A fi 



Garden and Forest. 



[Number 350. 



varieties and the tree or perpetual-flowering varieties. Since 

 hardy Carnations have not been satisfactorily grown in this 

 country, these are seldom, if ever, seen. The Carnation, as 

 the majority of us know it, is an offshoot from the tree or 

 perpetual. But what most struck my American friends was 

 the marked difference between the English and American 

 types of the perpetual class. Both are the result of very care- 

 ful selection and adaptation to the conditions under which 

 they are grown. These are wider in matters relating to cul- 

 ture'than to climate. I do not know of a single old or new 

 English variety now grown here, at least for profit, the simple 

 reason being that they cannot be flowered to any extent dur- 

 ing the winter months. On the other hand, our varieties, 

 grown on the other side, under ordinary pot culture, are 

 regarded as flimsy. No wonder they should be soft under a 

 sunless English winter. 



Carnation growers across the water say that marked advance 

 has been made, and that the plants and flowers there are 

 better than they ever were before. So here, the improvement 

 during the last ten years has been wonderful, and yet the best 

 American and the best English Carnations are farther apart 

 than they ever were. One of my acquaintances admired and 

 brought home a few plants of the new crimson Uriah Pike, 

 of which we have heard so much, and a comparison between 

 this and the best of our American crimsons, Ferdinand Man- 

 gold, shows surprising differences. The former, with its broad, 

 dense foliage of strong growth, shows unmistakable traces 

 of the old Clove breeding. The latter, tough, blue, with 

 abundance of narrow, erect, rounded leaves, of hard texture, 

 admitting freely the light and air, so that the soil may be kept 

 sweet, is just the type of plant needed for best results under 

 glass in winter. The best that can be hoped for from Uriah 

 Pike is that as a pollen parent it may infuse new life into varieties 

 which have lost constitution through constant cultivation in- 

 doors. We can hardly expect much improvement, however, on 

 Ferdinand Mangold, as a perfect crimson, for some time. Tailby, 

 Fisher and Fewdces have been raising and testing crimsons 

 every year, but so far nothing has approached the one now 

 generally grown. 



I lately spent an afternoon with each of the veteran growers 

 and raisers of Carnations, Fisher, of Framingham, and Tailby, 

 of Wellesley. Their reminiscences were most interesting. Mr. 

 Fisher is of opinion that while the varieties of to-day have cer- 

 tain good qualities required in the retail florists' business — that 

 is, they hold their color, they do not fold, they have long 

 stems, stronger calyces, greater variety, and a range of colors 

 not generally found in the older sorts — nevertheless, no sub- 

 stantial gain in size has been reached. Few flowers grown 

 in the ordinary way, and for market, average more than two 

 inches across. It is only by disbudding and special culture, 

 which does not often pay, that three inches, and sometimes 

 more — as in the case of William Nicholson — is attained. But 

 old varieties wear out, and if any real advance is made, or if we 

 wish even to hold our own, new varieties must constantly be 

 raised. It may be here noted, that this is not the case with 

 Chrysanthemums ; old varieties can be grown as well, or better, 

 than they could be fifty years ago. Mr. Fisher has raised over 

 eight hundred seedling Carnations this year, and of these about 

 a dozen are taken in for trial. 



The method of raising and flowering seedlings gives a clue 

 to the origin of the American type. Seedlings are planted out 

 as early in the spring as possible, having been fertilized, 

 ripened, sown and raised to the planting-stage indoors during 

 the winter. This rearing of the plants under artificial condi- 

 tions must have a definite influence on their constitution and 

 habit. Those which bloom first gentrally show more of the 

 perpetual character, and if the habit, color and other requisites 

 are good these early-flowering plants may be marked and 

 retained for trial. It is seldom, however, that the earliest 

 bloomers have constitution enough. The mid-season ones 

 are the best. Those blooming toward the end of the season 

 often give the finest flowers, and are of excellent constitution ; 

 but their lateness, indicating an affinity to the border type, is 

 against them, and they are often found to be late under glass, 

 and croppers at best. Those which do not bloom at all are of 

 no use to the American florist, the majority being of the true 

 border type, and to this type about ten per cent, of the entire 

 lot of seedlings invariably revert, no matter how carefully the 

 seed-flowers are selected. One of Mr. Fishers new seedlings 

 attracted attention as a particularly bright scarlet. It is nota- 

 ble that up to date the most profitable scarlet varieties are 

 Portia and Florence, and of the two Portia is generally con- 

 ceded the brighter, and, although not so large as Florence, it 

 has a better stem. Florence is a heavy cropper, and fine when 

 -reshly picked, but its color does not hold well. This new 



variety is a third cross of a scarlet Marguerite on Florence. It 

 is both early and prolific, and has a good stem and calyx. 



As far back as 1877, about the only varieties grown by 

 florists were Boule de Neige or La Purite, for white, and De 

 Graw, cherry-red. From these several were raised — very 

 good in their day, but now out of date. Anna Webb was 

 raised in 1882, which, until a year or two ago, was the best 

 crimson grown. It is now superseded by Ferdinand Mangold, 

 raised by W. W. Simmonds, of Geneva, Ohio, as a seedling 

 from Anna Webb. This is said to be of better constitution, 

 but, for my own part, I see very little difference, and many 

 growers still prefer the original. 



Florence came in 1884, and is one of the healthiest growers 

 and most prolific of its color to-day. Ada Byron and William 

 Nicholson, the two new pink varieties sent out this spring, are 

 also of Mr. Fisher's raising. He also has some fine new 

 whites, it being the raiser's object for some years past to get a 

 white flower equal to Mrs. Fisher, with a better stem. Some 

 advance has been made, but he finds some objection to all of 

 them. 



Joseph Tailby is known among Carnation growers as the 

 originator ot Grace Wilder, which, until a year or two ago, was 

 the best commercial pink variety. After nearly twenty years 

 of service, its constitution is gone, and the raiser himself finds 

 he cannot grow it with profit any longer. William Scott is its 

 best substitute, and is really a very fine variety, but its color 

 does not hold so well, showing traces of purple when a day or 

 two old. Mr. Tailby has been working for a number of years 

 to get a pure yellow prolific enough for commercial purposes. 

 That he has a perfect flower of this shade in Henrietta Sargent 

 is true, but, although several crosses removed from the bor- 

 der type, it is still late, and does not flower profitably until 

 February. Orders are booked ahead for the crop, and, with 

 higher prices, it pays as well as the more prolific varieties. 



From Boule de Neige and De Graw came some of the best 

 varieties ever raised, and Mr. Tailby says if he now had some 

 of these plants which originated eighteen years ago they would 

 be profitable, but at that time striped and other fancy varieties 

 had no sale. To my suggestion that Grace Wilder be taken as 

 a seed parent, the reply was made that it had never been done, 

 and never ought to be. A very prolific kind should not be 

 used for seeding.; such plants nearly always lack constitution. 

 The rule is to take a stronger variety for seeding, and to this 

 end there were planted here a number of single and semi- 

 double sorts of the proper sturdiness for this special purpose. 

 It is seldom that the pollen variety does not transmit its color 

 and general character to the seedlings. To illustrate this an in- 

 stance was shown where a variety with a striped flower wdiose 

 size and color were all that could be wished, but with a bushy 

 and straggly habit, was used as the male parent. It so happened 

 that one flower of this variety had sported a Malmaison 

 pink. Pollen was taken from a normal flower and applied to a 

 flower of another variety which had the qualities required 

 for a seed parent ; and then pollen from one of the sport- 

 flow^ers was applied to a second flower of the seed parent. 

 Each flower produced seed, and the two groups of seed- 

 lings plainly show the influence of the pollen parents, one 

 group showing kinship to the normal flower, and the second 

 group showing as clearly the Malmaison blood of the sport. 

 A promising new white, Helen Schafer, a cross between 

 Mrs. Fisher and Lizzie McGowan, seems, by its intermediate 

 form, to inherit the qualities of both parents. It was named 

 in honor of Miss Schafer, the lamented President of Wellesley 

 College. 



Wellesley, Mass. T. D. Hatfield. 



Carnation Notes. 



OWING to the exceptionally mild weather which we have 

 had during October, Carnations grown in the open ground 

 are still blooming profusely, and the flowers of Mrs. Fisher 

 and Nobscot (scarlet) are quite equal to those produced in 

 August. It is quite unusual to gather presentable Carnation- 

 flowers in November outdoors ; as a general thing our plants 

 are killed by the middle of October. 



Plants in the benches will now be giving plenty of bloom, 

 and, if not already staked, ought to have some support with- 

 out delay ; if allowed to fall down and hang over the sides of 

 the benches the plants will look unshapely when tied up with 

 crooked stems. There are so many different methods of 

 staking these plants that very little that is new can be said on 

 that point. In past seasons we have used cane or deal sticks ; 

 this year we have substituted galvanized wire, cut in straight 

 lengths two and a half feet long ; black iron wire is drawn 

 from end to end of the rows to tie the stakes to and steady 

 them. Staked in this manner the beds have a much neater 



