CANNAS — CARNATIONS 363 
The old (foliage) sorts may be left out late to ripen up the fleshy 
root-stocks. Cut the tops off immediately after frost. The roots are 
safe in the ground as long as it does not freeze. Dig, and dry or 
“cure” for a few days, then winter them like potatoes in the cellar. 
It is a common mistake to dig canna roots too early. 
The French sorts are commonly thought to keep best if kept grow- 
ing somewhat during the winter; but if managed right, they may be 
carried over like the others. Immediately after frost, cut off the tops 
next the ground. Cover the stumps with a little soil and leave the 
roots in the ground till well ripened. Clean them after digging, and 
cure or dry them for a week or more in the open air and sun, taking them 
indoors at night. Then place them away from frost in a cool, dry 
place. 
Carnations are now among the most popular florists’ flowers; but 
it is not generally known that they may be easily grown in the outdoor 
garden. They are of two types, the outdoor or garden varieties, and 
the indoor or forcing kinds. Normally, the carnation is a hardy peren- 
nial, but the garden kinds, or marguerites, are usually treated as 
annuals. The forcing kinds are flowered but once, new plants being 
grown each year from cuttings. 
Marguerite carnations bloom the year the seed is sown, and with a 
slight protection will bloom freely the second year. They make at- 
tractive house plants if potted in the fall. The seeds of these carna- 
tions should be sown in boxes in March and the young plants set out 
as early as possible, pinching out the center of the plant to make them 
branch freely. Give the same space as for garden pinks. 
The winter-flowering carnations have become prime favorites with 
all flower lovers, and a collection of winter house-plants seems incom- 
plete without them. 
Carnations grow readily from cuttings made of the suckers that 
form around the base of the stem, the side shoots of the flowering 
stem, or the main shoots before they show flower-buds. The cuttings 
from the base make the best plants in most cases. These cuttings 
may be taken from a plant at any time through the fall or winter, rooted 
in sand and potted up, to be held in pots until the planting out time 
in the spring, usually in April, or any time when the ground is ready to 
