364 MANUAL OF GARDENING 
handle. Care should be taken to pinch out the tops of the young 
plants while growing in the pot, and later while in the ground, causing 
them to grow stocky and send out new growths along the stem. The 
young plants should be grown cool, a temperature of 45° suiting them 
well. Attention should be given to spraying the cuttings each day 
while in the house to keep down the red spider, which is very partial 
to the carnation. 
In the summer, the plants are grown in the field, and not in pots, 
being transplanted from the cutting-box. The soil in which they are 
to be planted should be moderately rich and loose. Clean cultivation 
should be given throughout the summer. Frequently pinch out the 
tops. 
The plants are taken up in September and potted firmly, and well 
watered; then set in a cool, partially shaded situation until root growth 
has started, and watering the plant as it shows need of water. 
The usual living-room conditions as to moisture and heat are not 
such as the carnation demands, and care must be taken to overcome 
the dryness by spraying the foliage and setting the plant in a position 
not exposed to the direct heat of a stove or the sun. In commercial 
houses, it is not often necessary to spray established plants. Pick off 
most or all of the side buds, in order to add to the size of the leading 
flowers. After all is said, it is probably advisable in most cases to 
purchase the plants when in bloom from a florist, and after blooming 
either throw them away or store them for planting out in the spring, 
when they will bloom throughout the summer. 
If conditions are right, the rust should not be very troublesome, if 
the start was made with clean stock. Keep all rusted leaves picked off. 
Century plants or agaves are popular plants for the window-garden 
or conservatory, requiring little care and growing slowly, thus needing 
repotting only at long intervals. When the plants have outgrown 
their usefulness as house-plants, they are still valuable as porch deco- 
rations, for plunging in rock-work, or about rustic nooks. The striped- 
leaved variety is the most desirable, but the normal type, with its blue- 
gray leaves, is highly ornamental. 
There are a number of dwarf species of agave that are not so com- 
mon, although they may be grown with ease. Such plants add novelty 
