420 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



varieties should be grown in pots and placed 

 under glass or an awning of tiffany to bloom, 

 the best flowers being thus obtained. 



Propagation by slips or "pipings" is slow 

 and troublesome, and is seldom resorted to 

 except for scarce varieties, or when the slips 

 cannot conveniently be layered. They may be 

 put in any time during the summer or early 

 autumn months, placing them under close bell- 

 or hand-glasses. Or gentle bottom-heat may be 

 used, keeping them rather close until roots have 

 been formed. It is necessary to remove the 

 glasses daily and wipe them dry. 



Soil. — Carnations prefer a deep medium yel- 

 low loam, enriched with decayed stable manure 

 and sand. Wire -worms are very injurious; 

 the compost should therefore be looked over 

 to see that it contains none of them, one 

 wire-worm being sufficient to destroy two or 

 three plants. Some growers add old mortar 

 rubbish to the compost, and the plants seem 

 to like it; it also helps to keep the soil open. 



General Culture. — Starting with the rooted 

 layers in October, those intended for pot culture 

 should be kept in a frame during the winter. 

 The pots need not be plunged, but stood on a 

 hard bottom. In March or April they should 

 be repotted into 8-inch pots, placing two plants 

 in each pot. Firm potting is desirable. 



They thrive best when kept under the glass 

 lights until the end of April, when they may 

 be staked and removed to their summer quar- 

 ters, which should be a bed with a hard bottom 

 of coal ashes. In May or June they require 

 to be top-dressed with a mixture of equal 

 portions of loam and decayed manure. When 

 the flower-buds appear it will be necessary to 

 remove some of them if large flowers are desired, 

 whilst to obtain very large blooms for exhibi- 

 tion only the terminal bud is left. During hot 

 weather the plants require plenty of water, and 

 if syringed once daily green-fly will be kept in 

 check. This pest is sometimes very trouble- 

 some, and has to be destroyed by the use of 

 tobacco powder. As soon as the calyx bursts 

 and the petals begin to unfold, it is better to 

 take the plants under glass. Should the calyx 

 burst open on one side, a slit should be made 

 on the other side, and supported with a loose 

 tie of bast; if tied too tightly, the petals have 

 not room to expand. The flowers last longer 

 when they are shaded. 



Tree or perpetual-flowering Carnations differ 

 from the ordinary type by their tendency to 

 produce lateral snoots on the stems, thus form- 

 ing a sub-shrubby plant. Occasionally these 



shrubby varieties occur in collections of seed- 

 lings. They are usually propagated in January 

 or February by cuttings, seldom by layering. 

 The cuttings are inserted seven or eight in 

 3-inch pots, in a compost of equal parts of 

 loam, leaf -mould, and sand, covered with a 

 bell-glass, and placed in a gentle bottom -heat 

 in the forcing-house, kept at a temperature of 

 55°. When rooted they are potted singly into 

 thumb-pots, and kept in the forcing-house for 

 a few days. After a time they may be repotted 

 into 3-inch pots and placed in a frame, where 

 they can get abundance of air night and day; 

 this induces sturdy growth. By the end of 

 May they should be quite in the open garden. 

 Some cultivators plant them out, lifting and re- 

 potting them again in September; but they are 

 apt to get a check when thus treated, and it is 

 better to keep them in pots. Their final shift 

 should be into 6-inch or 7-inch pots, or if small 

 plants, 5-inch pots. These may be grown on a 

 second year by repotting them into 8-inch pots, 

 or even a third year, by which time the stem 

 becomes quite woody. The plants should stand 

 during the summer on a hard bottom of coal 

 ashes. Carnations like a light airy situation at 

 all times, and more especially in the winter 

 when the flower-buds are opening. The flowers 

 are poor in quality unless the greenhouse is kept 

 at a temperature of 50° to 55° in the winter. 



Another distinct and decorative type of Car- 

 nation is the " Marguerite ", a recent introduc- 

 tion, of dwarf bushy habit. The flowers, which 

 are clove-scented, are produced very freely on 

 short stems, and are very varied in colour, 

 some being selfs and others striped. Seed 

 sown in February or March soon develop 

 plants which, if put out in good soil, will 

 produce flowers the same season. They are 

 excellent for pot culture. 



Select List of Varieties. 



Scarlet Bizarres. — Admiral Curzoii, Alfred, Fred, Robert 

 Houlgrave, Robert Lord, Squire Potts. 



Crimson Bizarres. — Edward Rowan, Harrison Weir, 

 Homer, Master Fred, Phoebe, Virgil. 



Pink and Purple Bizarres. — Autocrat, Harmony, Mrs. 

 Barlow, Niobe, Sarah Payne, Wm. Skirving. 



Purple Flakes. — Agricola, Charles Henwood, Florence 

 Nightingale, James Douglas, Mayor of Nottingham, Mrs. 

 Douglas. 



* Scarlet Flakes. — Alisemond, Henry Cannell, John Ball, 

 Matador, Miss Constance Grahame, Sportsman. 



Rose Flakes. — Lady Mary Currie, Mrs. Rowan, Rob 

 Roy, Rosa Mundi, Thalia, William of Wykeham. 



Picotees — Light Red Edge. — Dr. Horner, Euripides, Mrs. 

 Bower, Mrs. Gorton, Thomas William, Violet Douglas. 



Heavy Red Edge. — Brunette, Ganymede, Isabel Lakin, 

 J. B. Bryant, John Smith, Princess of Wales. 



