April 1914 



Thoiijih several of the carnations 

 just mentioned are of Ausitrali.in 

 orii^in it is customary, for conve- 

 nience, to class all jierpetual car- 

 nations haxinj:^ frinj^ed petals as 

 " American " or " decorative " car- 

 nations. On the other hau'd, that 

 deliu'htful class of perpetuals wlu».-h 

 has been evolved in Australia is 

 dubbed " show," simplv Ivecause its 

 l)e>tals are smooth edited. We su]i- 

 pose these carnations are gencral- 

 Iv accepted as the most suitable 

 for earden cultivation in Austra- 

 lia, and, of course, for exhibition 

 also, so we will not waste time in 

 commendintr them as a class, but 

 pass on to notice a few of the 

 most desirable for ^[^Tieral pur- 

 T)oses. AmoTis^ the best of these 

 is " Sabine," a larjie flowered 

 varietv with perfect calyx, stiff 

 flower stems, and robust constitu- 

 tion. It is one of the carnations 

 to which the term " ever^bloom- 

 in? " may be justlv applied. Color 

 blush white, laced with rosv 

 cerise. " Leura Scarlet " was raised 

 at Camnerdown, so we are reluct- 

 ant to describe it as the best garden 

 scarlet in this section, vet wei are 

 imable to put anv other scarlet 

 beside it from the .garden or decor- 

 ative point of \'iew. It is not an 

 exhibition carnation but is first 

 _^ class for all other purposes. 



Amon^ crimson selfs " Sultan " 

 and " Corancfamite " in the darker 

 shades, and " Frank Krrey " in 

 brio-ht crimsons, are all to be re- 

 commended. "CoranfTamite" has the 

 larcrest flowers, and it and "Sultan" 

 flower m.ost freelv . "Snltan" and 

 "F. Errey" are the best for exhibi- 

 tion. In yellows and vellow groiind 

 fancies we have already noted 

 " Kerslake's Yellow," " Mrs. G. H. 



THW (iARDKN AND FIELD. 



Kerslake," and " Gold Lace." Tn 

 this color the list of desirable vari- 

 eties is a lonjj^ one, so we can only 

 mention a few which should not be 

 passed by in any case. " Tessie 

 McGann " will be too well known 

 to your readers to need any des- 

 crii)tion, and another of somewhat 

 similar color is " Lucy Mancttc." 

 In other ways these two are not 

 at all alike except that both are 

 carnations of the first order. 

 " Raphael " and " 1/aurence " are 

 'also pood vellow ground fancies, 

 the first named being at its best 

 in autumn. 



Some of the best of the white 

 groimd perpetuals are : — "Ivernia," 

 having large flowers of the best 

 show type ; color white, edged and 

 marked with rosv scarlet ; "Ga- 

 zelle," also a fine exhibition vari- 

 ety ; color white, laced with car- 

 mine ; and " Kstelle," white, heavi- 

 ly edged and marked with scarlet. 

 " Chevalier," " Chrissy," " Cas- 

 Lsida," and " Bernard " in w.g. 

 perpetuals, and " Mrs. A. Water- 

 house," " Brilliance," and " Mili- 

 tum," in other colors are all 

 worthv of detailed description, but 

 we fear vour readers will refuse to 

 endure much more. 



For fear of wearying them we 

 have passed by manv we might 

 have included, and, for the same 

 reason, have ignored the many ex- 

 cellent carnations in the spring 

 blooUniner section. Probably, too, 

 we have failed to mention some 

 varieties which are well worthy of 

 notice, but which for som-e reason 

 have failed to reproduce their true 

 form with us. If so we trust 

 some of our fellow-fanciers will re- 

 medv anv such omissions, and con- 



elude with tlic liope that oiir note.n 

 will i)rovo of some Utile si-rv ice to 

 your readers. 



♦ 



Co?l Ashes. 



The ashes of both soft and hard 

 coal contain little more than traces 

 of potash and phosi)horic acid, and 

 as plant food are almo.st worthless. 

 For stifl, clay soils, however, they 

 usuallv hav-e a desirable loosening 

 eflect, and as a top-dressing and 

 mulch, especiallv in fruit gardens, 

 etc., they are very beneficial. Still, 

 the best use that can be made of 

 them perhaps is to sift and put them' 

 under the hen roots as absorbents, 

 or u.se them in a similar way in 

 stables, etc. Sifted coal ashes 

 absorb liquids, fix volatile am- 

 m.onia, and prevent offensive odors. 



<$> 



Streak Disease. 



Streak disease in Sweet Peas 

 appears to be causing English gar- 

 deners a lot of trouble. Many re- 

 medies and preventives have been 

 sug's^ested but little appears to- be 

 definitely known either as to its 

 cause or cure. The National 

 Sweet Pea Society is now offering 

 a prize of ten guineas and a gold 

 medal to the first person who can 

 prove to the satisfaction of the 

 committee that he or she has a 

 cure. As arrangements are being 

 made to thoroughlv test all re- 

 puted cures, it should not be long 

 before something more definite is 

 known on the subject. 



The following" set of choice Perpetuals comprises the cream of this and recent years' introductions, 

 and for all-round excellence would be hard to beat: — 



Galicia (1914 novelty ) — Large, deep yellow ground, 

 fancy. 



Kioto (1914) — Yellow suffused and flaked pink. 

 Mayence (1914) — Yellow-edged and pencilled 

 chocolate. 



Miss Edith (1914) — Pure white sport from Kers- 

 lake's yellow. 



Winsome — Very large white ground, fancy. 



Mrs. Kerslake — One of the finest yellow fancies, 

 extant. 



Sabine — Large white, beautifully laced, delicate 

 pink. 



Gold Lace — Grand yellow ground, fancy for exhibi- 

 tion. 



Gazelle — \\'hite laced carmine, grand petal. 



Kerslake's Yellow — Large soft yellow. 



Leura Scarlet — Grand large bright scarlet. 



Robt. Williams — Beautiful orange fancy sport from 

 Mrs. Kerslake. 



One strong plant of each of the above splend(d set post free for 20/. 



fixation Si>ecialists, Oa.mi>er'clown, Victoria, 



Illustrated Carnation Catalogue Post Free. 



