WHITE-GROUND PICOTEES 19g 
been made again and again to raise seedlings from it, and 
by cross-fertilising to obtain a better variety, but without 
SUCCESS, 
The fanciers who grow these Carnations for exhibition 
prefer to exhibit them on cards, and this method of showing 
has prevailed for several generations. The object of show- 
ing them on cards is that the full beauty of the petals 
may be exposed. We may say of dressing the Flakes and 
Bizarres that “it is an art that doth mend Nature.” When 
the flowers are dressed and placed upon the exhibition 
stands, the art of the dresser goes a long way towards 
winning the prize ; but he must have good flowers to work 
upon, and, as a rule, the best-grown flowers are sure to 
win; but if two competitors have flowers of very nearly 
equal merit, the best dresser will probably win. It is 
evident, if Flakes and Bizarres are to be exhibited, they 
must be shown on cards, and the most expert dresser 
will stand the best chance to win; but it must not be 
thought that badly grown flowers can be made to surpass 
those that are well grown, by the mere twisting and turning 
of ivory tweezers. 
The white-ground Picotee is a mere colour form of the 
Carnation, and it has always been treated as an exhibi- 
tion flower with the Flakes and Bizarres. Carnation lovers 
owe a great deal to the old florists who persistently raised 
seedlings by careful hand-fertilising. 
The white-ground Picotees, as we now have them, are 
a more modern form of the Carnation, but, like the Flakes 
and Bizarres, they have been classified for exhibition and 
garden purposes. The flowers should be as good in form 
as the Bizarres and Flakes. They are divided for garden 
