228 MY GARDEN. 



ordinary retort stand, and placed near the flowering plants, when water 

 and the ethereal odour of the blossom is deposited on the exterior 

 of the glass funnel, and trickles down to the point, from which it 

 drops at intervals into a glass vessel below. The scent thus obtained 



* 



is very perfect and interesting, but is apt to become sour in a few 

 days unless some pure alcohol is added. By this process many odours 

 may be procured for comparison and study. To obtain the odour in 

 perfection the blossom must be in its prime. It is remarkable that 

 up to this time no scientific work has ever been written upon odours. 

 The Italians have a proverb : — 



" Ogni fiore al fin perde 1' odore." 



Carnations (fig. 442) and Picotees [Dianthus caryophyllus, fig. 443) 



do not strike so freely as pinks, and therefore it is usual to 



propagate by layers. 



" The fairest flowers o' the season 

 Are our carnations." — Shakspeare. 



Pinks, Carnations, and Picotees are particularly adapted for dry, 

 sunburnt spots, as they stand drought well. 



Fig. 442.— Carnations (two Fig. 443.— Picotees (three 



varieties). varieties). 



Fig. 444. — Large Snapdragon. 



In a dry border the Snapdragon {Antirrhinum maJHS, fig. 444) is 

 very gay. It is easily raised from seed, and the colour of the 

 flower is very varied. A plant will live for years, but severe frost 

 kills it. Like the wallflower, it will grow in a crevice of a wall, and 

 it is a plant well adapted to be used in quantities in every sunny 



