6 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 
stant fighting to resist the ambitious schemes of Napoleon, 
which culminated in his total defeat at Waterloo, were 
serious hindrances to the peaceful arts. A long period 
of peace ensued, and every description of gardening made 
rapid strides ; Carnations, Tulips, Auriculas, Pinks, Ranun- 
culi, and other favourite florist’s flowers were improved 
year by year. Those engaged in their cultivation held 
frequent meetings, standards of excellence were set up, 
and, so far as Carnations are concerned, the standard has 
not since been altered materially, as may be seen in the 
latest publication? by the Royal Horticultural Society. 
But these early cultivators, in their eagerness to obtain 
large, richly coloured flowers, used highly stimulating 
manures, and they overfed the plants to such an extent 
that the varieties remained vigorous only for a very few 
years, There were so many amateur raisers and cultivators 
that a rapid succession of seedling varieties speedily re- 
placed those that fell out of cultivation. 
A very enthusiastic amateur named Thomas Hogg, 
a schoolmaster of Paddington Green, who cultivated the 
Carnation successfully in the early years of the nineteenth 
century, wrote a book on the flower which passed through 
several editions. He recommended less stimulating com- 
posts to prevent the “running” of the flowers, as it is 
termed, of the Flakes and Bizarres ; but even his less rich 
compost contained as much manure as loam; and not 
content with this, the plants were to be surface-dressed with 
a compost “in which the chief ingredients are sugar-baker’s 
scum, soap-boiler’s waste, night soil, the dung of pigeons 
and poultry in general, blood, soot, lime, gypsum, etc., etc,” 
After this list, one wonders what might be included in 
1 Code of Rules for Juages.: 
