16 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



February, 1913 



Make the cuttings like this and insert in sand 

 to root 



September ist, I begin to take slips. 

 I choose good sized ones six or eight inches 

 long because they are more likely to form 

 roots. At this time there is a chance for 

 selection, especially if slips are taken from 

 seedlings. Among these there are always 

 some plants which bear single flowers; 

 these plants I omit in the taking of slips, 

 and my bed next season contains plants 

 bearing only double flowers. Also there 

 are some plants whose flowers are espe- 

 cially pleasing, as the yellow and salmon 

 pink; from these plants I take many slips. 

 In this way I select what are to me the 

 best and choicest for the next season. The 

 slips are then put in moist sand in boxes. 

 If one desires to keep the different colors 

 separate, it is only necessary to have a 

 box of sand for each color. The boxes 

 are put on a piazza where they receive 

 the direct sunlight for only a short time in 

 the morning. The sand is kept moist 

 by the addition of water every day or two. 

 While in the sand these slips frequently 

 begin to grow and form a little terminal 

 bud. When a bud appears soon after a 

 slip is put in the sand, it is better to re- 

 move it and let the strength of the slip 

 go to the roots. At the end of from four 

 to six weeks most of the slips are rooted 

 and are then ready for the coldframe, 

 where they are placed three or four inches 

 apart. They are then treated as pansies 

 are treated in the coldframe. I have kept 

 little Marguerite carnation plants through 

 two winters with the loss of scarcely a 

 single plant that was well rooted when 

 put into the coldframe. 

 , After the tulips have been taken up, 

 and the bed made over and fertilized, the 

 Marguerite carnations are transferred from 

 the coldframe to the beds. My beds are 

 circular in shape and are eight feet in 

 diameter. In transplanting, a clump of 

 earth is taken with each plant so as to 

 disturb the roots as little as possible. They 

 stand the transplanting nicely and im- 

 mediately begin to grow and soon to 

 bloom, and early in July furnish flowers 

 as abundantly as seedlings do in September. 



It might be expected that plants which 

 take delight in the frosty nights of October 



and endure the freezing temperatures of 

 winter in the coldframe, would not stand 

 well the heat of summer and the long 

 drought so likely to come in July and 

 August. On the contrary the Marguerite 

 carnations withstand transplanting during 

 the warm days of June and notice the 

 change less than asters do; during the 

 severest heat of summer they grow they 

 blossom luxuriantly, as if that were their 

 own season, and when the long drought 

 comes, if they are given a few buckets of 

 water through the sprinkler of the water- 

 ing pot two or three times a week they 

 quickly respond with larger flowers in 

 greater profusion. I say water them 

 through the sprinkler of the watering 

 pot rather than by means of the garden 

 hose, for with the latter one is likely to 

 give them too much water and some of 

 the plants will begin to turn white and die. 



Marguerite carnations (rooted cuttings), ready 

 for the winter, taken from plants raised from seed 

 sown in February 



Keep the weeds out of the bed and the 

 flowers picked and water them only when 

 it is absolutely necessary. 



In the fifteen years that I have been 

 growing Marguerite carnations they have 

 never been troubled by insects when grow- 

 ing out of doors. This is a consideration 

 of no slight weight in their favor. But there 

 was a difficulty which I encountered some- 

 what early in my experience with them. 



During the first years I transplanted 

 them to the same bed year after year. 

 After a few years the plants did not thrive 

 as formerly. Though the seedlings were 

 strong, sturdy, promising plants before 

 transplanting, they made but a sickly 

 growth after being put in that bed, and 

 one after another died without any visible 

 cause. Finally that particular soil be- 

 came so that a Marguerite carnation could 

 not grow in any part of it. I could not 

 find any insect enemies in the bed, neither 

 did the plants give any indication of being 

 injured by such; it was simply that they 

 could not grow in that soil. It was clearly 

 an illustration of the principle which the 

 experts of the Agricultural Department at 

 Washington have pointed out: that plants, 



grown in the same soil year after year, give 

 into that soil poisons which, when they 

 have accumulated sufficiently, will prevent 

 the growth of that particular plant. I 

 then adopted the principle of the rotation 

 of crops. In the bed in which Marguerite 

 carnations would not grow, other plants 

 were put for several years. There was no 

 trouble as far as these plants were con- 

 cerned. After two or three years I found that 

 Marguerite carnations would again grow in 

 the bed. Since that time I have alternated 

 Marguerite carnations and asters in two 

 of my beds, and the trouble has not 

 reappeared. 



As to fertilizers, the Marguerite carna- 

 tions do not seem to be very discriminating. 

 I have used with them in different seasons 

 ground bone, blood fertilizer, phosphate 

 fertilizer, and dried sheep manure, and 

 the results have been equally good as far 

 as I have noticed, though perhaps greater 

 care on my part would have detected a 

 difference. It might be interesting to 

 experiment with different fertilizers to 

 force the plants to give larger and finer 

 blooms; but I have been content as long 

 as they have furnished an abundance of 

 flowers to adorn my lawn and make my 

 home cheerful, bright, and fragrant. 



I make this plea for the Marguerite 

 carnation because I think this flower is 

 neglected, at least in New England. Very 

 rarely do I see a bed of it in the city or 

 country except those on my own lawn. 

 When I consider the delight and pleasure 

 which my family and my neighbors and 

 friends have derived from this delicate, 

 sweet, spicy flower, I am confident that 

 many might add to their pleasure of 

 gardening by having a bed of Marguerite 

 carnations. 



For color, fragrance, general utility, as a cut flower 

 the Marguerite carnation scores high 



