80 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 
the stock once a week for this purpose. The proper time 
to cease stopping depends upon the approximate date the 
plants are required to flower. Varieties differ in the time 
they take to come into flower after their final stopping. 
I will therefore append a list of varieties, with the dates 
of last stoppings, when the bulk of the flowers are wanted 
for the latter part of November and the months of De- 
cember and January, Even then, this type of Carnation 
would not be perpetual-flowering if the time was not 
considerable between the opening of the first and last 
flowers, The later in the season the stopping of a plant 
is continued, the longer it will be in coming into flower. 
For instance, it is recommended to stop the variety Brit- 
annia for the last time at the end of August. This will 
result in this variety commencing to flower in November ; 
but if the last stopping is delayed until a month later, it 
naturally follows the flowering period is delayed by more 
than a month, principally owing to the less favourable 
season for growth. 
Disbudding.—Where flowers of the largest size and 
best quality are desired, it is necessary to pick off, at an 
early stage of their growth, all buds except the terminal 
one on each flower-stem, This practice is now adopted 
generally, but some varieties, such, for instance, as Robert 
Craig and Britannia, if allowed to bear three or four buds 
on a strong stem in various stages of development, make 
excellent decorative plants, and are preferred by some, 
to plants which are more rigidly thinned. The old variety 
Winter Cheer was, in its best day, a notable example of 
this particular form of cultivation. 
Staking.--There are numerous devices and methods 
