78 



THE FLOWER GABDEF. 



good kinds, by layering every year after the flowering 

 season. Make a slight slit in the underside of the shoot, 

 at the point where it will be imbedded in the earth, imme- 

 diately below a joint or bud. Keep the slit open with a 

 small slip of wood, peg the layer down with a small crook- 

 stick, and cover it with light earth. Carnations may 

 be also increased, after blooming, by "pipings," i. e. the 

 ends of shoots hroken of at a joint, not cut, so as to 

 form a short pipe-like cutting. Some cut off the tips of 

 the leaves, which in Carnations and Pinks is technically 

 called the " grass." The pipings then are made to strike 

 root, under a hand-glass, in a mixture of leaf-mould and 

 silver-sand. Pinks are more generally piped, Carnations 

 layered. As the flower-stems rise, they must be sup- 

 ported by sticks. Very double flowers, which would 

 burst their calyx, are held together by a twist of thread, 

 a disk of card, and other means ; and fastidious florists 

 have even tweezers, brushes, and scissors, to dress and 

 arrange the petals. Double Carnations will produce 

 seed, which should have the preference for raising new 

 varieties. Sow in earthen pans, in spring ; and prick out 

 the plants, in prepared beds, when they have made six or 

 eight leaves. The following season will give you the 

 result of your lottery. 



It is questionable whether the Tree Carnation, D.fru- 

 ticosus, has a just right to a distinct specific name ; but 

 it is well worth cultivation, from its upright, shrubby 

 habit of growth, which adapts it for training to a trellis 

 in the conservatory, or even in a pot, and also from its 

 flowering nearly all the year round, if kept in a green- 

 house or a warm room during winter. The flowers are 

 sweet-scented, and are tinted with divers colours, white 7 

 straw-colour, pink, red, and crimson. JNT.B. In layering 

 Carnations, water very sparingly two or three days before- 

 hand, in order to render the shoots more flexible. The 

 Tree Carnations are sometimes so tall and stiff that it is 

 impossible to layer them by bending them to the ground. 

 In that case, the shoots are made to pass through small 

 pots of earth, that are temporarily supported or sus- 

 pended at the required height. 



