806 



OPEN FLOWER-GARDEN. 



garden, the more flowers the better, if the plant 

 is able to support them. This, however, must not 

 be carried too far, else both plant and flower will 

 suffer. A judicious thinning of the buds is highly- 

 expedient, removing those first that are towards 

 the centre of the plant, and less likely to be 

 seen; and as soon as the petals fall, remove with- 

 out delay every vestige of it, unless in cases 

 where seed is desired ; for the effort to produce 

 one seed-vessel is more severe upon the plant 

 than the production of a dozen of blooms. 



The carnation and picotee. — The original type 

 of this flower is Dianthus caryophyllis, a native 

 of several parts of England, found on rocks and 

 walls. At what period the carnation became 

 known in Britain as a florists' flower is unknown. 

 It has, however, been cultivated in some state 

 or other as such from the time of our earliest 

 gardening publications, being mentioned in most 

 of them. It is supposed to have reached this 

 country from Italy or Germany ; and Gerard, 

 writing in 1597, informs us that he received it 

 from Poland. The picotee, the near kinsman to 

 the carnation, will be included in the following 

 remarks, as their culture, &c. is identically the 

 same. Carnations are arranged in three classes 

 — viz., flakes, bizarres, and picotees. Flakes 

 have two colours only, and their stripes large, 

 going quite through the leaves. Bizarres are 

 variegated in irregular spots or stripes, and 

 with not less than three colours. Picotees have 

 a white ground, spotted or pounced with scarlet, 

 red, purple, or other colours. These again are 

 divided into scarlet flake, pink flake, purple 

 flake, yellow flake, &c. ; scarlet bizarre, crimson 

 bizarre, &c. ; purple picotee, yellow picotee, &c. 



Propagation. — The carnation is propagated by 

 seed, with a view to procure new or improved 

 varieties, by pipings or cuttings, and by layers, 

 for the multiplication and continuation of estab- 

 lished varieties. 



Propagation by seed. — The climate of Britain 

 is unfavourable for ripening the seed of this 

 plant. Our supplies, in general, come from 

 Vienna, and other parts of the south of Ger- 

 many. Hogg, a writer on this flower, and in 

 his day a most successful cultivator, remarks 

 that it often happens that out of two hundred 

 blooming plants it is rare that more than two 

 pods of perfect seed are obtained, and even 

 from imported seed the chance of getting a 

 good flower is about one to one hundred ; and 

 if a florist raises six new carnations in his life- 

 time, he is to be considered fortunate. This 

 explains pretty clearly why the varieties of 

 carnations are so few compared with other 

 florists' flowers. When seed is procured, it 

 should be sown about the middle of May in 

 pots, in the same soil as is recommended below, 

 covering so slightly as merely to hide the seeds. 

 The pots should be set in an airy part of the 

 garden, partially shaded from the heat of the 

 sun, and kept moderately moist, but not wet. 

 When the young plants have attained six leaves, 

 they should be planted out in a bed, in rich 

 soil, and about 10 inches asunder. During 

 winter they will require the protection of a 

 frame and glass sashes ; many of them will 

 bloom the following summer. 



Propagation by layering. — The proper season 

 for this operation is the latter end of July and 

 beginning of August, that the young plants may 

 not only become early rooted, but also that they 

 get established in the pots or border into which 

 they are to be transplanted as soon as rooted, 

 before the growing season ceases. This is an 

 important part of their culture ; the opera- 

 tion is thus performed : Water the plants at 

 the root before proceeding farther, and have in 

 readiness a number of hooked pegs, about 3 

 inches in length, made out of worn-out birch 

 brooms, or, where they can be had, pegs made 

 from the fronds of the common brake (Pteris 

 aquilina), also a supply of light sandy rich 

 loamy soil passed through a sieve. With a 

 sharp knife cut close off the bottom leaves of 

 each shoot to be layered, leaving about six 

 nearest the top on, and on no account shorten 

 these, although it is a too common practice. In 

 this way prepare all the shoots intended to be 

 laid on each plant, and then with a thin sharp 

 knife make an incision on the under side imme- 

 diately below the third joint, and draw the knife 

 upwards through the joint to the extent of an 

 inch if the grass of the shoot is strong, less if it 

 should be weak ; bend the layer down, and in- 

 sert it in the light sandy soil, which should be 

 laid round the plant at the commencement of 

 the operation ; in doing so, keep the tongue, or 

 portion partly separated from the shoot, from 

 touching the part from which it has been separ- 

 ated, and set the layer in an upright position ; 

 thrust one of the hooked pegs into the ground 

 close to the layer, so that the hooked part may 

 catch the layer as it is pushed down, and thus 

 keep it in its place ; cover the layer with the 

 light compost, and so proceed with the others 

 until the whole plant is finished ; lay the com- 

 post around the plant in a neat manner, covering 

 the parts of the layers, where held down by the 

 pegs, to the depth of an inch and a half. The 

 common practice of watering the plants when 

 the layering is finished is bad ; they should have 

 none till after two days, that the wound made 

 by the knife may become partially dried. If 

 there is more grass on the plants than can be 

 conveniently layered, take them off, and make 

 cuttings, or pipings as they are called, of them. 

 —{Vide p. 351, and figs. 127 and 128). 



Propagation by pipings is in all respects the 

 same as for pinks (which see, p. 808). The car- 

 nation is, however, more difficult to propagate in 

 this way than the pink, and hence it is seldom 

 had recourse to. 



Soil. — Wonderful composts were recommend- 

 ed by the florists of other days ; modern ones, 

 actuated by better sense, employ a simple com- 

 post composed of three parts loam, taken from 

 an upland sheep-pasture, cutting it in turfs about 

 4 inches thick. This they lay up in a heap in 

 the compost -yard for about twelve months, 

 turning it over about once a-month to sweeten 

 and pulverise. At each turning a careful watch 

 should be kept for the detection of wire-worm. 

 To the loam two parts well decomposed cow- 

 dung and one part leaf-mould are added, and 

 after three or four turnings it is fit for use. 



General culture. — Those who intend to bloom 



