PICOTEE. 



Dianthus caryophyllus. 



JCOTEES differ from carna- 

 tions in having the colour con- 

 centrated on the outer edge of 

 the petals, whereas in carnations 

 the colour is disposed in bands 

 and blotches Ion git udiu ally. It 

 is a question with the experts 

 which is the oldest form of the 

 flower, and that question is one 

 of very great interest both to 

 the florist and the student of 

 the laws of evolution. Mr. 

 E. S. Dodwell, a man of ex- 

 tensive knowledge, and a most 

 successful cultivator of these 

 flowers, holds firmly to the 

 opinion that in the develop- 

 ment of the flower the picotee 

 appeared in advance of the 

 flaked carnation. His theory 

 is that the self-coloured flower 

 changed in the first instance to an edged flower, and that 

 this became a carnation by the spreading of the colour 

 from the edge towards the centre. We have held, and 



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