904 



THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



\June. 



sorts, by laying, which is the third mode of propagation, and 

 almost always practised with carnations. The first mode, or 

 raising by seeds, is performed in spring, and is seldom prac- 

 tised by any but the florist, to whom we are indebted for the 

 many varieties of these beautiful flowers with which our gar- 

 dens are adorned. Carnation-seeds do not often ripen in this 

 country, owing principally to the shortness of our summers, 

 but it is imported from Switzerland, and if kept from the air, 

 will retain its vegetative properties for years; it is usually 

 brought to us in phials well-corked, and seeds brought from 

 abroad in this manner are found to vegetate freely ; but in 

 consequence of those who collect it, not taking the trouble to 

 impregnate different sorts together, it is seldom that valuable 

 kinds are produced, sometimes not one in a thousand; and 

 even from carnation-beds cultivated in this country, a cele- 

 brated florist reckons the chance of getting a good flower 

 being as one to one hundred: and the florist who raises six 

 new carnations in his life-time is considered fortunate. So 

 prone is this flower to sport, that seeds taken from the same 

 seed-vessel has been often known to produce flowers of all the 

 different varieties, that is bizarres, JiakeSy &c. The seeds 

 which ripen from the end of August to the beginning of Oc- 

 tober, should be kept in the capsule or seed-vessel, in a dry 

 room, till the ])cginning or middle of May, when it should be 

 sown in pots filled with the compost in which the plants are 

 cultivated, and merely covered with a thin sprinkling of the 

 same compost finely sifted, sufficient to cover the seeds. At 

 that season of the year, artificial heat is not necessary; the 

 pots should therefore be placed in an airy part of the garden, 

 partially shaded from the heat of the sun, and kept moderately 

 moist, but never very wet. As soon as the plants appear about 

 three inches high, they should be planted out on a bed of 

 prepared compost, or good light rich garden-mould, at about 

 ten inches or a foot asunder, and while in that situation, care- 

 fully defended from much wet and frost, by having mats or 

 lights placed over them. These plants will most generally 

 bloom the following summer. 



The second mode of propagating the carnation is by pipings, 

 or cuttings of the young shoots. Maddock, a celebrated culii- 



