FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 



227 



charcoaL This is a good soil for use in all stages of 

 the plant's growth. 



During the winter the plants in pots should be 

 kept in a cold frame on an ash bottom, and carefully 

 looked after, and air given on all suitable occa- 

 sions. Potting into the blooming pots is done about 

 the middle or end of February. The Carnation and 

 Picotee are potted into large pots for flowering. A 

 single plant is put into a pot seven inches in 

 diameter ; two in a nine -inch ; and three in a ten- 

 inch pot, the latter being the most generally fol- 

 lowed method. The pots must be well drained, and 

 broken oyster-shell is the best drainage that can be 

 used, and some coarse siftings of the soil should be 

 placed over the drainage before any soil is put in. 

 The pots should then be fiUed within two inches 

 •of the top, the plant or plants should be placed in 

 jDOsition, and the soil pressed about them, making it 

 fairly firm ; then by gently knocking the bottom of 

 the pot on the ground the whole settles down, and 

 the work of potting is complete. This done, the pots 

 need to be placed in a cold frame and kept a little 

 close until they become established, and then placed 

 in the open air, standing them on pots or slates 

 to prevent worms passing ujd into them* The plants 

 need close attention in the matter of watering and 

 keeping them clear of insects. 



As the flower-stems are thrown up they should 

 be securely but not too tightly fastened to stakes. 

 The stoutest osiers used by basket-makers make 

 excellent stakes for the purpose ; and they can be 

 had made of deal and painted green, and thej" should 

 not be less than three feet long. In order to have 

 fine full flowers it is necessary to thin out the buds. 

 Not a few Carnations and Picotees have a tendency 

 to burst the calyx, i.e., the green sheath which en- 

 <;loses the bud, and it is a common practice to bind 

 a piece of bast round it, taking care not to tie it too 

 tightly so as to prevent the flower from expanding. 

 Those who grow flowers for exhibition purposes are 

 obliged to shade them, and this is done by means 

 ■of zinc shades fastened to the sticks, by a canvas 

 covering, or by taking the plants into a house. 

 When shaded, the blooms remain in perfection for 

 many days. 



During the time that the plants are getting into 

 flower, all weeds and dead leaves should be removed, 

 and the surface soil stirred, and top-dressed once 

 or twice, with a compost made up of half loam and 

 half leaf-mould. This is a matter of great im- 

 portance in insuring a healthy development of the 

 plants. Earwigs prove very destructive to the 

 ■flowers, and they should be looked for and des- 

 troyed. If the plants are grown solely for decora- 

 tive purposes, disbudding need be done only very 

 sparingly. 



Propagation. — This is done by layering, a process 

 of importance, and requiring skill and experience to 

 do it effectually. The more the plants are exposed 

 to the sun previous to layering, tlie more robust and 

 hardened is the wood, which is a matter of great 

 importance. And as some sorts are shy in producing 

 roots — a knowledge to be gained only by experience — 

 these should be layered first of all, to give a greater 

 duration of time to root properly. First of all the 

 operator should make up a compost composed of 

 equal parts of sweet turfy loam, leaf-mould, and 

 sand passed through a fine sieve. Then all the 

 leaves up to the third joint from the tip should 

 be cut away with a pair of scissors, and the spent 

 soil removed from the pot to the depth of three 

 inches, and some of the fresh soil placed in the 

 pots. Then by means of a sharp pen-knife an 

 even slit is made from one joint to the other, taking 

 care not to cut right through the wood. This tongue 

 so formed eventually puts forth roots. It must be 

 inserted in the fresh soil, placing a peg (those made 

 from the common fern of the woods are best) to keep 

 it secure in the soil, and after the whole of the 

 layers are operated on and made secure, they must 

 be slightly covered with fresh soil, and then watered 

 through a rose watering-pot. Tne plants can then 

 be placed in the open air, well attended to in the 

 matter of watering, and in a month or six weeks 

 the layers will be rooted, and eventually these can 

 be potted oft' as recommended at the outset of this 

 article. One of the best layerers of Carnations and 

 Picotees we ever knew, used to insert his knife in 

 the stem, and then cut outwards, doing this w'"th 

 great certainty and dexterity, and so forming a 

 tongue. But it requires great practice and care to 

 layer rapidly and safely. 



Fine new varieties of Carnations and Picotees are 

 also obtained from seed, which, if sown at any time 

 in pots or pans of light sandy soil and placed in 

 a cold frame, soon germinates, and the young 

 plants can then be pricked off when large enough 

 to handle into other pots, and grown on as re- 

 quired, and finally planted out in spring in a well- 

 prepared bed to flower. Such a bed should be 

 raised above the level of the ground, so that there 

 should be a fall for the water in the case of heavy 

 rains. 



Selections. — The following selection of Carnations 

 and Picotees includes the best varieties : — 



Carxatioxs. 



Scarlet Bizarres. 



Admiral Cnrzon. 

 Artliiir Medhiirst. 

 Robert Lord. 

 George. 

 Fred. 



Edward Adams 



Crimson Bizarres. 



J. D. Hextall. 

 Master Fred. 

 E. S. Dodwell. 

 •Joliu Harlaud. 

 Rifleman. 

 Harrison "Weir. 



