plants are potted it is better to delay the operation until 

 April, or if it is done in March the weather ought to be 

 mild. A period of cold wet weather would seriously 

 injure the plants if they were exposed to it before they 



No. 1453 —Vol. LVI„ Old Sehie^. 



